Whitman usually goes there a few moments before it's his turn to wrestle. He might do some pacing, maybe some jogging. Most of his time in the cage is devoted to the mental aspects of his sport. Whitman visualizes his match. He sees himself exhausting an opponent, leaving him gasping for air. He sees himself winning.

Actually, lots of people have seen Whitman winning over the past three years.

Whitman, who took third place last year in the Class 5A state tournament at 189 pounds, set Poudre's single-season record with 27 pins in 2003-04. Combined with the 34 pins he totaled as a freshman and sophomore, he enters his senior season tied with Rudy Hall as the program's career leader with 61.

Hall set his mark in 2001; the record is listed on a wall at school. One more Whitman pin and they'll have to make room for his name.

Whitman said he wants to wrestle at 215 pounds this year. Winning a state title is a reasonable goal, according to his coach, Barret Golyer.

Another, obviously, is setting the program's career pins record. Achievements like these could make the year very special for Whitman and Poudre wrestling.

"There's something neat about a record being broken," Golyer said. "It would be good for him to set it higher ... I think it's very important. It's fun. How could you not want to watch a guy wrestling at 215 pounds pin so many guys? It's what people get excited about in a wrestling match. It's going to happen."

Said Whitman: "It's been my goal since my freshman year."

Once he emerges from the cage, Whitman's game plan goes something like this:

"You use determination to make the guy quit when you put him on his back," Whitman said. "When you put him on his back, you know he's not coming back up. Once they're there, they're there. They'll give up sooner or later ... You make them feel like they can't breathe. You make them want to call for mercy."

Golyer stresses what he calls wrestling's four Ps. He wants Whitman to get in the right position and apply the proper pressure. Then patience is key for Whitman, Golyer said.

"That's what he means when he says he wants to make a guy go down to his last breath," Golyer said.

Then there's persuasion.

"He's good at being patient once he has the pin," Golyer said. "Usually when a guy rolls over once, he's not getting off the mat until it's done."

The image of a wrestler psyching himself up in some sort of a mental cage, then making an opponent call for mercy, does not really portray Whitman, however. Yes, he is naturally strong and savvy in the laws of leverage. He wrestles with aggression similar to what he uses in football. He played defensive end on Poudre's varsity football team the past two years and earned a reputation as a good pass rusher.

But his coaches in football and wrestling coaches also describe him as mild-mannered and cordial. Whitman has been home-schooled since he was in about the third grade, he said. He gets up at 7:30 a.m. each day and studies with his parents until about 2 p.m. (His father, John, wrestled and played quarterback at Poudre many years ago). Then he leaves for practice.

When it's not football or wrestling season, Whitman spends those practice hours working on the family's 500-acre dairy farm near Wellington. He wants to see how things pan out this year before making any decision on his future. He has recruiting interest in football from small schools. He might stay home and help with the farm. Golyer said he thinks Whitman could wrestle in college.

"He is an outstanding young man," Poudre football coach Rich Yonker said. "He's a good citizen and very coachable. He's pleasant to be around and he has a good sense of humor."

Said Golyer: "He's just kind of laid back ... but he likes to beat people. He's very competitive."

"In wrestling, the pin is the ultimate goal. It's like the knockout in boxing. Once you get the pin, no matter how far ahead or behind you are, you're done. Since he was a freshman he's always gone after the pin. Even some of his junior high coaches said he gets wild sometimes going after the pin, maybe even a bit sloppy. But in a good way because he's been so focused on his goal."