For Penn State wrestler Marat Tomaev, life must feel like running up a hill while everyone else is running on a level track.

The redshirt freshman expends more time and effort than most of his peers, but is still waiting for the results he desires.

On the mat, it is because of the injury bug that has beset Tomaev since his senior year at Blair Academy in New Jersey. He had come to Blair in his sophomore year in high school from his native town of Vladikavkaz, Russia, where he had won a Russian junior national championship in freestyle wrestling.

Despite having to change from freestyle to the slightly more controlled collegiate style wrestling, he claimed two National Prep Championships, and had a 124-12 prep record before breaking his leg in a dual meet in his senior year.

The leg was healed enough for him to wrestle in the Edinboro Open in his first year at Penn State, which he won with five straight wins. However, his season would soon be over with a Posterior Collateral Ligament tear in his knee in practice.

Tomaev still has a plate in his leg from the first injury, and he still has not fully recovered from the knee problems.

"It's been frustrating," he said. "When you break something, you work so hard to get back and you tear something else. I haven't wrestled a full season for three years. I've had to work constantly to get back my style, and to make my legs stronger."

Tomaev is finally back in the lineup. He began the season weighing in at 141 pounds, and a backup to starter Nate Parker, but cut weight to get the 133-pound starting spot when sophomore Scott Moore had season-ending shoulder surgery.

"It's real nice to be back," Tomaev said. "It's good to be wrestling again. I'm just looking to put it all together. It's going to take some time to be back where I want to be, and there are a lot of things I need to work on."

He is 13-9 thus far this season, with a 7-7 dual meet record, that includes wins over Hofstra's then No. 4 ranked Roman Fleszar at the Cliff Keen/National Wrestling Coaches' Association National Duals, and Ohio State's Jeff Ratliff, then ranked No. 19.

Though Tomaev hasn't been pleased with his own progress, his coaches recognize his work ethic and are pleased with his improvement.

"He's intensely competitve," coach Troy Sunderland said. "He's set his goals, and he wants the Penn State fans to know that he's capable of making a serious contribution to this program."

"He's continued to improve since he started this season. He's had some disappointments, but he's got a great future here."

Tomaev has had to face similar challenges academically. He puts a lot of value on academics, and came to the United States for the sole purpose of attaining a better education than he could get in Russia. He got his break when his Russian national team was wrestling an American squad coached by Lehigh coach Greg Stroebel. Tomeav's coach spoke to him, and through that connection Tomaev was able to come to the U.S. and enroll at Blair Academy.

"I was thinking that I won't wrestle for my whole life," he said. "I have to settle down once its over and get a job, especially in Russia, which is a newly democratic country, it is very important to have an education.

Getting that education required a lot more from Tomaev than his peers. When he came to the United States, he didn't speak a word of English. In order for his wrestling coach to communicate to him the differences between the freestyle rules he was used to and the collegiate style, Marat Vidorchi, a fellow Russian immigrant, had to be his interpreter. He would become bored with classes, because he couldn't understand the teacher's words. The determined Tomaev put a lot of work into learning the language, and said he felt he was fluent in it to some extent after two-and-a-half years.

"I worked very hard," he said. "I would be walking around with a dictionary all of the time."

He still speaks with a relatively thick Russian accent, and he says that he still has trouble reading English at times.

"I probably read every sentence two or three times before I understand it completely," Tomaev said. "Especially in subjects like biology, and accounting."

A business major, Tomaev puts all of his free time into his studies, and despite his work ethic, he carries a modest 2.4 grade point average.

"He has to work twice as hard as everyone else," Penn State coaching assistant Ross Thatcher said. "He puts just as much into his academics as his wrestling."

Tomaev is undaunted, and though the results haven't been what he hoped for.

"I definitely think I put a lot more time in compared to American students," he said. "But I'm not complaining. I told myself I would do anything it takes to get an education, and I will do that."