Chris Pendleton may soon see his name in headlines again, but on a much bigger scale than his past high school or college days.

Pendleton has seen a lot of success as a freestyle wrestler, winning a state championship for Lemoore High School during his senior year. He went on to compete at the national level at Oklahoma State University, winning national NCAA titles in 2004 and 2005 in the 174-pound weight class.

Pendleton's sights are now set on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. After winning one Olympic qualifying event in Seattle March 28, he is preparing for the U.S. Open National Championships in Las Vegas this weekend.

"I have gotten a lot better as a wrestler in recent years," Pendleton said in a telephone interview. "I thank my high school coach Kent Olsen for putting me on the right path to where I am today.

"He taught me how to be disciplined and taught me about life after high school. If I hadn't gone through Coach Olsen's program, I would not have made it the past eight years of my life."

Those eight years included tough competition at OSU, but with great success. In both of his title matches for the NCAA championship, he beat Missouri's Ben Askren to take first place honors.

However, it's been a difficult but eye opening experience for Pendleton while he tries out for the Olympic team. He has overcome adversity, adapted to his larger weight, and his outlook for his Olympic quest is positive and focused.

"I have traveled all over the world, and not one bit for sight seeing," he laughed. "I have given up a lot, slept in airports, went to Russia during minus 41 degrees, and then to Turkey where it's 110.

"After college, I was injured and wondered if this quest was worth it. But, I put things into perspective and realized that with about six months of putting my life on hold and six months of sacrifices, I thought it would be well worth it."

Pendleton will wrestle for the Olympic team June 12-15 in Las Vegas at the Olympic Trials. He said one winner of each weight class will be named to the Olympic team.

Wrestling in college at the 174-weight class, he found he would be pushed around by European wrestlers. He has since moved up to the 185-pound division (84 kilos on the European scale) and has worked on his body to become more competitive.

"I was pushed all over the mat," he said. "I shied away from some of my competition before realizing I had to rebuild my body and my style. I lifted weights, and got up to more than 200 pounds in weight.

"I felt like the smaller guy all of the time, since I wrestled 103s my first year in high school," he continued. "Once I bulked up, it made me more confident. They used to push me around but I realized I could push back and compete with anyone in the world."

He also said Americans wrestle for the takedown, and are more physical than the popular European style.

"The Americans are more aggressive and let it all out "Rocky" style," he said. "The Europeans like to slow down the pace of the match and make you think-like a chess match."

Pendleton said his quest to join the Olympic wrestling team has not been a spur of the moment decision.

"I was invited to be a training partner for the Olympic team after my junior year (and his first national championship)," he said. "When I was there, I was in awe-seeing the Olympians and how good they were, I wanted that for myself."

But the desire didn't stop there. Pendleton put things in motion to become a wrestler that may win a medal at the Summer Olympics in China, slated to begin August 8.

"The Olympics is a pure sport, and has been observed as some of the greatest athletic competition in the world for centuries," he said. "To be a part of that, to represent my friends, my family and my country would be an amazing, amazing experience. I could not stop thinking about it."

Pendleton started something in the family, as his brother Willy wrestled for LHS and placed fifth in state competition in 2006. Willy also recently placed third in the junior college nationals.

"I am very proud of what he has accomplished," Chris said. "He is very talented, but he is done wrestling. He may end up in Oklahoma too, but to study restaurant administration."

Jacob Pendleton, a freshman at LHS, is the biggest wrestler for his age among his brothers.

"Willy wrestled at the 140s as a senior, and now Jacob is the biggest of all of us at 152s as a freshman," Chris Pendleton said. "He is finding out about Coach Olsen's program and is learning a lot."

Chris Pendleton said he will fly his youngest brother to Oklahoma if his grades are good "to see the Olympic Training Center and see what it's like to have 15,000 people at a dual meet-it's a huge sport out here."

The 26-year-old former Lemoore resident is also fighting a possible Olympic boycott as China has been in the news recently.

"I don't want them (the politicians) to turn this into a political thing," Chris Pendleton said. "They can put a trade embargo on things made in China, but don't dash an athlete's dream by wanting to make a statement. I just hope they don't boycott the Olympics."

While Pendleton has traveled to many different points in the world, he will return to California next month to visit friends and family. This trip, however, will be an attempt to help raise funds for his quest to become an Olympian champion.

He said that Olsen has attempted to set up a fund to help pay for his quest as a lot of other wrestlers have sponsorships. If anyone is interested in helping donate to the local grappler's golden opportunity, write him at golden_wrestler@hotmail.com for more details.

He also says this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but could reap huge rewards.

"The Olympics will go on much further after I am done wrestling," he said. "I want to leave something behind and show what I have done. I want to leave a legacy. They will know what the Olympics are and that I was part of that -- an Olympic athlete, an Olympic champion -- and no one could ever take that away from me."

He is the son of Bill Pendleton of Fresno and Lisa Pendleton of Lemoore. Readers can keep track of Pendleton's success at themat.com.

(April 24, 2008)