It might have been easy to sit back and enjoy the ride after claiming the school's first state wrestling championship in 12 years.
But Douglas High's Shane Miller has been doing anything but taking it easy.
Miller, the 189-pound sensation who piled up a near-flawless 50-1 record in his senior season, has been working four days a week with Carson High head coach Casey Schweitzer in preparation for next week's National High School Coaches Association High School Senior National Wrestling Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa.
"Shane is just a super kid," Schweitzer said. "He's very coachable and he soaks things up like a sponge. You show him something once and it sticks. He is just such a smart wrestler."
Miller will be joined in representing Nevada at the championships by fellow Northern Nevada power Riley Orozco, of Fallon, who captured the state title in the 171-pound division.
In order to qualify for the national tournament, wrestlers must have won their respective state title or finished as a runner-up. Many of the top college coaches in the country will be in attendance at the tournament.
"Shane has shown a lot of improvement over the last few weeks," Schweitzer said. "It's always a challenge to maintain that level of intensity a wrestler gets with his high school program, but he has done a real good job of keeping it up.
"He was an outstanding high school wrestler, but we've been going over some techniques and some positioning. Really, just re-evaluating his game and refining it. Everyone at nationals is good and every match is close. We've been going over a lot of strategies and how to handle the higher-pressure."
Schweitzer began working with wrestlers from around the north this season in hopes of creating a deeper talent pool across the board.
"We wanted guys from Galena, Fallon, Douglas, Damonte Ranch and Dayton to come out with us once or twice a week and keep working out in the spring," Schweitzer said. "The philosophy is, for those guys who are die-hard wrestlers, everyone who keeps coming will get a lot better, simply by working out with the best guys in the area."
Among those working with Miller and Orozco is Galena state champ Nick Williams.
"You get these type of guys, they're all good wrestlers, you just have to come in knowing that your ego gets checked at the door," Schweitzer said. "You have to be open-minded and open to dissecting your own style in order to get better. You won't get better if you're just trying to protect what you already have.
"Shane has been incredibly open-minded. He gets right in there and works on everything I point out to him. It's a lot of fun to work with this group."
Miller begins competing March 24 in Pittsburgh.
Anyone interested in working out with Schweitzer during the offseason can show up to workouts at 200 Bath Street in Carson City on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m.
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
