Sheridan to put USA singlet on for 3rd time

He didn’t celebrate. He expected to win.

When rising junior Luke Sheridan pinned William Baker June 23 at the Jr. World Team Trials in Stillwater, Okla., he didn’t feel the need for any celebration.

He knew that was just a small step toward his much larger goal.

Sheridan’s pin of Baker earned him a spot on the USA FILA World Championship team. He will represent the U.S. and compete for a world title at 185 pounds Aug. 13-18 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

“Celebrating isn’t too high on the list right now,” he said. “I’ll celebrate after the world championship. This was a very small step in a much bigger process for me.”

This will be Sheridan’s third time putting on the red, white and blue singlet.
 
Representing his country is one of the things Sheridan said drives him in his wrestling training.

He said representing his country has been his goal since he started wrestling.

“Each time it kind of makes me more excited because I know how important it is to wear that uniform,” he said. “It’s been my goal. It’s been my dream. It’s the reason I wake up every morning: to get to wear the USA singlet and represent our country.”

Sheridan had to defeat Baker twice to earn his spot this year. He won the first bout 8-2, but it was Baker’s takedown of him that motivated him and pushed him to not only win the first bout, but pin him early in the second.

“That was the first time I’ve gotten scored on at the USA in Greco in a couple of years,” Sheridan said. “That kind of lit a fire under my butt and I rattled off some points in the first one after that. Me and my coach talked about the second one and we had a good gameplan going in. I executed it perfectly, just the way we had talked about, and that’s why I got him pinned so quick.”

Last year Sheridan competed on the 21U World Championship team for the U.S.
He finished in the top 10, but it wasn’t the result he was looking for.

He’s looking forward to the opportunity to prove himself this year.

“Top 10 to a lot of people in the world is a great accomplishment and I’m not putting that down, but being a competitor and being an athlete, losing is losing,” Sheridan said. “I don’t care if it’s the league championship or the world championship.”

During his junior year of high school, he competed on the 18U World Championship team and finished fourth.

Sheridan served as a captain on last year’s 21U team. He said he will once again be a captain in August.

But he added that’s really just a title, noting all of the guys on the team are accomplished wrestlers in their own right.

He wrestled alongside two of his teammates last year on the 21U team. He said he’s looking forward to meeting up with those two guys and winning a world championship.

“We know what it’s going to take to get the title,” he said. “We’re extremely focused. We’re busting our butts. I feel like the three of us are going to be the leaders of this team for sure.”