The addages of hunger and drive are thrown around in sports frequently. But they’ve never meant more in Carson Rowland’s life than they have this season.

“I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t win that,” Rowland said of Saturday’s victory. “That was my whole mindset for the whole season, like I needed to win.”

Rowland finishes his prep wrestling career as Chatfield’s first two-time state champion since 2015 when Hank Friederichs did the same before.

“Well, he always like, like, kind of acted like an older brother to me at times,” Rowland said, praising Friederichs as a role model. “And there’d be like section matches where he’d like, let me sit by him and stuff like that. Like, that was really, really meaningful to me.”

But the senior battled more than his in-ring opponent in the ring. He admits he was his own worst enemy, often feeling he simply didn’t have it.

“I was struggling with serious, like, super bad nerves, and I was holding back with everything,” Rowland reflected. There’d be times at tournaments where I wouldn’t even, like, take a shot.”

“We confronted that multiple times throughout the season,” head coach Matt Mauseth added. And Carson, I think, really identified with being a leader of our program. I mean, he want to do everything he could to make sure that he lived up to that role.”

By winning his second-straight title, it was proving to himself that he could. And that he could still find the thrill and joy in wrestling. What better way than reaching the summit one final time?

“Your time is limited here, and one day it’s all going to be over,” Rowland concluded. “And you just got to remind yourself of that and just go give it everything. You got to have fun with it and enjoy it. And every day give 100%, even if you’re 100%, isn’t a half percent.”