GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Former St. Louis wrestler Travis Lee, a Cornell All-American, hopes to become Hawaii's first Olympic wrestler.

No rest for Lee

The St. Louis alum is an
All-American at Cornell

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By Brandon Lee
Special to the Star-Bulletin

He just completed his freshman year at Cornell University and has been back home in Hawaii since the middle of last month. But summer is no vacation for former St. Louis School wrestling star Travis Lee.

Sure, like any other student who returns from the mainland after his first year of college, Lee has tried to find time for friends and trips to the beach whenever possible.

But when you are arguably already the best wrestler this state has ever produced, one with a gleaming resume and an even brighter future, summer is hardly a time for rest and relaxation.

For Lee, the weather and scenery may have changed from that of Ithaca, N.Y., but the season really hasn't. Wrestling is a year-round pursuit, and that's just the way he likes it.

"I rested a little bit, but I'm starting to get back into working out now," Lee, 19, said. "I try to work out every day, at least -- maybe once or twice. I lift weights, I wrestle, I try to run."

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Former St. Louis wrestler Travis Lee, a Cornell All-American, worked out with St. Louis coach Todd Los Banos recently.

After the year that Lee just wrapped up, though, one could hardly blame him if he took a few more moments to catch his breath.

The 5-foot-4 Big Red wrestler became the first freshman in Cornell history to earn All-American honors, after he placed seventh in the 125-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships at the end of March.

With a 29-9 overall record, he also was named Rookie of the Year for both the Ivy League and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, winning his weight class at both the Ivy and EIWA championships.

"The toughest kid ever," is how Big Red coach Rob Koll described Lee on the school's athletics Web site.

To wrestle Lee and actually manage to win "will be painful."

LEE ENTERED Cornell as a three-time state high school champion and the winner of two national titles -- Hawaii's first-ever -- at the Junior National Championships last summer. He also participated in an elite developmental camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., prior to heading to New York.

But did he think success at the collegiate level would come so quickly? His coaches did, even to the point of telling Lee they were set on him becoming an All-American this year.

"I'm not sure what I expected (of myself) out of college wrestling," Lee said. "I expected it to be a lot tougher than high school, (and) it's a whole new ballgame when you get up here.

"I wanted to become an All-American, (but) I'm not sure if I expected it to happen. But, my coaches expected it out of me, so I guess that kind of pushed me to do it. I kind of expected it out of myself after that."

Not that Lee needs a lot of motivation on the wrestling mat, nor anywhere else. He readily admits that he pushes himself most to strive for excellence, and in turn, is most critical when he feels he doesn't achieve it.

He hit the mat as soon as he arrived at Ithaca, and during the official season that ran from October through March, he typically grappled six days a week. Extra practice time was a ritual instead of rarity.

Majoring in environmental engineering, Lee obtained a 2.74 GPA his first semester and expects about the same when he receives his grades for the second. "As far as the schoolwork," he said, "it's challenging, but I like it. A lot of the students there are really great kids and there's a lot of competition going on in the classroom, too."

During his short time at home, Lee is weightlifting at least five days each week, wrestling at least three to four, and running at least three. He is also taking a physics class at the University of Hawaii and working part-time at engineering firm Fukunaga & Associates Inc.

"Sky is the limit for him," said Todd Los Banos, his former coach at St. Louis. "And knowing the kind of person that he is, whatever he puts his mind to, he's going to do it. It's his hard work, from the classroom to the mat."

HIS SOPHOMORE YEAR at Cornell doesn't begin until late August, but Lee will return to Ithaca early next month to assist with a Big Red wrestling camp and train. He will leave less than two weeks later for another stint at the Olympic Training Center, this time to practice with the U.S. World Team from July 24 to Aug. 3.

"It's going to help me a lot and I'm pretty anxious to get up there," Lee said. "They'll probably beat me up, but I can see where I stand, at least."

Lee's goals include repeating as an All-American next year and possibly finishing among the top two or three wrestlers in his weight class. But he's also interested in how he stacks up against those already on the World Team because he has hopes of eventually joining them -- particularly for the Olympics.

Added to a long list of firsts that already includes being the first wrestler from Hawaii to earn Division I All-American recognition, Lee would be the state's first wrestling Olympian should he succeed.

Still, as tenacious and relentless as he is on the mat, Lee is just as modest and understated off it. His approach to his career is "one step at a time, not really thinking too far ahead." Lee is still getting used to his life on the mainland, though it seems sure that more of it in the immediate future will be spent there instead of here.

He understands and accepts that he is a trailblazer for the sport and for Hawaii. But rather than letting this swell his head or become a burden, he uses it to fuel his desire.

"It's a good thing to be representing Hawaii," Lee said. "I think it actually helps me push myself even a little bit harder. ... I'm not just doing it for myself, I'm doing it for the state of Hawaii."