In the thick of the wrestling season, Oxford High School sophomore Clemens Krause has won about half of his junior varsity matches.
And that’s not bad, when you consider this is the first time Krause has ever wrestled.
A foreign exchange student who arrived here from Zwingenberg, Germany in August 2008, Krause even wants to continue wrestling when he returns home.
‘At Oxford, I heard wrestling was a really big thing,? said the 17-year-old Krause, whose hometown is about 35 miles south of Frankfurt in the country’s western region. ‘Some of my friends are wrestlers. They asked me if I like to do wrestling and I said sure. I’m glad I do wrestling because it’s a great team.
So far, Krause and his fellow grapplers are doing quite well this season. ‘My teammates and I all together focus on winning the state championship,? he said.
Krause, whose host parents are Oxford residents Karen and Jeff Logan, finds the physical part of wrestling the most challenging. To be successful on the mat, you have to be in great physical condition along with exercising and abiding by a certain diet.
As the season progresses, he’s worked to learn more and make adjustments.
‘As you go on, the coaches teach you new moves and how to do things differently and how to vary moves and improve,? Krause explained. ‘The basics are still the same. I approach an opponent the same unless they’re really different.?
Prior to wrestling, Krause also ran cross country. His coaches like what they see in their first-year wrestler.
?[Clemens] seems to be doing really well,? said Wrestling Head Coach Scott Couch. ‘He comes to practice, works hard and learns some things…It’s good to see him trying and experiencing what’s out there. I’m glad to have him with us, and he’s doing a great job.?
Krause is an exchange student in the Youth For Understanding program (www.yfu.org), a non-profit educational organization that provides students across the world the chance to spend a summer, semester or year in another culture with a host family.
Prior to his time as an exchange student, Krause had previously been to Michigan on a family vacation. His mother’s a social worker while his father develops computer systems to manage businesses.
‘Here in America, I think you spend a lot of time with school things,? he said. ‘If you choose to do sports you spend a lot of time at school. In Germany we don’t really spend a lot of time at school but are more organized in clubs. I spend more time in schools and have made friends at this school.?
Because most German students learn English at school, the language hasn’t presented much of a problem for him.
Being in America has led Krause to try getting involved in government issues and understanding different nations and cultures.
Someday, he would like to be an ambassador. He will return home in July.