ROGERS — In wrestling and football, Edwin Santos has always been up to a challenge and the Rogers High senior accepted another one on Friday when he signed a national letter of intent to wrestle at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.
Northeastern is restarting its wrestling program next season after discontinuing the sport in 1993.
Santos overcame injury after injury to excel on the football field and he accepted the challenge of dropping down in weight classification this past wrestling season to record a second-place finish at the Class 5A-7A Wrestling Meet.
Joe Renfro has been on the job as the NEO wrestling coach for just over a month after leading Labette (Kansas) Junior College to a second straight national championship. Santos said one of the big reasons he chose the Miami, Okla. school is the relationship he built with the school’s new coach and the fact that the program will be in its first year.
Santos was the state runnerup at 182 this past season after finishing third at the state wrestling meet in the 195-pound category as a junior. He expects to drop down at least another weight class next season at NEO.
“I’m very excited about how he develops his programs,” Santos said. “I visited there a month ago, and when I meet him, I knew I needed to go there.”
Santos said he is already preparing for a higher level of competition.
“There will be a lot more intensity involved,” Santos said. “It’s going to be an every day thing, practicing and working out. I’m looking forward to that.”
Santos said he became convinced he could wrestle in college after dropping down to the 195 level following his sophomore season. Santos went from 32 takedowns his sophomore year to almost a 100 as a junior. He had a school record 236 takedowns this past season.
“I just dedicated myself to it,”Santos said. “I trained two hours every day during the summer, just drill, drill, drill. I also went to numerous camps. I worked out two times a day five days a week. I didn’t socialize, always wanted to work out late nights.
“I love dropping weight. I love competing.”
Mounties assistant football coach Mike Bush said he will remember Santos as being a fierce competitor.
“Edwin is very tough kid who played through shoulder pain from a shoulder injury,” Bush said. “But he never complained or asked to to be taken out. He is a competitor and tough kid that wants to compete and be successful.”