Mason finding balance to demanding life

Achieving balance between academics and extra-curricular activities is a challenge for any college student.

Now, try balancing the academic rigors of being a pre-med student … and as a starter at the collegiate wrestling program that has won more national titles than any other school in any sport.

Brandon Mason

That's Brandon Mason's daily balancing act.

The 165-pound senior for Oklahoma State has had more than his fair share of challenges on and off the mat, some resulting in triumph, some ending in frustration and disappointment.

Take the first few weeks of 2009, for example. Among the frustrations for Mason, ranked ninth by RevWrestling.com: Losing to five of the top six wrestlers in his weight class. Among the triumphs: Beating the second-ranked wrestler at 165 (at the time) … winning his 100th match as a Cowboy … and being accepted into medical school.

Acceptance

Brandon Mason recently learned he has been accepted into the Oklahoma State Medical School at Tulsa, realizing a long-time dream.

"I've wanted to go into medicine since high school," says the graduate of Lewis Central High School in Iowa, where he was teammates with Trent and Travis Paulson, All-Americans at Iowa State. "I always did well in the sciences."

"OSU-Tulsa was my first choice for med school," continues Mason. "I start classes in August, so there won't be much downtime after graduation here."

While most of his fellow seniors at Oklahoma State are getting ready to say goodbye to a long succession of classes, late-night study sessions, term papers and tests, Brandon Mason's academic career is not just continuing, but about to shift into overdrive. "At med school, I'll have four more years of school, then two years of residency."

When asked about the challenge of being a pre-med student and a starting wrestler on one of the all-time great college wrestling programs, Mason replies, "You've got to prioritize. It's all about time management. It's not easy; in fact, it's downright hard, but, if you want to do it, you can. Eric Tannenbaum did it. Other guys have done it."

"It's critical to the rest of my life."

In good company

Brandon Mason mentions Eric Tannenbaum, a two-time Big Ten champ and four-time All-American for the Wolverines who graduated in 2008 with a degree in neuroscience, and is now enrolled at the University of Michigan's Medical School.

Brandon Mason is ranked No. 9 in the country at 165 pounds by RevWrestling.com (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)

Mason and Tannenbaum are not alone. Over the years, a number of top college wrestlers have been drawn to the medical profession. C.P. Schlatter, J.P. O'Connor, and Jordan Leen are recent examples. Among the mat greats of the past, there's "Big" Bill Miller, a graduate of the Ohio State veterinary school who found time to win two Big Ten heavyweight titles for the Buckeyes in the early 1950s, and, from Oklahoma State, Stanley Henson, a three-time NCAA champ in the late 1930s who became a prominent surgeon and an early pioneer in sports medicine.

Along with Mason, others who are currently in pre-med programs include O'Connor, a biology major at Harvard who, according to a February 2008 Rev Gold profile for RevWrestling.com, plans to go into either orthopedics, or emergency medicine … and Leen, 2008 NCAA champ at 157 pounds who, according to his bio at the Cornell University Web site, is studying Nutritional Science at the College of Human Ecology.

C.P. Schlatter, Big Ten champ and All-American for the University of Minnesota, graduated from the "U" in 2008 with a degree in nursing … and landed a well-paying, full-time position as a registered nurse at the University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview.

Heavy class load

In addition to sharing an ambition to go into medicine, like these wrestlers, Brandon Mason is also a high achiever in the classroom. This was evidenced back in high school, where he was a member of the National Honor Society. At Oklahoma State, Mason has been a repeat Academic All-American. As the biological science and nutrition and exercise major puts it, "You have to have a 3.6 GPA to get into med school."

John Smith

In explaining the challenge of balancing a tough academic load with the demands of wrestling for the Cowboys, Mason says, "I've tried to train myself to studying smart. I strive to get eight hours of sleep each night … One hour before practice, I have an hour where I don't study, so I can clear my head and focus on wrestling."

