WATERLOO - Four years ago, when Waterloo East's wrestlers started training in the off-season by swinging sledgehammers, Charles Tims questioned his coach's sanity.

Now, as a senior, Tims sees things a little clearer.

"I thought Coach (Willie) Gadson was crazy," laughed Tims, now a senior. "But then, me and the other guys started trusting him, and everything started working out."

Four years later, after so many duals in which the word "forfeit" littered its bout sheets, East is a 2008 co-division champion. That hadn't happened since 1995.

And, this week the Trojans were rewarded with six first-team all-Mississippi Valley Conference honorees.

It was a long, arduous climb back to legitimacy for East wrestling.

It didn't happen by accident. And, it couldn't have happened without dedication.

"I believe in work," Gadson said sternly. "And we've been working year-round here."

In the summer, the Trojans worked tirelessly, often at George Wyth State Park, swinging those 12-pound sledgehammers. They also punched the clock by running beaches and wrestling on beaches. And, by flipping tractor tires, World's-Strongest-Man-style.

"Wrestling season never ended last year. Nobody took a break," noted Tims, a tenth-ranked 135-pounder. "I remember times when people were so lazy (in the past), and people used to quit.

"Everybody's sick of seeing the same thing from East's wrestling team. So, this year … guys are a lot more committed. This year, nobody quits."

The Trojans haven't quit because they know Gadson, their fourth-year coach, would never quit on them.

A former two-time all-American 177-pounder at Iowa State in the mid-1970s, Gadson grew up toiling in fields of crops in tiny Allendale, South Carolina.

That explains his passion for intense training that test the limits of his wrestlers.

"My stay in the South was tough. It gave me a work ethic that's scary," explained Gadson, this year's MVC Valley Division Coach of the Year.

Said Tims: "Coach Gadson, he's constantly pushing us to the edge. (But) he's more than a coach to us - he's like a father-figure. So we trust him."

Gadson's constant prodding appears to have molded East's boys into men. In interviews, questions offered to the Trojans are met with a steady stream of "Yes-sirs." And, multiple Trojans, like Tims, are honor students.

And, of course, they can brawl a little bit, too.

East's all-conference first-teamers - Kirk Sallis (at 103 pounds); Charles Tims (135); Chris Tims (140); Kyven Gadson (145); Keelan Moore (152) and Trey Pendleton (285) - won a combined 86 percent of their matches this season.

All of a sudden, it's cool to be a Trojan wrestler again.

"It seems like we're getting more support from classmates," noted third-ranked sophomore Kyven Gadson.

"Guys … wanna be part of a team that's building," Moore explained. "And that's what we're doing - we're coming up to that next level."

Yes, it was a long climb back to legitimacy for a Trojan program that won a state title in 1983.

And, as Gadson's quick to point out, they still haven't reached the summit. Thus, the gameplan for Saturday's district meet at Waverly is simple:

"Have a kick-butt mentality," said the Trojan coach. "Respect all, fear none.

"The ultimate test now is to get down to state and get on that podium."

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com

RISING IN THE EAST: A look at Waterloo East's wrestling resurgence this winter …

- Earned first MVC division title since 1995

- beat Cedar Falls in a dual for first time since 1999

- garnered six first-team all-conference honorees

- could have first state placewinner since 2004 (Charles Arceneaux; 7th)