Mirkovic Doubles Down at Williams College

Chew up opponents on the football field or pin them on the mat? It's a choice Nikola Mirkovic thought he might have to make coming out of Ridgewood High School. So what's a gifted athlete to do? Well, why not both?

That's precisely the reason he chose Williams College in Massachusetts a few years back.

"There are different parts of each one that I like," said Mirkovic of both wrestling and football. "It was hard to decide," the senior added.

At Williams he will be starting his fourth year at defensive tackle for the Ephs come September. In wrestling, he has mainly competed as a heavyweight, but will be moving down to 197-pound weight class for the 2011-12 season.

One of the main factors that he has been able to play both sports is that Williams is part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), which only plays eight games during the football season and no more. As a result, there is only a week that he misses for regular season practice.

"It played a big role in my decision and I only looked at NESCAC schools," said Mirkovic who also investigated Trinity and Wesleyan universities, all in the same conference.

Last season he was a part of the Ephs football team that went undefeated 8-0 and won the NESCAC championship after defeating archrival Amherst, 31-16. The game is one of the oldest in the history of football where crowds of 10,000 or more come out to see the clash of the rivals.

And his former head wrestling coach at Ridgewood High School, Torre Watson, knows how difficult it is to compete in both sports.

"Not only is he a college athlete at a top university in the country, but he is competing in not one but two sports," said Watson. "These sports are also the toughest and most physically demanding sports that there are and they are in back-to-back seasons. This is a truly impressive and difficult feat, nothing short of who this young man is."

In wrestling, his junior season was not as great, compiling a 14-8 record, placing second on the team at heavyweight division. For the first three seasons he has behind some of the best wrestlers in the country, including All-Americans Tom Foote and Ryan Malo.

But his senior season is shaping to be his best yet, especially in wrestling. Mirkovic was named team captain and will be slimming down to 197 pounds.

"There was nobody who was set at 197," said Mirkovic, well aware he'll have a lot of weight cutting towards to drop from 240 pounds.

Still, his play at defensive tackle in football helps him excel in wrestling, he said. "Playing the defensive line position lends to wrestling," said Mirkovic. "My style of wrestling is like a football player. I'm not technically proficient like other wrestlers who compete all year round, but can do explosive shots."