Feb. 1, 2008

By Bradley Young

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Last season Thomas Scotton was spending his year as a redshirt, wrestling in various tournaments and winning handily. But he also witnessed first-hand the premier motivation for the restructured and resurgent North Carolina wrestling team - a third-place finish at the ACC Championships last March.

Although he did not wrestle with the team last season in the tournament, he was still affected by the disappointing showing. However, Scotton and the team have forgotten about the past and instead have been following the credo of head coach C.D. Mock: "Stay in the now." It is with this motto that Scotton, the 157-pounder from Willingboro, N.J., has provided an incredible spark for this young Tar Heel team.

Scotton is 14-4 on the season, 7-0 in duals, 4-0 in ACC action and does not feel his performance thus far is enough. "I definitely have a lot more work to do," says Scotton, "I think I'm wrestling at a good pace, but I want to catch up with the rest of the guys in the country in my weight class." Although Scotton is extremely tough on his individual performance, he does not maintain the same attitude toward his team. Scotton says, "I think we're doing really well as a team. We are on the same level as some of the best teams in the country. I can't say one negative thing about us as a team."

But now is an extremely important time in the season for the Tar Heels. With the ACC tournament just around the corner, this is the time that Scotton believes that he and the team will begin to set themselves apart from the other conference opponents. "Everybody is working hard" says Scotton.

After dropping two very competitive matches to ACC foes Virginia and Maryland, he maintains that the team is ready to break out. "The team has seen what we need to do, and we are going to get it done."

And it is with this additional team motivation that Scotton is able to push his individual training to the next level.

"It's time for me to start picking it up also. I drill more after practice ... and run more," he says. "It's time to up the ante and sustain my intensity. I'm building up steam going into the rest of ACC play."

Even though Scotton has helped the team with his great start to the season, he recognizes the importance of keeping this intensity level up, and credits Mock's credo as a great inspiration.

"I have to stay hungry. I expect big things out of myself," Scotton says. "I want to be out there every match fighting hard and winning. Coach Mock says, `Stay in the now', so that is what I do. I take it one match, one takedown, one period at a time."

Scotton is not looking towards ACCs quite yet. "I'm just ready for my next match."

Scotton and the rest of the Carolina grapplers will look for a strong outing as they face Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania Saturday in a non-conference double header in Philadelphia. The Tar Heels are 6-4 on the season.