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Those wrestlers who will fall or already have at the hands of Clarksburg senior Roja Stephenson this season — a list that grew at last weekend's Grapple at the 'Brook — have two people to blame.

Stephenson grew up playing football and practicing Tae Kwon Do. Four years ago, as a freshman, he was encouraged to try his hand at wrestling.

"First it was my health teacher, Mr. [James] Wilberding from Rocky Hill [Middle]," Stephenson said. "He encouraged me to wrestle, [and] my cousin Alana, from Canada. She really encouraged me. She just thought it would be fitting for me. I was a little aggressive in middle school."

Not many wrestlers can claim a female cousin as a mentor, but Alana King knows of what she speaks. Her wrestling career began in high school, she won a national title in college and has competed for the Canadian women's national team.

She earned a bronze medal for Canada at the 2008 World University Wrestling Championships in Greece. She wrestles at 48 kilos, or 105 pounds. Stephenson sends her videos of his matches.

"One of my friends' brother wrestled, so we decided to try it," said King via phone from Ontario last week. "I stuck with it. She didn't. ... I've been able to travel a lot and it's definitely one of the best sports I've ever played. I'm really proud of [Stephenson]. It's really good to have a couple of wrestlers in the family."

Stephenson's success was not immediate. As a freshman, he struggled with the nuances of the sport while facing more experienced opponents, and suffered through a 20-loss season.

"As a freshman, he had to wrestle varsity quite a bit, because we had very few guys on our team," Clarksburg coach Josh Munsey said. "He came to practice every day, and took his lumps in matches. At the end of the year, he placed third in the JV tournament. When his sophomore year came around, Roja was a legitimate varsity wrestler, but he lost quite a bit. But most of his losses were by one point."

By the end of the season, his improvement was apparent; Stephenson finished fifth in the 2A-1A West Region tournament at the end of his sophomore year. He climbed to fourth place in the region last winter, earning a spot in the state tournament and finishing with a 30-13 record.

"The easiest part has been conditioning," Stephenson said, "because obviously you can work at that. The hardest part is just picking up all of the techniques. Each year, I've been able to work more on specific techniques. I like to use the headlock a lot."

Those three years of seasoning and hard work during the offseason has transformed Stephenson into one of the top wrestlers in the county, and perhaps the state, this winter at 130 pounds.

"He's the only wrestler I've ever had who never missed a practice in four years," Munsey said. "He's a workout freak, who works out in the mornings, evenings and after practice. He goes to wrestling camps all over the place in the summer, and has improved so much from that first day of his ninth grade, that it's incredible."

Stephenson added four wins to his record in winning the Grapple at the 'Brook title Saturday, moving to 23-2 on the season. His only loss in-county is to Wootton's Shane Bramble.

Stephenson scored two decisions, a major decision and then a fall in the final — in 5 minutes, 36 seconds against Roosevelt's Skylar Barrowman — to win last weekend. His performance has also helped the Coyotes run out to a 6-1 record in dual meets this season.

"Roja is quick and strong, and also possesses good balance and hips," Quince Orchard coach Chris Tao said. "Those things have helped him pull through on some moves, and also get out of dangerous situations. I think one of the biggest changes from last year and this year is his defense. He has become better at defending shots this year, and he has become smarter in how to defend certain things."