Why return to wrestling after ACL surgery? For Penn State’s Shakur Rasheed, the answer is simple
Injuries are a part of any sport, and wrestling is no exception.
“It’s life, it’s sports and those things happen,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said matter-of-factly in early January, after announcing that injuries had ended the collegiate careers of two of his sixth-year seniors.
But for some athletes, it seems as though the injury bug bites just a little bit harder. That’s certainly been the case for Shakur Rasheed, another sixth-year senior, who unlike teammates Anthony Cassar and Kyle Conel who just saw their seasons end, is just beginning his final season, after using the first half of the season to recover from offseason ACL surgery.
A lengthy rehabilitation process, however, isn’t going to shake the focus of Rasheed, who’s spent the past six years recovering from injuries, changing weight classes and battling with some of his closest teammates for spots in the lineup. In fact, with just a month and a half left in his career, he’s more focused than ever.
The Coram, New York, native didn’t hesitate when asked why, after going through major knee surgery, he’d want to return to the Nittany Lions for another round.
“I got to get it done,” he said after his team’s 38-6 win over Rutgers on Sunday. “That’s why I came here, to win a national title.”
Ranked No. 20 in the country at 197 pounds by InterMat, he had just beaten No. 18 Jordan Pagano, his former teammate and roommate, 6-0, in what has so far been his strongest performance of the season. He went 1-1 in his first weekend back on the mat last week, at times looking a bit timid and winded.
Sanderson said last weekend that Rasheed just needed to believe in himself and believe he could wrestle for the full seven minutes. On Sunday, he saw improvement.
“It’s just about getting his confidence and just making progress, and he did that today,” Sanderson said. “He’s looking good. it’s just every match, keep climbing. And like he said, we have a month and a half, and his goal is to win a national title. That’s what we’re moving toward.”
After his first two seasons ended in disappointment — losing out on a postseason trip to teammate Geno Morelli in his redshirt freshman campaign and ending his sophomore season early due to injury — things seemed to be falling into place for Rasheed his junior season.
He had a breakout performance at the Southern Scuffle, going 5-0 with three pins over ranked opponents en route to the 197-pound title and the honor of being named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler. He then beat out Cassar, whom he calls his “best friend and brother,” for that coveted trip to the postseason. While his major decision over Missouri’s Willie Miklus for seventh place proved crucial in keeping the Nittany Lions’ team title hopes alive in a neck-in-neck battle with the Buckeyes in 2018, Rasheed wasn’t satisfied.
The typically quirky, outgoing Rasheed was more solemn, staring at the ground as he spoke about coming up short of his goal.
“Now I’m just focused on the team title, after that it’s Shakur Rasheed, 2019 NCAA champion,” he said after that seventh-place bout.
But that didn’t happen, as the knee injury, which appeared to have been suffered against Wisconsin mid-January, kept the theater and business major from doing what he likes to do best — “putting on a show.” He only wrestled in two duals after that. While he made it to the finals at Big Tens, he medically forfeited that match, then went 2-2 at NCAAs, failing to place.
That’s why, even after enduring ACL surgery and rehab, Rasheed was determined to come back for another shot.
“I love my teammates and I love my coaches, but I came here to win a national title,” he said Sunday. “It’s been a blessing to build these relationships, but coming out of high school, I wasn’t thinking ‘I’m gong to Penn State to make these relationships.’ I came here to win a national title.”
Rasheed is right in saying he’s running out of time to get himself ready for NCAAs. And the competition is only going to heat up from here, with bouts against Nebraska’s No. 14 Eric Schultz, Iowa’s No. 4 Jacob Warner and Ohio State’s No. 1 Kollin Moore on the horizon.
For now, Rasheed is just focused on taking it one match at a time.
“I’m just feeling better and better every day, just part of their process,” he said. “Just moving on to the next match, which is Nebraska. You know, obviously there are things I can improve on, but I’m learning as I go and just trying to get ready for March.”
And if Rasheed does achieve his long-sought-after goal this season?
“I’ll come back next year; I’ll come back for a second national title,” he said, his coach grinning beside him.
This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 11:02 AM.