In an interview published in January 2009, Oklahoma State head coach John Smith said, "He's got some neat things that he's getting ready to move into his life, and I think the key for him is to not move to those things too fast because this is something he's going to remember."

"I don't want any hangovers for him as he moves into his career after he finishes … He needs to hold onto his beliefs right now and be determined to stay focused on what he came here to accomplish."

Triumph and frustration on the mat

Brandon Mason has accomplished much in his five years as an Oklahoma State wrestler. His first year in Stillwater -- the 2004-2005 season -- he was 19-0 competing in open tournaments as a redshirt, snaring four tourney titles. He was unscored upon all season until his final tournament. The following season as a freshman, he posted a 24-13 record at 174 pounds, qualifying for the 2006 NCAAs as a Big 12 wild card selection, but did not place. As a sophomore, Mason had a 27-13 overall record, placing second at the 2007 Big 12 conference championships (losing in the 174 finals to Missouri's Ben Askren), and taking fifth place at the NCAAs, earning All-American honors.

During the 2007-2008 season, Brandon Mason built up a 29-7 overall record at 174 pounds, was again runner-up in the Big 12 conference finals (losing to Nebraska's Brandon Browne in the last ten seconds). He qualified for the 2008 NCAAs, but was upset in the second round by Boise State's Nathan Lee, then, after winning two consolation bracket bouts, was eliminated by Cornell's Steve Anceravage.

Brandon Mason was a 2007 All-American at 174 pounds (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)

This year, as a senior, Brandon Mason dropped down to 165, after wrestling three varsity seasons at 174. At the beginning of the season, Oklahoma State coach John Smith said of the move, "He will be able to make the move to 165 pounds work. He's committed to going down a weight. He's responsible and weight melts off him during the season."

As of this writing, Mason has compiled a 24-7 record, with five pins, five technical falls, and three major decisions. At the 2009 Virginia Duals in early January, the Iowa native notched his 100th college career win, joining an elite group of Cowboys such as Alan Fried, Johny Hendricks and Johnny Thompson who achieved this milestone under Coach Smith.

Along with these accomplishments, Brandon Mason has suffered frustrating losses to top-ranked opponents, including a 4-3 loss No. 19 Mike Galante of Lehigh at the Northeast Duals, falling 4-2 to No. 15 Edinboro's Jarrod King at the Reno Tournament of Champions, and a 5-3 loss to No. 11 Trevor Stewart of Central Michigan at the Virginia Duals. The dual-meet season of the past month or so has posed even more problems for Mason. He lost to No. 3 Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, 3-1 … was pinned by Iowa State's Jon Reader (ranked sixth) at 2:28 … then, in one week, suffered back-to-back losses to Nebraska's No. 5 Stephen Dwyer, 3-1, and Missouri's No. 4 Nick Marable, 3-2. Among the bright spots: shutting out seventh-ranked Moza Fay of Northern Iowa in the Panthers' home gym, and this past weekend, pinning Binghamton's Ryan McGarity at 4:30, and scoring a 17-0 technical fall over Wyoming's Alex Rieder at 4:48 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

"I've been putting on that orange singlet since the beginning of college," says Brandon Mason. "Every day in the practice room, you see the photos of the guys who've gone before you, all-time greats, guys I admire and have come to know, like Mike Sheets and Chris Pendleton. You know the program's heritage, its legacy of winning."

Considering that legacy, Oklahoma State's disappointing 14-7 dual-meet record, and setbacks in his own senior season, Mason says, "You can't help but feel the pressure." Then he quickly adds, "We will rise above it. We will surprise a lot of people at St Louis (for the 2009 NCAAs)."

After the Cowboys' decisive February 15 wins over Binghamton and University of Wyoming, Brandon Mason reinforced that optimism with this statement at the Oklahoma State wrestling Web site: "We're right there where we can achieve greatness. We just have to go out there and take it. You can't really say we're on a roll now. We need to go and continue to perform against OU and at Big 12 and then at Nationals."

