Sa’Derian Perry received the ominous text message a day after he returned from Cleveland, Ohio, where he had stood on the podium and been pronounced an All-American at the NCAA national wrestling tournament.
Perry was perhaps the feel-good story of the event. He went into the nationals with a 15-16 record, but won his way to the quarterfinals and finished eighth nationally.
Not bad for a guy who grew up playing baseball and football and didn’t give wrestling a thought until he was in the ninth grade. He took up the sport at Lake Gibson High in Lakeland, Fla.