TOM NGUYEN`S world doesn`t begin or end on the wrestling mat.
The Glenbard South junior rarely loses–only five times in 71 matches
–but even at age 17 he realizes that in the grand scheme of things, winning at sports isn`t a matter of life and death.
He learned about matters of life and death when he was just 7 years old. Nguyen, his mother, two sisters and brother fled Vietnam as Saigon fell. His father, a colonel in the South Vietnamese army, stayed behind.
Nguyen (who pronounces his name ”like win with a soft G”) and his family left Saigon in a helicopter in a scene not unlike those seen on television in the last days before the city fell. They spent weeks on a cargo ship, only to be refused entrance to the Philippines, before gaining entry into the United States.
”WE HAD IT easy compared to other people,” said Nguyen, one of the top- rated 98-pounders in the state this season. ”My mother worked for an American, so it was easier. We had to escape from the country. It was frightening at first. I never got an answer to where we were going. When I did, I thought it was neat to go to America. It was a dreamland.
”My father stayed behind. He didn`t feel he could leave. It has been hard on my mother. Most of the time he wasn`t with us because of the war. We`ve only heard from him twice. I don`t know what he`s doing. He was in a prisoner-of-war camp. I wish he could come here, but that`s almost
impossible.”
Nguyen`s family spent two years living with sponsors in Minnesota before moving to Chicago`s western suburbs, where his mother owns an oriental food store.
Before moving to Glen Ellyn, the family lived in Wheaton. There he came into contact with wrestling as a 7th-grader at Franklin Junior High. Unlike many refugees from Southeast Asia, Nguyen had little trouble adjusting to the concept of extracurricular activities. He wasn`t that excited by wrestling, actually, but he liked being with his friends.
”I`m more outgoing than most Vietnamese kids,” said Nguyen, who is 13-0 this season and got off to a 20-0 start last year. ”The other guys went out, so I went out. I was just going out to be with them. After I started winning, I liked it a lot more. I liked the feeling of winning all by myself.”
NGUYEN`S STYLE is unusual. He`s not a brute, with muscles ripping through his warmup jacket. He won`t risk popping someone`s arm out of the socket just to get a pin, and he won`t pound on his opponent just to pound. He`s a finesse wrestler.
Knee surgery last season has slowed him down a bit, as has a sprained ankle he sustained in the finals of the Hoffman Estates Invitational last month.
”He`s very smooth, elegant,” said Glenbard South coach Rod Peterson.
”It`s a real pleasure to see him. The kids call him `Flash.` He`s got tremendous balance. You don`t know where he`s coming from, he changes direction so quickly.”
HIS STYLE off the mat is just as smooth. His personality has won over even opposing fans. He takes a genuine interest in meeting and greeting opponents.
”I notice that a lot of guys try to hurt you, and that bothers me,” he said. ”I usually talk to the guys I wrestle to relieve the pressure on both of us. They are usually scared of me or want to hurt me. I just want to relieve the tension a little.
”I`ve been getting a lot of attention since my freshman year, and it`s helped me a lot. In my match with Sam Geraci (of Lake Park) in the Hoffman Estates finals, I really think the crowd helped me win.
”But there are so many other things in life,” he said, ”than to go out and wrestle and win a match.”