From Council Bluffs to Stillwater, via Mongolia

So, how did a guy who was born in Iowa City and won three Iowa high school state titles at Lewis Central in Council Bluffs, become an Oklahoma State Cowboy? By way of the Far East …

"In high school, I was involved in Athletes in Action," says Brandon Mason. "We went to Mongolia after my sophomore year to compete. I met Kenny Monday and was very impressed with him in all aspects. He talked about how much he valued his career at Oklahoma State. (Monday was a three-time All-American, winning the 150-pound title for the Cowboys at the 1984 NCAAs. He later won the gold medal in freestyle at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and silver at the 1992 Barcelona Games.) I came to Stillwater and really loved it from the start."

Brandon Mason finished runner-up at this season's Reno Tournament of Champions to Edinboro's Jarrod King (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)

"However, I didn't make up my mind until actual recruitment year," Mason continues. "There was tons of pressure to stay in Iowa, including from my family in Cedar Rapids."

"I made the right decision. I have no regrets."

"I really like the small-town feel of Stillwater," says Mason. "I can drive cross town in five minutes. You can be out fishing or enjoying the outdoors within three miles of town."

"All that said, the reason I chose Oklahoma State was the depth of the coaching staff, coupled with the quality of the workout partners in the room."

Before the Cowboys …

Before coming to Stillwater -- and before winning those state titles in Iowa -- Brandon Mason got an early introduction to wrestling.

"Dad took me to a tournament at age five. He grew up in Cedar Rapids, wrestled in junior high. He was friends with guys like Jeff Kerber and Randy Lewis."

"I went out to wrestle in an old singlet and old tennis shoes. I liked it right from the start."

At Lewis Central, Brandon Mason compiled a near-flawless 195-2 record, bringing home three Iowa high school state championships. Among his high school highlights: Named Iowa Wrestler of the Year in 2004, won the Cadet freestyle national championship and was runner-up in Cadet Greco-Roman competition at the same event, and was an AAU national champion. However, for Mason, the one event that sticks out as being the most special beyond the three state titles was a dual meet with Omaha Skutt High School, across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs. "Both programs were top-ranked; we were ranked fourth in the country at the time," Mason recalls. "I wrestled Mitch Waite. Beat him in overtime in front of a crowd of 5,000."

Life off the mat

Ask Brandon Mason to describe his wrestling style, and he says, "I'm a hard-nosed grinder."

That tenacity seems to also be on display in the classroom, too, where he's earned multiple NWCA All-Academic and Big 12 first-team academic honors.

Yet, Brandon Mason has a life beyond the demands of wrestling and pre-med coursework. He's married to the former Brittany Hill, who is a third-grade teacher in Stillwater. "She ran track and cross country. We met in the dorms, and got married in 2006," says the Iowa native.

In his official Oklahoma State bio, Mason says his proudest moment so far is when he married Brittany.

"Being married helps me focus on wrestling and my studies," Mason adds. "I'm a 23-year-old guy. I don't have to worry about finding a girlfriend or the other distractions of dating."

Brandon Mason has been a repeat Academic All-American (Photo/Oklahoma State University Sports Information)

Brandon Mason describes himself as a small-town guy who truly appreciates whatever time he can spend outdoors, even if it's simply walking his two dogs, a timberwolf, and a yellow lab. "I love fishing. I always have. Bass fishing. Trout fishing with Newly McSpadden (Oklahoma State 174-pound senior starter). There are great places to fish right outside Stillwater."

"It's a great opportunity to get away, really relax."

Another favorite activity is grilling out -- "steaks, brisket, mushrooms," according to Mason. "Our team gets together once a week in the off-season. We grill out, hang out, relax, listen to country music, go fishing."

"It really helps strengthen the bonds with teammates."

Seems like Brandon Mason has found the right prescription to balancing all the demands of a very demanding life.

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