MARK GERARDI: : Valhalla Wrestler Hard to Pin Down

Mark Gerardi was being interviewed Wednesday afternoon when he realized that he had left his wrestling gear at home, not far from Valhalla High School.

“Coach, I’m going to be a few minutes late for practice, I guess,” he said, glancing out the window at the line of cars attempting to get out of the parking lot.

Glen Takahashi, the Valhalla wrestling coach, grimaced but wasn’t disturbed for long.

After all, missing a few minutes of practice is not going to make much difference to Gerardi, a senior who hasn’t lost a match since his freshman year and is favored to win his third straight state championship.

Gerardi, who is 6-feet tall and weighs a slender 154 pounds, is rated as one of the nation’s top prospects in his weight class and has been contacted by Oklahoma State, which is ranked No. 1 in America in collegiate wrestling. He takes a 38-0 record into this weekend’s San Diego Section Masters competition at Mount Carmel High School.

Gerardi, 17, said he has no idea what college he will attend and has not thought about what he will do when his wrestling career is over.

One thing he won’t be is a professional wrestler.

“I watch the matches on TV, and it’s pretty amusing,” he said. “I couldn’t see myself doing that. I won’t be big enough, for one thing.” Typical pro wrestlers outweigh him by about 100 pounds.

But if he’s living pretty much for the moment, he seems to have done a nice job of blending in with the other students at Valhalla.

While Gerardi was seated in Takahashi’s office, a friend walked by with a lollipop in his hand. Gerardi, showing the quickness that has helped make him nearly unbeatable in wrestling, reached out and grabbed the lollipop.

Gerardi returned the lollipop, although he said he maintains his slender build without paying any attention to what he eats. When he’s in the mood for a snack, he grabs whatever is most appealing, never mind the calories.

On the wall in Takahashi’s office are diagrams of the human muscular and skeletal systems. The coach said there is nothing unique about Gerardi’s anatomy, except that he is about three inches taller than most wrestlers in his weight class and thus has an edge in reach.

“He’s a superior athlete with strength, quickness and balance,” Takahashi said.

“He’s a coach’s dream. He’s a nice kid, the kind you would want for a son. He works harder than the other kids, but I don’t give him preferential treatment.

“He’s really like an assistant coach to me. We were at a meet last weekend, and there were four matches going on at once. Mark was watching one of them and calling out instructions. There was a controversial moment when he went over to the scorer’s table and helped explain what was happening in the match.”

Gerardi said it’s not a problem living up to his coach’s expectations, or his own, for that matter.

“Oh, it’s hard to goof around sometimes,” he said, smiling, “but I’ll do it a little. I can’t be 100% serious all the time.”

He’s been serious about wrestling since age 7.

The list of age-group championships he has won in freestyle and Greco-Roman competition takes a full page.

Among the colleges that have expressed interest in him are Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Lehigh, Minnesota, Villanova, as well as Oklahoma State.

“I won’t have much input in where he goes to college, but I have told him what’s down the road,” Takahashi said. “He is a probable NCAA champion of tomorrow.”

Gerardi has grown so accustomed to winning, he hardly ever considers the possibility of losing.

“When I lose, it’s not a total disaster,” said Gerardi, who has lost two matches over the years outside of high school competition.

“I don’t know that I’m going to win every time, but I don’t dwell on the thought of losing. I’m definitely not afraid of losing.”

Gerardi doesn’t make a special effort to get psyched before a match, but he has no trouble concentrating once the competition begins.

“I don’t hear the crowd at all,” he said. “It’s easy to block out distractions. I don’t really feel any pain during any match, if it’s just something like a scratch or a jammed finger.

“I never have a set idea about the way a match is going to go, but I do try to make it go my way the best way I can.”

The best way, according to his coach, is to stay on his feet and use his long arms and quickness.

“He uses his leverage and strength,” Takahashi said. “He’s real strong on takedowns. Sometimes a shorter opponent will try to attack him through his length, but he’s so strong, that approach doesn’t work.”

Takahashi used to wrestle against Gerardi in practice, but he has had back surgery and no longer takes part in workouts.

“I won’t mess with him now,” Takahashi said.

Neither do a lot of opponents. Many seem tentative before a match begins.

“I guess they are kind of cautious and don’t do anything sometimes,” Gerardi said when asked about opponents fearing him. He didn’t seem to want to pursue the topic.

“Mark is just very humble,” Takahashi said. “He’s never been in any sort of trouble. It would be easy for him to get lackadaisical, but he hasn’t done that, either.”

Gerardi wrestles 11 months of the year, taking off in August to visit the beach and play volleyball. In fact, he has been playing volleyball after practice recently with some friends.

“I enjoy almost everything about wrestling,” he said. “Maybe a bad practice will get me upset, or an injury. But not much else bothers me.”

Even though he’s rarely challenged, Gerardi believes he has pushed himself.

“I’ve come pretty close to my potential, I think,” he said. “Maybe not 100%, but pretty close.”

It’s common for a friend to tease him with a line such as, “Be careful, mister, or I’ll have to pin you.”

Gerardi just smiles and thinks about his next move, whatever it may be.