HIS HEART IS AT HOME

By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer

NORTH CHARLESTON - Saturday night was supposef to mark the triumphant "Homecoming" for Orangeburg native and World Wrestling Entertainment "Superstar" Shelton Benjamin.

The former three-sport standout at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High and two-time All-American at the University of Minnesota was returning to his home state for a match tonight at the North Charleston Coliseum as one of pro wrestling's burgeoning talents. Thanks to a big "push" initiated by WWE head Vince McMahon and "face" time in headline matches the past three months on "Monday Night RAW" against such ring luminaries as Ric Flair and Triple H (Hunter Hearst Helmsley), Benjamin has seen his stock rise to the point where he's almost become a "franchise" player.

"I understood he had a meeting with Vince McMahon and this whole thing was laid out for what they had planned for him," said Ron Donlick, Benjamin's wrestling coach at O-W. "They told him he was going to have his shot to go to the top and I guess he's doing it."

Such fanfare and momentum was to accompany Benjamin into the ring Saturday night for an Intercontinental title match against fellow youthful upstart Randy Orton. However, just five days before his big return to South Carolina, Benjamin suffered an untimely break in the form of a hand fracture which will sideline him for an undisclosed period.

The injury occurred Monday night while Benjamin taped a match for "Sunday Night Heat" in Dayton, Ohio, according to WWE live events coordinator Joe Villa. According to Donlick, the former Bruin and Golden Gopher broke two middle bones in his hand and wrist after throwing a punch which hit the metal knee brace of an opponent who had lifted up his leg to protect his stomach.

No timetable was given for Benjamin's return to the ring, although Villa was confident he would make a quick recovery knowing his competitive fire. Donlick also said Benjamin indicated he still may be written into the RAW storylines in order to keep him in the spotlight.

This is not the first time Benjamin has had to battle back from injury. Last September, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery after an injury suffered during a tag team match with Charlie Haas against Los Guerroros (current WWE champion Eddie Guerrero and his nephew Chavo) and returned four weeks later. In 2001, he suffered a dislocated elbow during his stint in Ohio Valley Wrestling where he was a three-time co-tag team champion with former college teammate and WWE champion Brock Lesnar.

Despite the injuries, the WWE is apparently pining their future success on Benjamin, whose incorporation of Greco-Roman wrestling with in-ring acrobatics has drawn comparisons with former World Championship Wrestling champion Sting.

'Lifelong dream'

One person who was especially disappointed to hear the news of Benjamin's non-appearance in the Lowcountry was the former high school mentor. It was under Donlick that Benjamin dominated the Class 4-A heavyweight division by going 65-1 in winning back-to-back state heavyweight titles in 1993 and 1994 and earning state Wrestler of the Year honors as a senior.

Donlick also witnessed Benjamin excel as a running back in football under former head coach Tommy Brown, as member of a 4x100 team under Ron Geoghaghen which set a school record and as the 100-meter junior college national champion in 1995 at Lassen Community College in California.

In a telephone interview from his Mount Pleasant home, Donlick indicated his pupil's pro wrestling stardom was not unexpected and was noticeable even in Benjamin's high school days.

"This pro wrestling is something he always played around with," he said. "When we had breaks at tournaments, he and some of the guys would get together and practice wrestling moves. It was just something he always liked. So, when he got a chance to actually do it, I was actually all in favor of it. It was the kid's lifelong dream."

While a "wrestling purist" at heart, Donlick very much understood Benjamin's progression into the "theatrical" side of wrestling from a financial standpoint coming out of college.

"Initially, I wanted him to take a shot at the Olympics and I had little doubt that we would have made the Olympic team and probably brought a medal back," Donlick said. "He called me and said, 'I've got a chance to do this pro wrestling thing. I hope you're not too disappointed.' And my answer was simply, 'Shelton, this whole thing is for you and your future. Your choices have always been well thought-out.' At that point, he said, 'I've been doing this for so long and I haven't made any money at it. I need to have some money to live on'.

"We have to keep that balance. Pure wrestling is fine, but when it's not paying the bills, you have to do something else."

All-Americans

Benjamin is one of six former O-W wrestlers Donlick coached who went on to achieve All-American status in the college and junior college ranks. Two more Bruin alumnus joined Benjamin, Terrance Bovian, Herman Baker and Troy Elmore on that elite list this past year in former 130-pound Class 4-A state champion Willie Hilton of the University of North Carolina-Pembroke and Joe Mavins of Lassen.

Hilton placed eighth in the 141-pound division at the NCAA Division II National Championships held in March to earn All-American status. As for Mavins, he also competed at 141 pounds and followed in Benjamin's footsteps by qualifying for the NJCAA Wresting Championships and finishing in seventh place. He's reportedly expected to transfer to highly ranked Fresno State.

While Hilton and Mavins are not likely to follow Benjamin into the pro ranks, Donlick does see some common qualities.

"One is the presence of self-confidence," he said. "It may not have been there during the beginning, but it developed through the years and I think anybody that makes All-American has to have that particular quality. The other thing is that they've all done well in their schoolwork. I think Joe … did quite well at Lassen. Willie Hilton was an academic All-American in high school and is doing the same thing in college."

Getting back

with the kids

Benjamin keeps in touch with Donlick on a regular basis. He also keeps close to his Orangeburg roots, going as far as to insist his ring introduction list the Garden City as his hometown and making a point to speak with youngsters at his alma mater whenever he's nearby.

"He comes back occasionally and talks to some of my students," he said. "In fact, when we werein Savannah (Georgia) this past year, he flew in from South Africa, he rented a car and drove up to Orangeburg and talked to some of my kids, signed some autographs and drove back to Savannah to do that night's show and then it was off to New York and New England. So whenever he can, he tries to squeeze something like that in. He's been very good at getting back with the kids and motivating them to move up in the world."

An autographed photo of Benjamin and then-tag team member Haas is taped on the office window of the O-W weight room. As big as Benjamin's star grows in the WWE, his heart remains at the place where it all began.

n T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547.