LITTLE BIG MAN
Lack of size and experience did not slow down San Francisco's Donald Lockett
He is the guy who knocked off Cornell’s Travis Lee … and ended the 2003 Division I national champion’s 42-match winning streak in the first round of the Midlands Championships last season.
San Francisco State’s Donald Lockett is best known for that win; a win that sent shock waves across the country.
“It was a big win for me. When I am done wrestling, I will probably tell my kids about it someday,” Lockett said. “But I want to be known for more than just that one match; much more than that.”
That 5-4 victory served as a springboard for Lockett, who continued to stockpile momentum before placing second in the 2004 NCAA Division II Championships at 133 pounds.
Now a senior, the athletic, explosive Lockett has his sights set on his first national championship at the Div. II finals, March 11-12, in Omaha.“What Donald has done, as a former walk-on, it’s really an amazing success story,” San Francisco State coach Lars Jensen said. “He has definitely made the most of his opportunity here. He works so hard. I have to put a lock on the door to the wrestling room, otherwise he will be in there all the time.
“I wish I had 10 of him. He’s a great kid. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he would reach the level he is at in college.”
Lockett has moved up a class to 141 this year and is ranked second nationally behind defending national champion Merrick Meyer of Truman State.
“Winning nationals, that’s the goal,” Lockett said. “I have been working for that since I was a freshman. I want to dominate and I want to score bonus points against everyone I wrestle.”
The 5-foot-3 Lockett’s journey to being a national title contender is an unlikely one.
He never wrestled until his freshman year of high school. He picked up the sport quickly and was a three-time state (Calif.) qualifier at Lowell High School. He won just one match in three trips to state.
“I wasn’t recruited by anybody,” said Lockett, an all-city running back in football despite weighing only 140 pounds.
“I didn’t get one letter. I walked across the street from my high school and asked if I could walk on at San Francisco State. I always believed in myself. I knew I could do it.”
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