Magrum receives prestigious award

Staff Reporter

Cody Magrum is no stranger to hard work. He is the first wrestler in Oak Harbor history to win three state champion titles, he is an instructor at the Oak Harbor junior high biddy wrestling camp, and he is a National Honors Society member. Now Cody is being rewarded for his years of work.

Cody has been awarded the David Schultz High School Excellence Award for the state of Ohio. This prestigious award is given by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in honor of Olympic Gold medallist Dave Schultz. One winner is chosen from each state.

The students are evaluated and chosen based on their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, character, citizenship, and community service. Each recipient's name will be placed on the wall at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

For the second year in a row, a private foundation provided a grant to allow the 50 state winners to be given the opportunity to attend an all-expense paid leadership camp at the United States Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The camp is hosted by USA Wrestling and offers a wide range of activities for the student-athletes. They offer presentations on sports psychology, strength and conditioning, nutrition, leadership development, and public speaking. In addition, national coaches and wrestler's will be giving instructional sessions. The camp runs from June 18 -21.

Cody hopes to learn more on the mental aspect of wrestling. "They will teach us to have different mind sets for certain situations," said Cody.

One condition of attending the camp is that, upon returning, the winners must speak to at-risk youth is their community. They will speak about the benefits of participating in extra-curricular activities such as athletics.

Cody received a full ride to Ohio State University. He is not set on a major, but is considering education.

This summer Cody will be a wrestling instructor for elementary through high school students across Ohio. He was asked by the Ohio Athletic Commission to be an instructor. Only six instructors were chosen in the whole state. Cody enjoys working with the younger wrestler's. "It's good for the kids," he said.

Besides teaching others, Cody will be practicing himself. He plans to travel to Florida for the Disney Duels Tournament, Fargo as part of a state selected team, and Detroit for the Junior Olympics.

Cody Magrum is working harder than ever. But the Oak Harbor community, who knows him well, expects nothing less.