078: Pat Glory

Pat Glory knows what it feels like to come up one match short.

Before becoming an NCAA National Champion at Princeton, Glory lost three youth state finals.

Then he reached the New Jersey high school state final as a freshman — and lost.

He came back as a sophomore.

Made the final again.

And lost again.

But those losses became part of the reason Pat Glory eventually reached the top of college wrestling.

In this episode of the New Jersey Mat Chat Legends Series, Pat takes us through the entire journey — from a 50-pound youth wrestler in Randolph, NJ to Delbarton, Princeton University and ultimately the top of the NCAA podium.

One of the most powerful things Pat says in this conversation is that he doesn't know if he ever becomes an NCAA Champion without losing those first two New Jersey state finals.

Pat Glory's career is proof that coming up short doesn't have to be the end of the story.

Sometimes it's what builds the champion.

🤼 Guest: Pat Glory

🏫 Delbarton School

🐯 Princeton University

🏆 2X NJ State Champion

🥈 4X NJ State Finalist

🥈 NCAA Finalist

🏆 2023 NCAA National Champion

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00:00 Champion Athletes Nutrition

01:22 Meet NCAA Champion Pat Glory

02:10 Growing Up in Randolph, NJ

03:05 How Wrestling Became His Sport

04:35 Choosing Delbarton Over Randolph

05:50 Why Delbarton Was the Right Choice

07:28 Entering High School at 14 Years Old

08:11 His Early Wrestling Struggles

09:33 Three Youth State Finals — Zero Titles

09:52 The Pressure to Become a 4X State Champion

10:57 Learning to Separate Results From the Process

12:25 Losing the NJ State Final as a Freshman

13:00 The Sophomore State Final vs. Sebastian Rivera

14:20 Two State Finals. Two Losses.

15:31 Turning to a Sports Psychologist

18:39 How Mental Training Changed His Wrestling

19:22 Why Pat Wouldn’t Change His High School Losses

21:06 Looking Back at His Delbarton Career

22:18 Why Princeton Became the Choice

23:48 Princeton’s Search for Its First NCAA Champion

25:39 Balancing Princeton Academics & Division I Wrestling

27:13 NCAA Final vs. Nick Suriano

31:08 The Injury That Changed the Suriano Final

34:02 Wrestling Through the Final Seconds

36:06 Cutting From 150 to 125 Pounds

37:44 Why He Stayed at 125

38:45 Preparing for Spencer Lee

40:25 Finding Out Spencer Lee Lost

41:29 Preparing for Matt Ramos Instead

43:30 Becoming an NCAA Champion

45:43 Celebrating the National Championship

47:20 Why Pat Walked Away From Wrestling

49:12 Life After Wrestling in Manhattan

50:46 Greatest NJ High School Wrestler Ever?

52:09 Could Pat Glory Become a Coach?

53:07 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro