Inhale a deep breath, give a silent prayer and wrestle. As he steps onto the mat, redshirt junior Lelund “Spoon” Weatherspoon practices this routine, bends down into an aggressive stance and faces his opponent.  

“When you’re out there on the mat, your teammates can’t help you, it’s only you,” Weatherspoon said.

Growing up in the small town of Jackson, Mich., with five brothers and five sisters, Weatherspoon was stuck in the middle. In an attempt to be more like his older brother, third-grader Weatherspoon decided he would take on the world of wrestling.

“I just wanted to be better than him,” Weatherspoon admitted, even though he has a close relationship with all of his siblings.

Throughout high school, Weatherspoon’s wrestling career faced highs and lows. Freshman year he qualified for state, but he didn’t manage to place. He climbed the ranks his sophomore year, and then placed seventh. Junior and senior year, however, he held the first place title.

Off the mat, Weatherspoon faced emotional struggles, losing a family member each year of high school. He credits his first state win to his grandfather as a reminder of the moments they shared while bonding over wrestling.

“He was always in his wheelchair and I would just push him down to every single one of my matches,” Weatherspoon said. “I would wrestle. I would win. Then we would go right back up to the stands.”

While Weatherspoon managed to get out of high school without any major injuries, his luck ended last year during a close match over Winter Break, when he damaged his meniscus. ISU wrestling coach Kevin Jackson encouraged him to work through the pain, and while Weatherspoon knew it would be a struggle, he was determined to push through his discomfort.    

After being pulled from the match, the setback hit Weatherspoon hard.

“That just really hurt,” he said. “I felt like I let my team down. I know I got injured but I still just wanted to be out there with them.”

While there is an individual aspect to wrestling, Weatherspoon explains the big picture is to help with the team’s goals. When winning matches, it helps to win the overall duel. In order to win matches, wrestlers need to work on their individual skills.

“If you’re not doing things right, then you’re not really helping the team,” he said.

Last season Weatherspoon wrestled at 184 pounds, which is above his normal weight of 174 pounds. Not only did his coach think he was capable of wrestling above his weight, but most wrestlers were moved to a higher weight class because an All-American had the 157-pound class locked down.

“These guys have to support each other, because they have to do it all,” Jackson said.  

For Weatherspoon, gaining weight is harder than losing weight for matches. With diet plans and his coaches’ guidance he managed to shift within a 10-pound range throughout last year’s season to this year’s season. This year’s plan is to return to 174 pounds.

“I was in the weight room eating everything, every single day,” Weatherspoon said of his past season.

The wrestler’s training schedule is one aspect that Nathan Boston, open-option redshirt freshman, feels the public over looks.

“They don’t realize we are training 24/7 along with classwork,” Boston said. “We have to deal with a lot more than the average student.”

While juggling athletics, school and a social life, Jackson does recognize potential areas of improvement in Weatherspoon’s life.

“I think it really comes down to developing [Weatherspoon’s] mental toughness and a lifestyle that’s conducive to being his very best,” Jackson said.

Jackson recognizes that as a student, Weatherspoon is in a transitional stage of managing his study hours. Anxious to be socializing or wrestling, Weatherspoon’s academic weakness is tutoring, which he views as a prison.

“You have to go to [a tutor] and it’s just extra time,” Weatherspoon said. “Some of us have required hours so you have to be in there for like six or maybe eight hours; it’s just jail.”

Working towards his degree in hospitality management, Weatherspoon believes it’s an ideal choice for him, claiming, “I like to always be around people and help people.”

Relating to people is a quality that helps him step up, on and off the mat.

“I think he is becoming a leader,” Jackson said. “I see him making sacrifices at this point of the season that will allow him to be mentally, spiritually and physically better than he has been since he has been here.”