BOILING HOT

COVID-19 ended up putting the brakes, historically on the 2020 NCAA Wrestling National Championships. That's right, back in March, just like March Madness, the NCAA national tournament was over before it started.

That fact was tough for wrestlers all around the country, including former Havre Blue Pony Parker Filius. The four-time Class A state champion had reached nationals as a red-shirt sophomore and was poised to wrestle on one off the sport's biggest stages.

And while that dream never happened, it by no means diminished the season Filius had on the mat for the Boilermakers.

At 141 pounds, Filius had an outstanding season for the Boilermakers, including a Top-8 finish at the Big Ten Championships last month, and, that finish vaulted Filius into the national tournament that ended up being canceled.

"When you win that match to punch your ticket to nationals, it's almost a feeling of relief," Filius said. "You've achieved a goal you've been working hard for, and that gives you the chance to go on and chase even bigger goals. So it felt really good. But at the same time, you have to turn around and wrestle again, and that next match was really important for seeding and getting ready for nationals, so you have to kind of move on pretty quick.

"But Big Ten was really fun," he added. "It's a really tough tournament, in one way it's just as tough as nationals. Guys that win the Big 10, they have a hell of a chance to win a national championship. So it's a fun tournament, every match, you test yourself against a great wrestler. When you do well at the Big Ten tournament, it confirms where you're at, and I felt like I competed pretty well there, so it was a lot of fun, and our team did really well, too."

Filius didn't just compete well at the prestigious Big Ten Championships, he did it all season long as Purdue's starting 141-pounder, going 19-10 overall. It was a big jump forward for the Blue Pony great after starting for the Boilermakers as a red-shirt freshman at 149 pounds. And while that first year in the lineup was a struggle, that season, along with a great summer, helped Filius gain what he says, was something very important.

"I had a lot more confidence on the mat this season," Filius said. "The weight class was better for me, and I had a better relationship with my coaches. And I made a few technical adjustments, but confidence was the biggest thing for me this season."

Confidence was big, but he also said, his offseason, and the mind-set of just getting better, played a big role in his march through the 2019-2020 season, which ultimately ended with him qualifying for the national tournament.

"I learned a lot last year," Filius said. "It was a struggle, but it basically came down to: Get tougher, get better, learn how to compete at this level, or quit. So that's what I did. I just worked hard, knowing I needed to get better."

A summer spent with the U23 USA World Freestyle Team was big for Filius, too. He finished seventh at 65 kilograms, but he said it was the training that pushed him to another level.

"With that team, we were training 10 to 12 times a week," Filius said. "The competition was tough, too, but the training, that was really good for me. We were really pushing ourselves every day, and I gained a lot of confidence through that summer."

That summer training helped propel Filius to a remarkable sophomore season for Purdue, and he is hoping that, this summer, he can train hard once again, but right now, all that is on hold, and that started with the day he and his Purdue teammates found out, with the rest of the country that, all NCAA championships were canceled for both winter and spring.

"It was a weird situation because, we had just finished our last really hard practice of the season," Filius said. "So you're already in a different place mentally at that point, and then we are told that nationals was canceled and not just postponed. So in that moment, it was really emotional for all of us. You had guys crying that you had never seen cry before. It was just an intense and emotional situation.

"It took a couple of days," he continued. "But then I was able to kind of put it all in perspective. You understand that everybody lost that same opportunity, and it sucks, but then you also realize, we wrestled 90 percent of our season. Spring sports, baseball, softball, track, all of those spring sports, they don't even get to have a season. So it really puts things in perspective, and then you also realize, sports is also what teaches you to deal with something like this. What we go through in sports, it actually helps us deal with this mentally, so I've just kind of tried to continue to keep it all in perspective, and just move forward."

Given how intelligent, how strong, and how mentally tough Filius is, it's no surprise he's been able to move past the disappointment of not getting to compete in the national tournament, which was set to be staged at famed U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis last month. But, he also admits, moving forward isn't easy because like so many athletes, his training regimen has been severely altered.

Currently, Filius is home in Havre, finishing his third year at Purdue online. And, with workout facilities all over the country still off limits, he's had to get creative in his training for next season.

"I'm hoping to go back to Purdue as soon as facilities are open, and get back together with the team, but no matter what, I'll be there in June because I have an internship that I start on June 1, so I'll get back there and start training there eventually," Filius said. "For now I've just been doing some running, some running hills, some footwork and position stuff n my driveway, I've got a few weights at home, too. It's weird, it's different, because you're used to training with your teammates, but at the same time, I've always thought your best work is in done in the dark, by yourself, and right now, that's where we all are. We're training alone, in our dark place, and you're going to get out of it how much you're motivated to put into it."

Oh, Parker Filius has never had any trouble with motivation. That's why he was a four-time state champion in high school, that's why he continues to be an honor student, and that's why he will continue to climb the ranks in his Purdue wrestling career. And, while a global pandemic may have presented a speed bump on Filius' rise in college wrestling, overcoming challenges have never been a problem either, and that's what he's doing in these times of uncertainty, and what he looks forward to doing on the mat next season.

"I've tasted some success," Filius said. "So now I want to be more consistent. This season, you saw glimpses of a guy who could be really good, but you also saw a guy that sometimes was not quite there yet.

"So no doubt, you're going to see me be even better on that mat, and I think it's going to be a fun season," he added. "My goals are really high. I want to win a Big Ten championship and a national championship. So I'm going to come back next season and give it everything I've got to try and accomplish those goals."