Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week -- Nathan Thaler: One tough cookie.

Barry Faulkner

One of Nathan Thaler’s most prized possessions is a T-shirt

inscribed with the words “I did it.”

But, his hard-earned Minnesota wrestling camp momento and two Pacific

Coast League individual titles aside, the Estancia High senior realizes

he hasn’t done anything yet.

The checklist he settled on heading into his final prep campaign began

with a CIF Southern Section Division IV title at 215 pounds, followed by

placing at the CIF Masters Meet and advancing to the State CIF

tournament.

After repeating as PCL champion last week, however, Thaler, ranked No.

2 in Orange County at his weight class by coaches, is poised to begin his

ultimate pursuit.

“I know I have a good shot at winning CIF,” the Daily Pilot Athlete of

the Week said. “And, now, it’s right there for me. I feel like a horse

walking behind a stick with a carrot tied to it. But I know it’s not

going to be easy.”

The easy way has never appealed to this 6-foot-2, four-year varsity

veteran, who got hooked on wrestling as a freshman at Newport Harbor

High. He transferred to Estancia after his sophomore year, when he was

third at Sea View League Finals and advanced to CIF.

Ever since that first season, which featured little success, Thaler

has devoted his summers to attending wrestling camps. Before his senior

year, he returned to the Minnesota camp renowned for its rigorous

regimen.

“It’s two weeks of hell,” recalled Thaler, who, after completing the

12-mile run on the final day, was awarded the aforementioned T-shirt that

goes to all of the camp’s “graduates.”

Despite being ill most of January, including a severe bout with the

flu that sapped his strength and wiped out most of his aerobic

conditioning, Thaler has compiled a 33-4 record, including the top prize

at Saturday’s Pacific Coast League Finals.

Now, beginning to regain his strength, he also received encouragement

from an unexpected source.

“I went out to dinner with my parents last week to a Chinese

restaurant and my fortune cookie said, ‘Now is the time for unfinished

business,’ ” he said.

“I believe that’s exactly what the CIF (Division IV meet Friday and

Saturday at Santa Margarita High) is about. “I just missed placing in CIF

last year. I was right there with guys who ended up qualifying for state

and that’s been my motivation all year long. I taped that fortune to my

(school) folder.”

In addition to work ethic, which drew praise from Estancia Co-Coach

Matt Atilano, Thaler has become a skilled technician, who is most

dangerous when on his feet.

“He’s really good at taking people down and taking them to their

back,” said Atilano, who cites killer instinct as one of Thaler’s few

weakness.

“I think that’s a fair criticism,” Thaler said of his frequent

unwillingness to finish off an overmatched opponent. “I like to feel a

guy out the first period and, sometimes, that might set the wrong tone.

When I eventually do attack, I’m very aggressive, but I think I need to

work on being more fired up at the start of the match.”

Thaler, who abandoned football after his freshman year, was captivated

by the blend of mental and physical challenges wrestling presents.

Benefiting from weight training, which he began in the eighth grade,

Thaler believes his strength, quickness and technique all serve him well.

Atilano noticed a marked improvement in Thaler’s technique, after he

returned from the Minnesota camp. But Thaler said his camp experience

taught him something much more important than a few new moves.

“The biggest thing I learned in Minnesota was what you need to do to

succeed,” he said. “They’re philosophy was, no matter how much work you

do, you’ve never done enough. I learned to push beyond my limits.”

Thaler may push himself to compete collegiately. But he’ll make that

decision after attending to some unfinished business the next few weeks.