Q&A with Patrick Downey III

On Tuesday night at the home of his grandparents in Linthicum, Glen Burnie Patch caught up to 's Patrick Downey III who, just last month, was allowed to return to the Glen Burnie high school after prosecutors dropped criminal charges against the two-time Maryland state wrestling titlist.

The move was made by Anne Arundel County public school administrators after the Maryland state's attorney elected not to pursue a case of second-degree assault, robbery and theft in relation to a September incident.

by a fourth North County student of not paying for a small bag of marijuana and then driving away while the 16-year-old dealer was attempting to get back into the car. But inconsistencies in the victim's statements led to the case being thrown out.

The incident, nevertheless, abruptly ended the 18-year-old's football season as a quarterback, relegated him to home-schooling and cost the him his senior wrestling campaign due to being declared ineligible for extracurricular activities by county officials.

Two separate charges still are pending for a scheduled May 5 trial in Baltimore against Downey, who faces first-degree assault for a November 2009 confrontation in a parking lot at M&T Bank Stadium and another incident in June 2010 at an 18-and-over club on Guilford Avenue.

Downey went 35-0 and 34-0 as a sophomore and junior at Loch Raven and North County, capturing Class 2A-1A and Class 4A-3A championships at 160- and 171-pounds, respectively.

After being ruled athletically ineligible in the fall, Downey and his father, Patrick Downey Jr., moved to Orlando, FL, where he attended five-time state titlist Oviedo High in the hopes of wrestling there. But that state's high school athletic association also ruled against Patrick Downey III's athletic participation due to the criminal charges, despite four separate appeals.

Patrick Downey II trained with Oviedo, nevertheless, and won last month's 189-pound title at the Senior National Wrestling Championship in Virginia Beach.

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Patch: What lessons have you learned?

Patrick Downey III: The lesson learned was that you can't look at your life as if you're some average, normal person. You have to be above what all of the average athletes are doing and be aware of what you're doing and where you're going. That's my main lesson.

You've got to know that you're living your life for bigger things. It's definitely not always fair, but that's what you've got to deal with. You're a public example. You're a public figure. So it only makes sense that you're going to made an example of if you're someone who has a lot of attention on you and you do something wrong.

That's just how it has to be done. They have to show the world that, 'Look, you can't do something like this.'

Patch: Are you angry at yourself at all?

PD: I mean, certainly, in thinking about it. It was a dumb reason to be in that situation. It was so pointless that I had to go through all of that. I was mad at myself. But it made me train harder.

At times, though, I guess that I felt like I was being picked on because of the fact that, being a high-profile athlete, I guess that I felt like your average person wouldn't necessarily have gotten the treatment that I got.

I was just mad at the world for a while, I guess. I think that that's what motivated me toward winning the national title. I sort of had a chip on my shoulder for everybody. Except if you were one of my closest friends. Otherwise, I didn't really want to talk to you. I was standoffish toward everybody.

I was a little snappy with you. I was aggravated. It was sort of a personality change.

Patch: What was the lowest point for you during this entire ordeal?

PD: That was really when I got ruled ineligible for the last time down in Florida. I realized that I wasn't going to have any type of senior high school season at all. That was really hard to take. I remember that feeling. It was sad. I was with my dad in our house down there where we were living.

In Oviedo, FL, about a mile down from Oviedo High School. We had all of these meetings and hearings that ruled on my eligibility. Ineligible. Ineligible. They kept on saying that. Ineligible. We kept on appealing that decision and taking it up. Finally, we took it as high as it could go.

But we lost the battle, and I didn't get ruled eligible for my high school season. Like I said, that was a sad night.

Patch: What kept you going?

PD: Well, the whole time, I knew that I was allowed to compete in the National High School Championships. [Oviedo] Coach J.D. Robbins told me that they couldn't keep me out of that national tournament. So that drove me. Coach Robbins assured me that they couldn't keep me out. Still, it was kind of a sad night.

But I woke up the next day, got back into training. We just got back after it and went back into training.

Patch: What sort of training?

PD: We were doing two-a-days. Wrestling every day. It was hard not having any other reason to work out. Working out and practicing for what seemed like no reason.

But I just had to keep telling myself that I was training for a national title, and that's what I did.

But that was harder than you can imagine, just because I've never wrestled and practiced every day for no immediate reason. Usually, during the middle of the week or at the end of the week, I always had somebody to beat up on in a real match or something like that. You always had some competition that you were getting ready for.

But this time, I didn't have anything at the end of that day or at the end of that week. I didn't have that for months.

Patch: So who were you practicing with?

