Wrestler of the year: Derrick Borlie -- Grappler attributes success to mindset prior to matches - Sports

WINCHESTER — Stepping into the mind of Millbrook's Derrick Borlie may be an even worse idea than stepping in front of him as he paces back and forth before one of his matches.

But during his undefeated junior season, 54 wrestlers made a more glaring mistake: stepping onto the mat with Borlie — The Northern Virginia Daily's Wrestler of the Year — which is easily the most detrimental decision of the three.

"From a young age my whole mindset that's been in our family has been if you're going to do something, be the best at it," Borlie said.

"Don't only be the best at it, but destroy everyone, dominate everybody."

And spanning November to his March 8 Group AA state championship victory, wrestling at 171 pounds, Borlie was unbeatable. At the Salem Civic Center during his title run, Borlie used a first-round pin, a technical fall and a 12-point major decision to reach the finals against Braden Carter of Christiansburg.

It was only a year before, as a sophomore, that he left Salem with the downer of losing in the finals, but his one-point, 6-5, championship match victory completed a fourth-place team finish for the Pioneers.

"I definitely think it made him work harder. It was very disappointing for him and our program last year not to have a state champ, and I think he took on the responsibility that he was not going to be denied this year, and he was going to make sure we had at least one state champ," Millbrook head coach Chris Haines said.

While Borlie's on-mat skills are obviously terrific — Haines said his strength is from the standing position — a glance at the wrestler warming up before either pinning or outscoring his opponent reveals the mental makeup that's aided his journey to becoming a state champion.

Before a match or tournament, Borlie said he gets in a "hard drill" and "live go" which precedes his moments pacing prior to a contest. It's during that time — in his mind — he's already won the match.

"Derrick is probably the most focused kid on the team before a match," Millbrook wrestler Wes Heavener said. "He's a goofball otherwise, but before a match do not talk to him, unless it's, 'let's go, get it,' or something like that."

Added Haines, "Wrestling is his thing, this is his hobby, this is his life, and he gets very focused come match time to the point where you don't want to get in his way, you don't want to disrupt his focus because he'll snap, and you know, that's great because when he steps on the mat, you know he's ready and prepared to go."

Asked what he's thinking before a match, Borlie said some of it is so intense he couldn't say. However, it's the amount of hard work he's put into the sport, which allows him to believe he craves victory more than his foe. He said he's determined not to let an opponent take away what he's worked for since he was 6.

"That angers me," Borlie said. "This kid — they think they're better than me, this kid wants to pin me, this kid wants to embarrass me in front of my family and in front of my friends in the sport that I love, and it gets me fired up. And it makes me want to hurt people."

Said Heavener, "Derrick talked to me one time and he actually had convinced himself that it was a sin for anybody to think that they could beat him."

Having accumulated a 154-10 record over three seasons, however, it's likely most opponents lack that belief.

"I knew in my heart that I could beat anybody I wrestled and I just focused on that," Borlie said. "I can't let other things distract me from my ultimate goal."

Haines believed he had a state champion in October during the prestigious Super 32 preseason tournament in Greensboro, N.C., where Borlie lost in the consolation finals to Jordan Blanton, who is committed to wrestle at the University of Illinois.

And as an encore as a senior, Borlie said he'll have to repeat.

"Yeah, I won this year, but that doesn't mean anything for next year," Borlie said. "I've got to keep on pushing, keep working hard. I know if I keep working hard, keep working with coach Haines, I'll be successful next year."