Grappling with style

Flashy freshman wrestler wows the masses

When freshman Jamarr Billman steps onto the mat, he wants to do something flashy, something that will surprise, or even shock, anyone who is watching. He loves to hear the roar of the crowd, and he's found the best way to make that happen is to do something spectacular.

Billman's flashy style has enabled him to accomplish great things during his first season at Penn State. The 142-pounder is 20-3 on the year, and his dual meet record of 12-2 leads the Nittany Lions.

Billman usually conquers opponents -- and thrills crowds -- with his cat-like speed and agility.

"Jamarr is blessed with a great amount of speed," Penn State coach John Fritz said. "And he's got a little bit of a mean streak in him. He wants to dominate, and he won't be intimidated."

So far, Billman, who won his first 12 collegiate matches, has been the one doing the intimidating. He is currently ranked No. 7 in the nation, and his only losses came against opponents ranked in the top four.

"Anytime you have a true freshman compete at this level it's special," Fritz said. "I've seen a lot of great wrestlers in high school and when they get here it's like, 'Hello, college.'

"Not everyone adjusts right away to college. But when Jamarr came here he told us, 'Hey, I'm ready to wrestle now.' He has always had a great deal of confidence in himself, and that's allowed him to be very successful."

Billman has adjusted quite well to college, and the fact that he wrestled at one of the best high school programs in the nation may be one of the reasons.

Billman captured two Pennsylvania state championships at Easton High School, where he learned what it's like to compete for a wrestling powerhouse.

"Easton has a great wrestling tradition just like Penn State has a great wrestling tradition," he said. "I'm proud to say I wrestled at Easton, just like I'm proud to say I wrestle at Penn State."

Because Billman has achieved so much success at such a young age, he's 19, one might think his life is consumed by wrestling.

This is hardly the case.

He is just as proud of his accomplishments in the classroom as he is of accomplishments on the mat. Last semester, Billman, a business major, recorded a 3.08 grade point average, a statistic as dear to him as his No. 7 ranking.

He credits his father, Dwayne Thornton, for teaching him the importance of getting a good education.

"Academics are very important to me," Billman said, "and that's because my father instilled that in me.

"Whenever someone comes up to my dad and says, 'How's Jamarr doing at Penn State?' he doesn't even talk about wrestling. He says, 'Jamarr's doing great, he got a 3.08 last semester.' "

Thornton said he would like to see Billman get a 3.5 grade point average this semester.

"I told Jamarr he better make dean's list this semester," Thornton said. "That's more important to me."

Thornton has molded Billman into the kind of person, and the kind of wrestler, he is today.

"He's not just my dad, he's also my best friend," Billman said. "We do everything together, he's always there for me."

Ever since Billman started wrestling at age 10, Thornton would run, lift weights and wrestle with his son.

"We do just about anything when we train," Thornton said. "Sometimes he'd come home and we'd wrestle right there on the kitchen floor."

Thornton said Billman has always enjoyed displaying a little flash when he wrestles.

"Jamarr has always liked to be the center of attention," he said. "I think he wrestles better when there's a big crowd. He doesn't like to lose and I think he wants to prove to everyone that he's one of the elite."

Billman may be destined to become one of the elite wrestlers in Penn State history. To put Billman's accomplishments in perspective, Kerry McCoy, two-time national champion and one of the legends of Penn State wrestling, went 19-17 during his freshman year. Billman said he has endured some playful ribbing from McCoy, who is now an assistant coach for Penn State.

"Yeah, he likes to tease me about that," Billman said. "He likes to remind me that not all freshman have done that well. But it really encourages me. It builds my confidence and makes me want to work harder."

Before he graduates from Penn State, Billman has one goal, to win a national championship.

"I think that's everybody's goal, to win a national championship," he said. "If that's not their goal, I don't know why they're even wrestling."

Billman's dream is to win a national championship, and he hopes his flashy moves will enable him to make that dream a reality. Whether he accomplishes this goal remains to be seen, but as long as Billman continues to wrestle, anyone who watches him in action will witness an exciting show.

"He's definitely a crowd pleaser. He's just fun to watch," Fritz said. "If everyone wrestled like him, I don't think there would be enough seats in the gym."