By Bryan Van Kley, WIN Publisher

In general, wrestling is a sport that takes its toll on the body. You don’t see many people continue past the age of 28 or 30 because of how physically and mentally demanding it is.

            Factor in the weight cutting and I would make the claim you couldn’t find a tougher sport to sign up for than to be a successful freestyle or Greco wrestler on the Senior level.

            For those reasons, the No. 1 story, by far, to come out of this year’s World Team Trials is Danny Felix. And the heart of his story isn’t just about him making his first World Team. It’s about his wife Cheri, who stuck by his side for the last 13 years of this journey. And it’s about the warrior mentality of her 35-year old husband. In my mind, Danny has permanently put his picture in the dictionary next to the word perseverance.

            But you have to know this couple’s story to understand how high this mountain top really is for them. In every sense of the word, making the World Team is a team win for Danny, Cheri and their 3 1⁄2-year old son Luca. Danny has made the obvious sacrifices to get to this point, but he wouldn’t be this point without Cheri.

            “He’s never quit through all of it. (Luca) will learn from his dad that when you start something, you’re going to finish it. You give all you have. You commit yourself,” Cheri said.

            Danny, who was ranked No. 9 at 121 pounds after not placing at the U.S. Open because of an injury, knocked off Nick Simmons in a three-match Championship Series on May 31 in Council Bluffs, Iowa to qualify for his first Worlds (story on page 16).

            So why was Danny able to finally get over the top now, at the age of 35, after finishing second or third before at previous World and Olympic Trials? How did he continue to cut the weight to make 121 for all these years? Why continue after some injuries left him at a fork in the road contemplating retirement?

            Because he came home to an incredible wife every night who was his biggest fan. And she never doubted for a moment that her husband’s time would come. It was Cheri’s unending respect, love and support for Danny that kept him after his goal of putting on the U.S. singlet to represent this country on the world stage. I asked Cheri to describe how she would communicate to wrestling wives the role she has played.

            “I would just tell wrestling wives to believe in your husband and expect long times away from him,” she said. “To me, I just wanted a happy husband. From the minute I heard the words Danny Felix, wrestling was tied to that. I just really wanted to be a part of that and help him accomplish what he wanted to accomplish.”

            “You have to be able to sacrifice and support them in what they want to accomplish. It just makes for a good, happy marriage. He’s just amazing, that’s all I can say.”

            Cheri’s support of Danny goes far beyond the normal husband-wife relationship.

            Two years after meeting in Arizona, the young couple left their families and moved to Oklahoma. Danny took an assistant coaching job for OU, which would also allow him to train. That’s when Cheri started her decade of sacrifices that would help provide the right environment for Danny and his career.

            This meant moving to four different states in seven years, taking the best assistant coaching opportunities that came along where he could also train. To make ends meet financially, Cheri has worked two to three jobs at times. She specializes in helping out at vet hospitals with emergency services to animals. This often means 12-hours shifts and over-nighters.

            She also had to quit school when they left Arizona. But after Danny landed at West Virginia under Coach Craig Turnbull for four years, Cheri has now been able to continue her schooling in a vet tech program.

            Another key part of “Team Felix” has been former World champion Sammie Henson. The two have been inseparable since meeting and coaching together in Norman in 1999. Henson won a World bronze medal in 2006. Ironically, he was the same age then as his best friend Danny is now, making his first World Team.

            “I honestly believe they know each other better than we do,” Cheri said of the two grapplers who have shared countless trips, training and weight-cutting sessions together. “They’ve both benefited from their friendship.”

             There’s were times when Danny has considered throwing in the towel on his career and dream. The most recent came almost exactly one year ago after the Olympic Trials. Felix lost a tight match to eventual Olympic champion Henry Cejudo in the semifinals at the Trials.

            Knowing it probably would be his last shot at Olympic glory, Felix couldn’t even watch the Games on TV because of the disappointment.

            At the Olympic Trials, Danny suffered a serious injury which made Cheri wonder if Danny “would ever walk right” again. But after some time, the Felix family regrouped and started working towards 2009.

            But like a reoccurring bad dream, Danny suffered another serious injury at the April U.S. Open. A spinal injury caused a pinched nerve and a tingling sensation, meaning he would needed to take some time off. He was unable to turn his head to the left for 10 days. And after not placing at the Open, the veteran had to be awarded a wild-card bid just for a spot in the 121-pound field at the Trials.

            “She’s never complained once,” Danny said of Cheri. “It’s an unconditional love. She always felt that I was her champion. Whether I had a good tournament or a bad tournament, she was always there for me. She’s rode me pretty hard at times, and told me to get my head straight and get focused.”

            Danny refocused after the injury and got the job done when it counted. Cheri said it was a pretty special family moment when Danny’s hand was raised in the final match at the Trials as she celebrated with Danny’s parents, Jesus and JoAnn.

            “It felt like we all had won when his hand was raised. I sat up and cried. Luca was asking me why I was crying. I told him I was just so happy. Words just can’t describe,” she said.

            After spending a half hour with Cheri on the phone the week after Danny’s big win, it wasn’t surprising to me at all that Danny stuck with the sport he loves and never gave up on his dream.

            “I told him he needs to be proud of the man, father and husband that he is. I told him he needs to proud of himself for all the different areas that he’s good at,” Cheri said.

            Luca and Cheri have a pretty special Daddy and husband who will be putting his foot on the line for the first time at the World Championships in Denmark.