Fortunately for Golden, he ended up living on the same floor as several of the freshman wrestling recruits. He explained that they quickly became good friends and they had convinced him to attend team workouts to try and walk on to the wrestling team in 2005.
At these workouts, Golden caught the attention of then-Terps wrestling head coach Pat Santoro, and was offered a position on the team.
“I always thought I could wrestle Division I, but no one really inspired me to do that until I met Pat,” Golden said.
Through this hard work, Golden was able to earn a scholarship offer entering his fourth year at Maryland. He was named a team captain and had a standout out season at 133 pounds.
“I gained a lot of credibility with Pat and he put me on a scholarship going into my senior year. I never thought that that would happen,” he said. “Just someone believing in you, and you already having that ability, and more importantly already having that grit and that will is what got me to that point.”
When Golden earned his scholarship, he explained that it was a moment he will never forget. He felt that all of his hard work had paid off, and used the opportunity as motivation to work even harder.
“In some ways at that moment I kind of expected it because I put in the work. Coming into my freshman year I didn't really know what it meant to put in that kind of work,” he said. “It was very fulfilling at that moment to earn a scholarship.”
Golden explained that his best memories from his time at Maryland came from both athletics and the relationships he was able to create. While his favorite memories with the wrestling team included winning ACC Championships in 2008 and 2009 and finishing 10th in the nation in 2009, he noted that his best memory really came when meeting Coach Santoro for the first time.
“The day that I met Pat Santoro, it just was such a life changer. It really propelled my life in a different direction, and I still have so many great friends from that day. And that allowed me to meet (Maryland women’s basketball legend) Kristi Toliver, and she’s like my sister now,” he said.
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Impact Of A Scholarship: Charles "Mookie" Golden - University of Maryland Athletics - UMTerps.com
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