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the USA Wrestling Junior and Cadet Nationals in Fargo, where he was a two-time runner-up in the freestyle competition and a three-time champion in the Greco-Roman competition. “It was great to be a part of a winning team. Most of the guys on the team were good, and we always had a few No. 1-ranked guys. While I was there, we were second in the nation my fresh- man year. We were then national champions my sophomore through senior years at Blair. It was a good atmosphere, because we were always pushing each other and we always had great leadership in the wrestling room,” said McKenna. Since his days at Blair, McKenna has made the jump straight from graduation onto the Senior scene. He is taking a year off before he transitions to collegiate wrestling by training and com- peting with the Senior freestylers here in the United States and abroad.
“It feels good to take a break. After the Junior Worlds last
year, it gave me a lot of confidence for my international wrestling,” he said. “My two previous international experiences weren’t that great. In 2012, when I was on the Cadet World Team, I broke my shoulder in the quarterfinals and could not complete the tournament. I guess you could say my first interna- tional experience was pretty traumatizing. Then, last May, I went to Turkey with the Junior World Team and I went 1-1. “Everything that had happened to me at international competi- tions made me pretty hungry to improve, and after Junior Worlds I figured that the best way for me to make the most gains in my wrestling was to wrestle the best guys at the Senior level.”
His next stop will be Stanford University in California, a world away from his home in Towaco, N.J. Although it’s a major change for him, he is encouraged by Stanford’s beautiful cam-
pus and their excellent academics. “I know it’s going to be a big change for me,” McKenna said. “My family has always been very close, very family-oriented, so it’s going to be different being on the opposite side of the coun- try from my parents. But I feel like I’m a person that does well with change. I think this experience will open my eyes and give me a bit of a different perspective.”
Although he plans to wrestle exclusively for his college team during the school year, his focus on freestyle will be maintained during the summers. His Senior freestyle career will have the opportunity to be aided by Stanford’s new Associate Head Wrestling Coach, 2004 Olympic silver medalist Jamill Kelly. “Having someone like that, someone who has been so suc- cessful in the international scene available to help me in my international career definitely makes me feel comfortable. It’s nice to know I’ll have someone I can go to for more experience and advice when I need to tweak my wrestling,” said McKenna. As for academics, McKenna is still deciding on what he will major in at Stanford. Although he is enjoying his current intern- ship with a construction company in New York City, he is still unsure about what his true interests are outside of wrestling. However, he does not consider his uncertainty to be an issue; in fact, he is optimistic that he will find his long-term passion through his time at Stanford.
“I would like to join the workforce at some point,” he said. “I love wrestling, but I think I want to do something other than coach wrestling for a living.” For now, he is looking forward to his days as an athlete. “I want to wrestle through the next one or two Olympic cycles,” McKenna said. “After that, I won’t be completely out of wrestling. I will try and stay involved, if I can. I don’t know how I couldn’t, this sport has been my love since I was 7 years old.”
31 USA Wrestler
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