Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Michael Snyder

Tony Altobelli

It was the best birthday present Michael Snyder could have given

his father.

On his dad’s b-day, the Newport Harbor High senior ripped through the

pack of the Estancia Wrestling Classic and captured the title in the

189-pound class last weekend.

“I didn’t even say ‘That was for you,’ or anything like that,” Snyder

said. “But he told me afterward that it was the best present he ever got,

so that made me feel real good.”

In the 32-team tournament, Snyder won all five of his matches, including

two by pin and one by a major decision (six points or higher).

His second pin came in the championship match against Valencia High’s Bob

Davis, ranked No. 4 in Orange County in the 189-pound class.

Snyder pinned Davis at 5:15 of the match, giving him the tourney title

for his weight class. It was the only pin of the finals in any division.

With the win, Snyder is now ranked No. 4 in Orange County.”He just took

it right to him,” Coach Dominic Bulone said. “His head was in the right

place and it was just a great, hard-nosed match.

Even though his finals win was solid, Snyder looks at his semifinal match

against two-time Arizona state finalist Jimbo Armstrong of Payson High as

his most focused.

“I had no distractions and no obstacles,” Snyder said. “My mind was

totally clear. I knew his moves and I was determined to win.”

And win he did, with a convincing 9-3 thumping of Armstrong.

“Michael had great composure and great technique in the semifinals,”

Bulone said. “I think Michael had an experience edge over Armstrong and

he controlled the match right from the opening.”

Not too shabby for an athlete who, in his freshman year, was introduced

to wrestling rather harshly.

“My very first day of practice, I didn’t have any practice stuff, so I

had to wrestle in my school clothes,” Snyder said. “I still remember

riding my bike home and crying.”

Shaken, but not beaten, Snyder was determined to work hard and be a

success in the sport.

“It was tough, but I learned a lot about myself during this period,”

Snyder said. “You learn a lot about mental discipline in wrestling and

I’ve been able to carry that into everything I do.”

That mental toughness, according to Bulone, is Snyder’s strongest weapon

on the mat.

“He makes very few mistakes out there and he capitalizes on his

opponent’s mistakes,” Bulone said. “He’s very confident and with his

experience, there isn’t much out there he hasn’t seen.”

Now in his fourth year at the varsity level, Snyder sees bigger and

better things ahead of him in his final year at Newport.

“I would like to see myself place in the state finals,” Snyder said.

“Right now, I believe I’m on the right track to do so.”

Bulone likes Snyder’s chances in that goal, and sees even higher

mountains for him to climb after high school.

“I think Michael has the ability to compete at the next level,” Bulone

said. “He just needs to fine tune what he already knows. He’s the type of

athlete who could move on and do even more at the next level than what

he’s done in high school.”

When he’s not pinning wrestlers to the mat, Snyder enjoys working on cars

and has a couple in the works.

“I’m fixing up a 1965 Comet and a 1962 Nova station wagon,” Snyder said.

“The Comet was totally destroyed when I got a hold of it, but It’s

looking much better than it was.”

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