FOR LOVE OF THE GAME

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2006 | 7:13 a.m.

At the speed with which most people read a comic book, Rancho wrestler Nick Jevons flips through his advanced calculus text. He occasionally looks up to see how his fellow wrestlers are progressing or when coach Gabe Gledhill repeatedly barks a command.

Jevons is sitting out practice while waiting for the results of a mononucleosis test, a virus that knocked him off the mats just before the state tournament last year.

"It's killing him not to be out there," Gledhill says.

The 140-pound grappler looks at it philosophically. "Yeah, it's a bummer, but it's better than going home," Jevons says. "You get to watch different techniques and think about them in your head."

And thinking is something that Jevons is exceptionally good at. The senior has been offered a full scholarship from both UNR and Oklahoma based on the strength of his 3.8 grade point average (all Advance Placement classes, of course) and ACT scores, which included a perfect 36 on the science portion. "I used to get picked on in algebra class because I was the only one of the 'smart crew' in sports," he said.

So why put up with the taunting, even if it is grammatically correct and loaded with arcane science references?

"Wrestling is freaking awesome! You get to take out your anger on another person without the risk of them dying," he says. "Well, you could die, but I've never had anyone die on me."