Mizzou Wrestler Drew Stanfield's Motivation: “I don't want to be easily forgotten”
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The idea and the motivation behind the words pushed him to continue his wrestling career beyond high school. For Missouri wrestling true freshman Drew Stanfield, his decision to compete collegiately came as an 'Ah-ha' moment rather than something he knew he always wanted to do.
"There were definitely times when I didn't enjoy wrestling as much," Stanfield said. "My freshman, sophomore year I was kind of ready to be done once I was out of high school."
That feeling changed when he thought of what he could accomplish in the future.
"There was a switch that flipped, going into my junior year, where I didn't want to be somebody who could have been really good or somebody [who's] forgotten," he said. "So, from [then on,] I focused on wrestling, developing and going to all the practices that I could."
After that decision, he went 43-2 his senior year and won the 2022 Missouri State Wrestling Championship at 132 pounds.
Stanfield began wrestling in the third grade when he went to his cousin's state tournament and saw him wrestle and win—being able to see someone compete and do well motivated him to try it out and begin his wrestling journey.
He had the support from his coaches, family and friends to be the best he could be.
"It takes a lot of sacrifice, especially for my parents," he said. "It [was] taking me to practice [and] to tournaments, paying for new shoes, whatever I needed. They were always there and supported me. [They cooked] meals for me whenever I [cut weight] so I'd have the things I needed [while] dieting and getting down."
Stanfield hails less than two hours from campus in Lee's Summit, Mo. Coming to Missouri was a no-brainer for him because of how close he would be to home.
"It takes a big support group to get to the point where you want to be," he said. "... It's nice being close to home. I love that my family's able to come to a lot of my meets."
Stanfield shares the same sentiment as many other Missouri wrestlers: The decision to join head coach Brian Smith was the "Tiger Style" motto he preaches on and off the mat to the entire program. The sentiment goes beyond the accolades and the success that a good program can bring.
"The coaching staff is top notch and they really care about you," he said.
Stanfield moved to Columbia in the summer of 2023 to begin training for the season, despite the chance that he might not step onto the mat at a dual for some time. Until Feb. 17, 2024, Stanfield only wrestled at open matches like the Soldier Salute in Coralville, Iowa.
In the meantime, he worked a lot individually with assistant coach] Dom Bradley, not only on his technique, but to "develop everything positioning wise." Together, they saw the changes over time, as Stanfield waited for his next chance.
"I've definitely grown a lot," he said. "Whenever I first got here, I was [losing] a lot [in practice,] which is pretty hard [to adjust to when] you go from being the best in your high school room to coming here, and you're not."
Stanfield stepped on the mat for the first time for Missouri at the dual against North Dakota State on Feb. 17, 2024. He went against NDSU redshirt freshman Fernando Barreto, who he defeated 12-5 to add to the Tiger's lead.
He competed for Missouri at 133 pounds to close the season at South Dakota State, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State. He dropped those three matches but came out on the mat with strong attacks against his opponents, ranked or not.
His reflection on the experience?
"It's definitely shown me that it's a lot different than the regular college opens I was going to," he said. "It's been a great experience getting to travel."
The traveling aspect of wrestling differs somewhat from other collegiate sports, as the starters are often the ones to go rather than the entire team. Stanfield said having the opportunity early in his collegiate career helped him connect in new ways, and was valuable.
"I feel like it's helped me bond with the coaches and my teammates more," he said. "It also showed me that I do have the capability to compete with the guys that are ranked in the nation."
However, he does recognize that while anyone can step on the mat and compete, it's the self-work that allows athletes to get on the podium.
"It's more of believing in myself and believing that I can do it, and my coaches have really helped me start to believe that more," he said. "It was a really great experience, and I'm really happy that it happened, happy that I was able to compete."
Stanfield's approach to the mat for Missouri was less defensive and cost him during his matches. He left space open in his legs, making it easier for opponents to attack him repeatedly, and he struggled to get up from the bottom, whether at the beginning of a period or after a takedown. It gave other wrestlers the opportunity to accumulate riding time advantage over him.
Stanfield said while he was thrown into it during the NDSU weekend when the Tigers were shorthanded, he was able to prepare in some ways. It included tweaking what worked and what did not after a match, especially in the short time between two dual weekends.
"[I started working on] the bottom with Dom after we got back from NDSU and South Dakota State," he said. "I have all the right tools to get up off the bottom, but it's the mentality that I'm going to get up."
He likens that struggle to a saying one of his youth coaches once told him: "'It's like you're underwater, and you have to save yourself from drowning,'" he said. Stanfield elaborated, "I've been working on that a lot, my head and hand positioning, from a neutral position."
Although Stanfield will not be at this weekend's 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship in Tulsa, Okla., he's ready to put his motto into action. He wants to be the guy on the podium remembered for doing something significant rather than wrestling his whole career without getting accolades. He doesn't want to waste the opportunity at Missouri for what could have been when he walks across a few years from now.
"I don't want to be somebody who is easily forgotten," Stanfield said. "My goal is to be an All-American, a national champion, on the board where I'm always remembered for something. I try [to] remind myself every day that this is a great opportunity and to use all the tools that I have."
For younger wrestlers, Stanfield, who is studying finance and investment banking, but might get into coaching someday, suggests continuing working, learning and finding ways to improve, even when you might feel like you are the best in your weight class.
"Take every opportunity that you can," he said. "Whenever I was in high school and started getting very serious about it, I developed the most whenever I was going to the different clubs. I wrestled as much as I could because I was [learning] different techniques and fields from so many different people that it helped me develop my game."
But his biggest piece of advice may be something that he's heard from Missouri's veterans, many of whom are closing in on the end of their careers, while Stanfield's is just getting going: Remind yourself to have fun and do it for yourself, not for others.
"At the end of the day, it's a game that we get to play," he said. "It's easy to stress about it and get nervous … It's something that you get to do, not something that you have to do. So why look at it in a negative light when it really is a positive thing that you get to do this, and you get to go to compete, and you get to do what you love every single day."
