BLACKSBURG – Men tend to shirk their grooming habits during the month of November, as some like to bring awareness to cancer patients of whom many lose their hair during treatments, while others simply use the month as an excuse to avoid the monotonous task of shaving.
David McFadden could have offered either as an explanation for his recent outgrowth of facial hair. Or he could have said that he wanted to provide a little intimidation for the competition at the upcoming Senior World Championships.
Instead, he provided a reason more becoming of a college student.
"I got a little lazy, and I'm like, 'You know, I kind of like it. It keeps me warm in the winter,' McFadden said.
Regardless, Virginia Tech wrestling fans will see a bearded McFadden take the mat later this week when he competes at the U23 World Championships being held in Bucharest, Romania. McFadden, whose first match will be Friday, and Virginia Tech assistant coach Frank Molinaro will leave Tuesday afternoon on a flight that takes them to the Eastern European country, where he will join other U.S. team members vying to win both individual titles and the team crown.
McFadden goes into the world championships with high expectations. He dominated the competition at the U23 World Team Trials in Akron, Ohio this past June, winning all seven of his matches. In the quarterfinals there, he recorded a 10-0 technical fall of Purdue's Dylan Lydy, and then in the semifinals, he beat Utah Valley's Kimball Bastian 6-2.
The finals featured a best-of-three format, and McFadden took care of Missouri's Daniel Lewis – an All-American last year – pinning him in the first match and then registering a 15-5 technical fall. That victory placed him on the U.S. squad for this week's Senior U23 World Championships.
"I'm super excited," McFadden said. "I'm looking forward to it. The goal doesn't change. I'm so pumped for it. I made the team in June a day before my birthday, which is cool, and I've had something to shoot for all summer.
"These guys [at Virginia Tech] are training right now for the Hokie Open, Missouri, and Northwestern, and as much as I'd love to be with them, I know they're going to support me, but to have a world championship to start out my season really kept me focused all summer and all fall. It was something more to shoot for than a Hokie Open title. I want the guys to win, but for me, to start my season out with a world title would be amazing. Hopefully, I'm able to accomplish that."
McFadden, a redshirt junior from West Milford, New Jersey, hopes to continue the Hokies' success on the international stage. In mid-September, former Tech wrestler and current volunteer assistant coach Ty Walz won a bronze medal at the Medved International in Minsk, Belarus, and in late September, current teammate Mekhi Lewis won the gold medal at the Junior World Championships held in Trnava, Slovakia.
In particular, Lewis – a fellow New Jersian and a workout partner of McFadden's – set the bar high, giving up just two points in the course of winning four matches. Lewis won by scores of 10-0, pin, 12-1 and 5-1.
"I don't know if I can top him – maybe I can score more points than him," McFadden said. "But he set the bar pretty high, and he inspired a lot of guys on our team. He inspired me over the summer after he beat [Alex] Marinelli [from Iowa] and then he whipped up on that other dude [Iowa's Jeremiah Moody] in the finals pretty good. He inspired me to get back on the mat, to get my focus back, and I ended up winning Trials.
"We trained alongside each other, and I'm sure he'll tell you I was a big help to him. I'm not taking any credit – we helped each other. I helped him capture his world title just by giving him good battles in practice and helping him in some positions, and he's doing the same for me … He really put a spark in the room."
The trip to Europe won't exactly mark McFadden's first excursion to another country. In the past, he and his family took cruises to Aruba and Bermuda as part of summer vacations, but obviously the setting and the stakes differ tremendously on this trip.
Lewis took a relaxed approach when he went to Slovakia, wanting to take in the sights, the food, the culture and all that the city offered. He felt that approach relaxed him when he went out on the mat.
McFadden, though, plans to take a much different tact.
"It's more of a business trip for me," he said. "It's right in the middle of school, too, so I'm only going to be out there 4-5 days, whereas he was out there for a week, so he had an opportunity to soak everything in. I'm just going there, cashing in and cashing out. It's strictly … my goal is to go in there and win it.
"I'm going to be grateful regardless. I'm on a world team. I get to go overseas and wrestle and do what I love, so I'm excited. I want to win this thing."
McFadden at least will know many of his teammates. Virginia's Jack Mueller and NC State's Sean Fausz and Hayden Hidley also qualified for the U.S. team by winning their respective weight classes at the Trials in Akron. The four of them share similar career accomplishments – all have won ACC championships and earned All-America honors at various points in their careers.
McFadden went undefeated during the regular season last year for the Hokies. He won the ACC crown and he earned All-America honors for the second time in his career.
But he wants more – and the road to more starts in Romania later this week.
"All-America is good. It's not great," he said. "I've been an All-American the past two years. It's got a good ring to it, but national champion sounds a little bit better. I had a good year, not great [last season], so to take my wrestling to the next level, to start out my season with a world title would be great. And to end it with a national title, I think that'd be a pretty good season.
"That's the goal. I've got the All-America honors. I want the title now, so I've got to do everything right and keep going and make big steps. I'm right there, so it's just the little things that are going to put me over the edge."
As for the beard, McFadden knows that it's silly to think it factors in to whether he wins or loses, and he said he plans to shave it after the world championships.
But if he wins, he may want to reconsider – you know, just in case.