By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@thecitizennews.com

The Sandy Creek Patriot wrestling team is more worldly this season, if a little less experienced.

The team has Erlend Hunstad, a first year wrestler from Norway, who is attending Sandy Creek this year as part of the AFS Exchange Program.

Hunstad is from Bodeo, Norway and will turn 18 years old in March. He has completed what we would consider high school in Norway and is using this year as an experience builder. While attending school in Norway, Hunstad belonged to what is called the “Sports Line.” Students in that section of the school take the same core classes as the rest of the school but their electives are more focused on athletics.

Hunstad ran cross country for the Patriots in the fall and really enjoys the experience he is getting as a wrestler. In his first meet, Hunstad placed third overall in his weight class. “It's really fun,” Hunstad said, mentioning that athletics in Norway are less competitive.

Another difference between the two nations is that there are no inter-school athletics. The students play on club teams that are more city and neighborhood based. The team experience also has been very exciting to Hunstad, who has found many friends through his athletic activities.

Wrestling also has helped him see more of this country, as Sandy Creek recently wrestled in Florida in the first week of the new year. While in America, Hunstad is staying with the Niggley family until July. He has visited some other states around the South with his host family and hopes to see some more of the nation before returning to Norway in July.

As for cultural differences, Hunstad sees the students in Norway as more mature and more independent. The other major difference is the poulation of his country. Norway has approximately 4.5 million people and lots of space.

The wrestling season will last several more weeks, after which Hunstad hopes to run track and field for Sandy Creek.

As for future plans, he hopes to study psychology in college and to stay active and athletic. He would also like to get some more victories under his belt. Sandy Creek would like that too.

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