For Michigan's Otto Olson, it's now or never.

After forging through as arduous a career as any collegiate athlete could go through, it all comes down to this season for Olson to reach his ultimate goal -- a national championship.

The 174-pound senior from Everett, Washington has been through everything during his stay in Ann Arbor. From being a two-time All-American to experiencing the sting of losing in the NCAA finals, from currently holding third place on the Wolverine's all-time wins list to suffering a devastating knee injury, Olson has been through it all. And now, in his sixth year as a Wolverine, he is ready to give it one more shot.

"I'd love to win the NCAA championship this year," said Olson, who will visit Rec Hall with his fellow Wolverines Friday night. "I'd also like to see our team pull through and win it. I think we can if just keep improving."

After a brilliant high school career in Washington, Olson, a three-time state champion who was recruited by almost every Big Ten school, narrowed his choices down to Michigan and Indiana. His decision reflected what kind of person he is.

"I took trips to both schools, one right after the other with Michigan being last," Olson said. "During my visit to Indiana, we went out and partied. On my trip to Michigan, we worked out. I wanted to go somewhere where wrestling and hard work was taken seriously."

Olson's career at Michigan started typically enough. He redshirted his first year, competing well in open tournaments. His first full season of action was also uneventful, as he placed eighth at the Big Ten Championships and failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

As a sophomore, however, Olson's career began to skyrocket. After a third-place finish at the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Olson traveled to The Bryce Jordan Center for the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Olson went on a roll, winning four straight matches en route to the finals, where he found himself paired with Penn State's Glenn Pritzlaff, who Olson had dominated only a month earlier in a dual meet.

However, this time Pritzlaff got the better of Olson, winning the match and the national championship, 10-4.

"Looking back on it now, its still disappointing," Olson said. "I woke up the next morning and dedicated myself to winning the national championship. I remember lifting weights in the hotel at Penn State that next morning. I started training to put myself back in that position."

The next season, Olson seemed to be closing in on his goal, wrestling tough throughout the fall semester. That January, at the Virginia Duals, Olson, who was ranked No. 1 at the time, suffered a severe knee injury during a match. Instead of defaulting and giving up six team points, Olson finished out the match, putting the good of his team ahead of the pain.

"When it happened, I knew it was pretty bad," Olson said. "It was hurting but I wanted to keep wrestling because the team score was close. After the match after resting for 20 or 30 minutes I tried to get up and walk it off and I just lost total control."

As it turned out, Olson had torn his medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral cruciate ligament (LCL).

Surgery was needed and Olson's season was over.

"As soon as we knew the extent of the injury, (head) coach (Joe) McFarland told me they would do whatever it took to help me rehab and gain another year of eligibility," Olson said.

The rehab was rigorous but Olson remained diligent. Motivation was not hard to find.

"My teammates, especially the underclassmen, offered a lot of support," Olson said. "Also, people from back home sent a lot of letters. There aren't too many wrestlers from my school, and I was kind of looked up to so they wanted me to keep going and get better."

The hardest part of the entire process for Olson was not being able to compete. Ask anyone in wrestling their impressions of Olson and the first thing they will say is that he's a competitor.

"He want's to win so much, he's in such good condition," Penn State wrestling coach Troy Sunderland said. "He'll go out against a more talented guy or a better athlete and he just pounds on them. You can see it in his eyes, he's desperate to win and that's what you need."

Sunderland's assistant, Dave Hart, echoes those sentiments.

"I can still picture him at Big Tens at Purdue the year he was out, riding a bike like a maniac. You could see it killed him not to be wrestling," Hart said.

What allows Olson to compete so hard is his conditioning, which is among the best in college wrestling.

"I wasn't born with the most athletic ability, so I make up for it in my conditioning," Olson said. "I go out on the mat and try to dominate. Good things happen when the only thing your opponent is thinking about is where his next breath is coming from."

Olson came back in 2001 to capture his first Big Ten championship, but again failed to claim the top prize nationally, placing third at the NCAA meet in Iowa City.

At the finish of his last match of the 2001 season, Olson did not know if he would wrestle for Michigan again. The only way he would ever represent Wolverines again would be if the NCAA granted a sixth year of eligibility.

Coach McFarland stayed true to his word and lobbied the NCAA for Olson's sixth year. Prior to this season, the NCAA gave Olson his wish and granted him a sixth year.

"It's a relief to compete again. It was killing me just to watch," Olson said.

Now there are less than two months left in Olson's collegiate wrestling journey. He is undefeated this year and has won 30 straight matches dating back to last season. He has won 162 matches at Michigan, good for third place in school history. The only thing that has eluded him is the national championship.

"Things were on track for me to win it but then I got hurt. It all comes down to this year," Olson said.

Although the national championship is Olson's goal, rating the success of his career on one tournament would be wrong. During Olson's career, Michigan wrestling has experienced a rebirth. The Wolverines, led by coach McFarland, have turned into a legitimate national contender, due in no small part to Olson.

"He's brought so much intensity to our program," McFarland said. "His work ethic is unbelievable, he passes it down to the younger guys. It's something we can sell to recruits. Otto has just been great for Michigan wrestling."