For many people, the most significant contribution their junior high gym teacher made in their lives was making sure the dodge ball games didn't turn ugly, or perhaps some personal hygiene tips taught in health class.

But wrestler Tony Griffin admits that his teacher made a much greater impact.

"My Phys. Ed teacher in eighth grade . . . said that I should try out for the wrestling team. I was like, 'Yeah, whatever.' I didn't really want to do it," Griffin said.

But when he finally took her advice, Griffin's auspicious mat career had begun.

And now, with All-American Josh Robbins sidelined for the season due to academic problems, Griffin's career has taken an unexpected turn into the No. 1 spot at 158 pounds.

"I felt like I'd be in the lineup somewhere, regardless," he said. "(Robbins' ineligibility) kind of hurt, but I'm looking forward to the chance."

Robbins realizes that, although he cannot be out on the mat, the 158-pound class is safe in the hands of Griffin.

"He's so athletic, it takes him a lot of places," Robbins said. "It gets him to the victory stand a lot."

It was that phenomenal athleticism that took Griffin to the victory stand almost immediately after he began wrestling in junior high.

"I was a little bit awkward at first . . . and it was hard because a lot of the guys I faced early on had been wrestling since fourth grade," he said.

But he couldn't have been too awkward, as evidenced by the results of his eighth-grade season. He finished fourth in the Virginia Beach city tournament that year, and by then, his potential as a wrestler had become apparent.

"He was a person who, if he loved wrestling like it takes to be that good, had the capability to be a champion wrestler in high school," said Keith Lowrance, Griffin's coach at Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach.

In his junior and senior years, he exhibited that love of the sport, and went on to take consecutive state titles at 152.

Griffin admits that in high school he often simply overpowered opponents, a trend that stopped when he reached Penn State.

"Everyone you step on the mat with can be equal to you if you allow it," he said. "And the way you try to overcome that is to be physically aggressive, to not even let (your opponent) think there is a possibility of scoring a point or winning the match."

This explosive style has become a bit of a trademark for Griffin, which he makes abundantly clear to his adversaries on the mat.

"As soon as the ref blows the whistle, boom, banging on his head, moving him, controlling him, pummeling him, basically," Griffin said. "And then he's like, 'Oh God, this is going to be a fight.' "