ONE LAST SHOT FOR ROYSTER
By Ben Waring

With 70 career victories and plenty of motivation to give it everything he's got, Derek Royster is set to make one final push to become a Southern Conference champion and book a trip to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia later this month.

Royster is a redshirt senior from the small South Carolina town of Woodruff, located approximately 25 miles southeast of Greenville in the Upstate. Despite not wrestling until the eighth grade, Derek managed to impress his high school coach, who was a four-year wrestler at Anderson University, as having "the intangibles you need to become a good wrestler."

"I actually didn't start wrestling until after I got cut from the basketball team in eighth grade and our wrestling coach recruited me to try out for the team," said Royster. From there, Derek placed fourth at the junior varsity state tournament in middle school and then qualified for the state championships and eventually placed and won at the state championship level.

That is when he caught the eye of former Citadel wrestler and NCAA qualifier Robby Bell, who encouraged Derek to visit The Citadel's wrestling camps in the summer. While in Charleston, Royster impressed head coach Rob Hjerling enough to elicit and invitation to wrestle for the Bulldogs.

Royster comes from a family where he has no choice but to keep up with an impressive legacy. His mother became the first African-American to graduate as Valedictorian from Woodruff High School and just a few years before Derek graduated from there, his sister earned honors as the Salutatorian.  "I definitely had to make sure I had my grades in order first, but I also come from a family full of athletes and therefore there was a legacy to maintain."

Coming from a well-rounded background, many of the people from Woodruff that have followed Royster's career at The Citadel are ready to watch their hometown star bring home a title. "There is a little pressure to do well here at the end, but it is more motivating pressure. A lot of people from Woodruff would like to see me go to nationals and it is something I want as well.  I am not going to stress about it too much though, because then I over think things and it won't happen. Trusting my coaches, my training and staying focused here at the end is where my priorities lie now."

After coming painstakingly close with a pair of runner-up finishes at the All-Academy Championships and placing twice at the SoCon Championships, Royster is ready to get over the hump. "Whenever you take second place, it becomes extra motivation. We really did well at the All-Academy Championships as a team here last month. Usually it is Army and Navy going down to the end, but we represented well and it hopefully should give the squad confidence going into the SoCon Championships just a month apart from that."

With a tough slate out of conference in some prestigious national tournaments and duals, Royster and the rest of the Bulldogs have been battle tested heading into Boone, N.C. to battle for SoCon supremacy. "When you face guys that are ranked in the top-10 nationally throughout the year at tournaments and in duals, you aren't going to worry about who is seeded number one at the conference championships.  We have all faced some of the nation's best so it helps with the confidence going into the SoCon Championships."

Despite a subpar record in his final season as a Bulldog, Derek is not prepared to let that affect either the team, or himself, in preparation (him as he and the team prepare) for the conference tournament. "I am a little disappointed with how things have gone for me personally this year, but I am putting all of that behind me now. If you win a conference title, no one is going to ask you what your record was going into that. You will be recognized as a conference champ and a national qualifier so that is my mindset now. I can't change the past, but I am looking forward to a strong effort at the conference championships."