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'Crazy kid with cancer' wins college crown
(by Steve Novak - April 14, 2010)
'Crazy kid with cancer' wins college crown
By STEVE NOVAK
Last month, former Solon High School wrestler Richie Clark won the Ohio Athletic Conference wrestling championship in the 149-pound category for Mount Union College.
For Clark, a senior, that title was the culmination of a journey which began in high school after a biopsy revealed he was suffering from Hodgkin's disease, a cancer which begins in the lymph nodes.
As a result, Clark pushed, pulled and dragged himself through his last year of high school wrestling while undergoing chemotherapy. Doctors allowed him to wrestle as long as he still felt able to perform.
Up to then, it was probably the toughest thing he'd ever gone through.
"Sometimes, I just wound up against the wall, because I was so tired," Clark said.
The chemotherapy lasted throughout the wrestling season and he has been cancer-free for five years. Although the disease sapped his strength and decreased his weight, he finished the season with 23 wins and 11 losses.
Twenty or more victories in a season is a goal for many wrestlers. However, it was a step backward for Clark, who had won 30 matches as a junior and qualified for the Division I state finals.
So, while he was struggling through his senior year, Clark made a decision which he kept to himself at that time.
"I kind of figured that I wasn't through with wrestling yet," he said.
With a clean bill of health after chemotherapy, Clark went to West Liberty State College and headed for the wrestling mat again. He qualified for the varsity, but he wasn't able to make the starting team. Nevertheless, he was satisfied, because he was wrestling again. In his sophomore year, he again wasn't on the starting team.
But two years ago, he transferred to Mount Union College in Alliance. He said West Liberty State did not have the type of pre-law course of study which he wanted. Also, it would give him a chance to compete with a new team and a new coach.
The new coach was Mark Hawald, a Solon graduate who was in his second year. Hawald was a senior at John Carroll University in University Heights when Clark was a senior in high school.
"I remember his senior year. There were stories around Cleveland back then," Hawald recalled. "Richie Clark was this crazy kid with cancer who was still wrestling. It had never been done before."
Hawald said that Clark did not consult him before deciding to transfer to Mount Union, although he admitted that his presence as head coach might have gone into the decision. Clark said the transfer was both because of his pre-law major and a chance to wrestle for a different school.
In his first year at Mount Union, Clark again failed to become a starter. However, he did get to wrestle in about 30 matches and finished above .500.
But something happened as Clark began his senior year of wrestling. Hawald, who had seen Clark wrestle when both were still at Solon, said he noticed a transformation after just a few weeks of the season.
"He was the same old Richie again," he said. "He was getting on the offensive more. He was taking better shots. I guess he figured it was his senior year, so he might as well go for it. He got his confidence back."
As a result, Hawald said, Clark began to win matches that he lost the previous season. "Before he had been losing by one or two points, and now he was winning by one or two points," Hawald said.
Richie finished the year with a 26-14 record and by winning an OAC title, he automatically qualified for the NCAA Finals.
At the NCAA competition, Clark lost his first two matches, which put him out of the tournament.
"I couldn't have asked for a better senior year," Clark said. "For some people, winning the national championship would be a goal. But people have different goals. For me, my goal was just qualifying for the NCAA. So, it's a great ending for my career."
As for saying goodbye to the daily hours of sweating and grunting in the practice room, Clark seems at peace with the fact that his career is over. He wants to attend law school next year.
"I think I'm pretty much done," he said when asked if he would like to coach. "Don't get me wrong. I love everything about wrestling, but now I'm just happy to walk away."
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