When Michael McMullan says he’s nu

When Michael McMullan says he’s number one, he’s not bragging. He’s not even talking about his rank at Wyoming Seminary, or his standings among local wrestlers. McMullan is the number one- ranked heavyweight high school wrestler in the United States. His mat prowess has also earned him the honor of Best & Brightest in Athletics.

Pick up any of the major wrestling magazines or check out the wrestling websites — Wrestling USA, W.I.N. Magazine, Intermat.com or theopenmat.com, for instance — and you’ll see McMullan’s name and face all over them. You’ll see words like “talented” “phenom” and “revolutionizing” on those pages. And you’ll see that virtually every top wrestling authority lists McMullan as the best of the best.

Looking at his accomplishments, it’s easy to see how he earned that status. He won the Asics Ironman, Beast of the East and Cheesehead Invitational tournaments, three of the toughest individual tournaments in the country.

He competed in the National Prep School Wrestling Tournament four times, placed all four years and won it twice. McMullan won two junior high state titles and two private school state titles, and he’s been featured in Sports Illustrated in their “Faces in the Crowd” section recognizing premier high school athletes.

“I played football when I was five and my parents were looking for a winter sport for me,” McMullan said. “That meant either basketball or wrestling, and I didn’t like basketball, so I tried wrestling.”

He soon quit. But his older brother — now a wrestler at Bucknell — was wrestling and McMullan was frequently at his brother’s tournaments.

“I was watching them wrestle and one day I thought, ‘I can do it and I can do it better,’” McMullan said.

Still, he said, wrestling was just a sport, and added he was also playing tight end and middle linebacker for his school’s football team. He also plays lacrosse with enough skill to be named team “most valuable player” in his junior year. But then, in his junior year, he won the national prep school wrestling tournament.

“I figured I must be pretty good and I could be really good if I worked even harder,” he said.

And really good he became — the best in the country, by most accounts. Still, despite all the recognition, McMullan said his proudest moment didn’t come on the wrestling mat but on stage.

“When I was a junior I went to a winter acting workshop,” he said. “I was out on stage in front of an audience and getting applause for something that wasn’t wrestling, and that was a cool, unbelievable feeling.”

It’s not the only non-wrestling activity he enjoys, though some still touch on the sport where he excels. McMullan spends part of his summers volunteering, including helping at a youth wrestling camp and organizing trips and activities for the residents of a retirement home. And though it might seem incongruous for a heavyweight wrestler, he’s also been a violin teacher.

“I needed to take an instrument in elementary school,” he said. “Everyone was taking trumpet and things like that. I wanted to take something hard and unique, so I took violin. It’s a skill I’ll always have now.”

“I’m very outgoing and willing to try pretty much anything,” he said. “I play violin and piano, I wrestle and play football, I act. I’m versatile and adaptable, and I like that.”