PD: There was a lot of really good guys at Oviedo. They were state champions in Florida for five straight years. They had Geordan Speiller, who was the 160-pound FloNationals champion. The had Lee Wildes, who was an All-American.

You had Doug Vollaro, a heavyweight who is ranked third in the country and who is a double-Fargo champ. I had Carlos Martinez, who was a big 215-pounder and a tough kid who works hard, never stops going.

Plus Coach Robbins had tons of guys that he has coached that are in Division I colleges right now. He would always have them coming back and beating up on us. You never know who would be in there when you would go in there.

He could have a guy from Oklahoma State waiting to beat up on you. It was just a really good room. You couldn't find a better room to get you ready. I would have had literally no practice partners had I stayed in Maryland.

In addition to practice, every day I had to be up every morning before school, lifting for their special workout day with [Assistant] Coach Tony Velez, who was their personal trainer and a Golden Gloves boxer. He was just a maniac at getting guys into shape. That's his part. That was the job that he was given by Coach Robbins.

It wasn't just like going in there and everybody doing whatever you wanted to do. You had 18 guys working out, and there were 18 circuits. You were getting stronger and your muscles were building muscle endurance. That was one main thing that I felt the difference in wrestling in the nationals.

At nationals, it stayed at that strength the whole match. I was never really tired. My muscles never really fatigued to where I couldn't grab somebody or toss somebody. I felt like I was strong the whole six minutes and that was important. I would have had nobody to get me ready like that.

Patch: How have you been received back in school by friends and teachers?

PD: Being back in school is great feeling. I have tons of friends at North County who are happy to see me. At least my friends are. They've told me to keep my head up and helped me the whole way.

I realize that there are some teachers who really like me and then there are a few that don't and that you can tell aren't really happy that I am back. I'm also back playing lacrosse as a faceoff midfielder.

We're not the most competitive team in the state, but it's an awesome feeling to be a part of a team. I get to play a little offense and a little defense and get to do a little bit of everything. I get to hit. I get to get out there and have fun representing North County. I just like being able to play sports for school again.

Patch.com: Grades?

PD: My grades are great. I'm getting all A's. All A's so far this time.

Patch.com: So is there a silver lining in all of this?

PD: As tough as it is to say, this has honestly been a good thing for me because I learned that lesson. That mistake will never happen again. I met Coach J.D. Robbins in Florida. I just really believe that God works in mysterious ways. I definitely became a better wrestler.

Had this not happened, I would have been stuck here training. I may have won a state title and then gone to Virginia Beach and lost in the finals or in the semis. I definitely hurt a lot of people. Definitely. My dad, my grandparents.

They all had to listen to people talk bad about me that don't even know me and who were hating on me. I didn't win that national title for myself, but for everybody who was supporting me the whole time. They drove me to practice and got me where I needed to be to succeed.

It just really let me know how much support I have. In the end, way better things came from this.

Patrick Downey's Road to the National High School Championships

National Tournament finals: Patrick Downey over Victor Avery, 3-1

Foxboro High School's Victor Avery went 48-0, was the Division III state champion for Massachusetts and also was the New England area All-States titlist. Avery did not allow a single offensive point on the way to winning Division III states, and won that crown with a 42-second pin.

Considered the best wrestler pound-for-pound in Massachusetts, Avery defeated Division I state champion, Kyle Humphries of East Long Meadow High, 7-4, in the All-States tournament final, where Avery was named the Outstanding Wrestler. Avery will wrestle for Edinboro University.

National semifinals: Pat Downey over James Fox, 8-7

St. Peter's Prep's James Fox went 43-0 on the way to becoming his school's first-ever state champion and being named the New Jersey State Wrestler of the Year.

Fox was named Outstanding Wrestler after winning the prestigious Beast of The East Tournament at the University of Delaware, an event considered to be the nation's premiere high school invitational. Fox will wrestle for Harvard University.

National quarterfinals: Patrick Downey over Derek Thomas, 5-3

Utah's Derek Thomas of Layton High was a two-time Class 5A state champ after having finished fourth as a sophomore. Thomas will wrestle for Utah Valley University.

Nationals round of 16: Patrick Downey 15-8 over Zach Anderson

Clay Center High's Zach Anderson went 43-1 on the way to earning a state title in Kansas—this, after having been a runner-up at states at the end of his junior year.

Preliminary round: Patrick Downey pinned Kyle Humphries in 1:13

East Longmeadow High's Zach Humphries went 41-0 on the way to earning a Division I state title in Massachusetts. The 6-foot-2 Humphries lost to Avery, 7-4, in the All-State Tournament finals, but was pinned for the first time this year by Downey.