Mark was a wrestler and as I recall a pretty good one. I played football. We had Gym class together. Wrestling followed football on the sports schedule. During a gym class Mr Lapinski matched Siesner against me in a wrestling match. I was concerned at the time because the wrestlers were always in great physical condition.They had great upper body strength. We had just gotten the weight room and the Dr Pepper Machine and the "wrastlers" as coach Nordman called them, were making good use of it. Siesner included.
Needless to say, shortly into the match Mark had me in a hold that was familiar to him but foreign to me. There I was flat on my back, humiliated . He knew it. Mark's reaction was one I will never forget. In front of the whole class he says to me "Thanks Schmitz for letting me take you down. Coach Lapinski would have been really disappointed in me if you hadn't let me win."
He knew he had me and yet was gracious. Instead of rubbing it in my face he provided me an out. What a guy. May seem trivial now, but then it mant everything to me. After class I let him know that he was a much better wrestler than me and in so many words that I appreciated his humility. It's the little things in life that often go unnoticed by the masses that leave their mark.
Stephen Schmitz
Mark was a wrestler and as I recall a pretty good one. I played football. We had Gym class together. Wrestling followed football on the sports schedule. During a gym class Mr Lapinski matched Siesner against me in a wrestling match. I was concerned at the time because the wrestlers were always in great physical condition.They had great upper body strength. We had just gotten the weight room and the Dr Pepper Machine and the "wrastlers" as coach Nordman called them, were making good use of it. Siesner included.
Needless to say, shortly into the match Mark had me in a hold that was familiar to him but foreign to me. There I was flat on my back, humiliated . He knew it. Mark's reaction was one I will never forget. In front of the whole class he says to me "Thanks Schmitz for letting me take you down. Coach Lapinski would have been really disappointed in me if you hadn't let me win."
He knew he had me and yet was gracious. Instead of rubbing it in my face he provided me an out. What a guy. May seem trivial now, but then it mant everything to me. After class I let him know that he was a much better wrestler than me and in so many words that I appreciated his humility. It's the little things in life that often go unnoticed by the masses that leave their mark.
Rest in peace.