When Shawn Nelson began wrestling in fourth grade, it wasn't exactly love at first sight.

"I tried wrestling in a couple tournaments, and I did really bad," he said. "So I said, 'This sport sucks.' I hated it."

But Nelson's competitive spirit would not allow him to quit. He joined a youth wrestling team in fifth grade and began to learn the sport. He was a quick study, going undefeated in his first season. Needless to say, that changed his outlook a little.

"I happened to have a good year, and I said, 'Hey, I like this sport,' " he said. "Ever since then, I stuck with it."

This season, Nelson was No. 4 in the country at 118 pounds. He figured to be a major factor at both the Big Tens this weekend in Iowa City, Iowa, and at the NCAAs. But on Jan. 22, at the National Team Duals in Lincoln, Neb., he was felled by a knee injury, and has not wrestled since. It would be understandable for Nelson to be disappointed in the way his season worked out. It might even be reasonable for him to say that it "sucks."

But the competitiveness that would not let Nelson quit in fourth grade is the same quality that stops him from complaining about his plight, and allows him to focus intensely on the matches left to wrestle.

"It's been an up-and-down season, but I think my chances (in the post-season) are just as good as if I was wrestling," he said. "Our practice room is one of the toughest rooms there is. We wrestle every day, and so if I can wrestle those guys, I can wrestle anyone in the country."

In the practice room, Nelson, as a senior, has responsibilities in addition to rehabilitating his knee and working on his game. Nelson's younger teammates look to him for leadership, a role he cannot claim for himself.

"When you're a leader, you lead by example," he said. "I can't say that I am. You'd have to hear it from the other guys on the team."

"I'd definitely consider him a team leader," fellow 118-pounder Michael Brennan said. "He's always been a motivator for the younger guys. During practice, he always makes you work hard . . . and he's doing it so you can become better."

Nelson will now have an excellent opportunity to teach his younger teammates something about post-season wrestling when he makes his return at the Big Ten Championships.

"I want to prove something to everybody," he said. "I haven't had the greatest luck throughout the years, but I'd like to say, you know, 'Back in your face' to the other guys."