Even before he starts his first routine, Wayne Cowden is frustrated.

"I get angry with myself before I compete," he said. "I psyche myself out, not in a negative way. I just go out there and do it for myself and if something goes wrong, I know who to blame.

"I was terrified about meets when I was little," he said. "I remember getting a few medals, which I was excited about, but I was really nervous about that stuff. Now I just get mad."

His new method works for him and the men's gymnastics team.

Last season, it took Cowden 11 weeks to score above a 55 in the all-around. This year, it took him a little under three hours.

In his first meet of this season, Cowden tied his 1989 season-high score of 55.25 and hasn't looked back since. Except for a 53.05 against Houston Baptist, Cowden has been at a 55 or better all season. He also recorded a career high 56.60 this year.

In a hypothetical meet in which all of Cowden's season-bests scores were combined, he would score a 56.80. Last season, his highest possible all-around score was a 56.05.

The difference between last season and this would seem to require hours upon hours of training. But Cowden's method is much more appealing.

"I took a mental break from gymnastics," he said. "I enjoyed the summer. I did a lot of strength and flexibility and a lot of basic training I should have.

"But I don't think any of that made the difference. I just finally put it together this season. I can't say what the key reason was."

"Finally" for Cowden is a matter of one year; he is only a sophomore.

Yet, despite his youth, he has become a leader for the Lions -- a squad with just one senior. And, Cowden has filled the spot left vacant by top all-arounder Adam Carton, who transferred before the season. At the time, it seemed like an impossible void to replace.

"I think Wayne goes out expecting to hit the routines," team captain Mark Sohn said. "Six hit routines for him is a 56, so you can't ask for much more. He handles the pressure perfectly. He knows what he has to do and just does it."

Growing up in Henrietta, N.Y., Cowden was surrounded by gymnastics and pressure to be the best. His father, Bill, a gymnast at Ithaca College, coached the Upstate Gymnastics Club long before his son considered the sport.

Although he no longer pulls the strings, the elder Cowden is still a strong influence on his son.

"Basically, he's the one that said, 'Here. Do it,' " Cowden said. "My dad's been with me all my life, competing with me out on the floor and underneath the event (for spotting). He's been right there. When he's in Rec Hall, I have things to show him The basic skills are not the only things Cowden has acquired from his father, however.

"The hereditary factor takes over also," Coach Karl Schier said. "I did not know his dad as a gymnast, but he must have been a strong man because Wayne is inherently very powerful. There are few gymnasts on the scene, if any, who are as sheer powerful. There are few gymnasts on the scene, if any, who are as sheer powerful as he is.

"His upper body is very, very strong. It's a source of jealousy for other gymnasts who watch him. He climbs up on the rings as an all-around man and just overwhelms other people with his sheer power."

Although rings is by far his best event, his marked improvement over the year even shows there. This season, Cowden has not scored below a 9.5 on the rings and tallied a career-high 9.75 in the second meet of the year. Last season, as a freshman, Cowden averaged 9.37 on that event.

But Cowden's finesse and strength, and as Schier pointed out, good looks, have not only been beneficial to the team. The crowd at Rec Hall has found a new star to cheer on each week.

"My secretary saw the meet with her family and small daughter," he said. "And she was enthralled with Wayne. And I would imagine she is not by herself because I can see how the fans respond to him. He's a great source of entertainment."

Despite the accolades, Cowden remains tough on himself. His ultimate goal this season is to score a 57 in the all-around. Even though he has been a mere .4 away from that goal, Cowden said he is behind because he spent too much time perfecting his early routines rather than adding difficulty to them.

In one respect, Cowden's fears are well-founded. He cannot afford complacency because he has someone in his own gym to push him along -- freshman Mike Masucci has been within tenths of him in the all around. Masucci's scores have ranged from 54.70 to 56.00.

"He does a lot of good stuff in the gym. We push each other," Cowden said. "Every meet you go to you're being pushed. It's never like 'Oh yeah, this one's in the bag.' Mike's always right there.

"He does a trick, I'll say, 'I can do that trick.' Instead of just holding off on it for a week or a month or a year, you do it now. You have to be your absolute best all the time and I don't mind that kind of competition. I need it. It keeps me going."

Provided Cowden gets his weakest event -- vaulting -- in order, Schier sees no reason why his young gymnast could not be competitive with the likes of Ohio State's Mike Racanelli, who finished third in last year's NCAAs and even NCAA champion Patrick Kirksey.

Cowden and Racanelli have already squared off once this year. Racanelli edged out Cowden for the all-around, 56.80-56.60.

"It's very encouraging to see Wayne come so close," Schier said. "It might be a little bit early this season at the NCAAs. One of the reasons is we have to add the Olympic compulsories for the competition. Wayne hasn't had too many meets where he's been into that situation.

"But, he ought to be one of the young comers in the all-around in the NCAAs for sure. Hopefully, in the next couple of years, he'll be right up there real high."

His teammates are also taking bets on Cowden's success.

"He's come a long way so fast," Karl Abraham said. "He's proved that he can be right up there in the rankings. This year is going to be a definite good year for him and a great boost."

Yet these expectations for the future as well as youth may prove problematic for Cowden. Burnout is constantly in the back of his mind, but Cowden uses his new attitude toward gymnastics to combat it.

"How do you stop it?" he said. "You get pissed. You get angry with yourself and just don't let that happen. People that allow that to happen are just content with what they're doing, they've met their goals and have no other ambitions.

"The way to get over that is to set new goals all of the time. And when you don't meet those goals, something's wrong. That's when you have to get angry with yourself and push for that extra little bit."