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But not for Daub. The four-year letterwinner doesn't crave food. He has at least four pounds to spare in his 170-pound division.
The Viking senior craves only one thing, a state medal. To do it, he'll have to run through a smorgasbord of the state's top student-athletes this weekend.
Facing a career-ending match Thursday afternoon, Daub kept his goal intact, advancing to the second stage of the PIAA Class AA Championships with a 6-2 decision over Ridgway's Jake Himes in the first round of the consolation bracket. He used a reversal, along with a pair of single-leg takedowns, to easily notch his 124th career victory.
"My goal coming in here was to place, and I'm not where I want to be right now," said a straight-faced Daub moments after having his arm raised. "But I'll try to work with it and see what I can do tomorrow."
The All-County running back opened the 16-man tournament Thursday with a 10-1 setback to Muncy's Troy Hembury in the morning. He faces another must-win match at 10:45 a.m. Friday when he locks up with either Jefferson-Morgan's Dustin Conti or Bermudian Spring's Tristan Sponseller.
"I want to get that medal, I want to bring that medal home," added Daub, now 39-11 this season. "I'm going to have someone tough either way, so we'll see. Even though I'm not showing a lot of
Against Himes in the consolation round, Daub snatched a right leg, spinning and lifting him in the air seconds into the first round. From there, both grapplers went to the mat, Daub sinking in a half-nelson to get the referee's two-point gesture. Himes was unable to mount any offense from the ground, finishing the frame down, 2-0.
In the second, Daub started on the bottom, twisting his way to a two-point reversal for a 4-0 advantage. Himes eventually found his feet, only to have Daub register another low single-leg late in the stanza to go up 6-1.
Daub let Himes up following back-to-back false starts in the third. The remaining 1:40 was spent standing, as the two fighters battled fatigue and jockeyed for wrist control.
"He regrouped, he's mentally tougher than he's been in a long time," said NL's head coach Rusty Wallace. "When we brought him up as a freshman, we knew he was going to be a tough kid if he put the work in, and over the last four years he's put a ton of time in."
In his early bout, Hembury, the state's No. 2 ranked 170-pounder and Northeast Regional champion, latched on to Daub's left ankle as he was maneuvering around the
Daub tried to crawl out of bounds but still fell behind 2-0 to the junior. He scored his lone point with a reversal after the restart at 1:15 of the first.
Hembury, a fifth-place finisher at 145 last season, controlled action the rest of the way. He nearly pinned Daub in the second, picking up back points and holding a 9-1 lead entering the third.
"He was tough," said Daub. "I didn't even realize he placed last year, but I still tried to go at him, I did what I could. I (wrestled Himes) the same way and got the job done."
Daub finished fifth at the Southeast Regional meet last Saturday, earning District Three's fifth and final berth in the state bracket.
"(District Three) is real tough. I have 11 losses now, and I'm in states," he said. "It just shows how tough of a schedule we have."
No stranger to hard work, Daub's path to the medal stand is blocked by the loser of state powerhouses Conti (44-0) and Sponseller (45-2).
"This year, more than any other year, he realized what he could do. He's wrestled tough competition all year," added Wallace. "You can't ask for a nicer kid in the world. A 4.7 GPA, a straight-A kid, he cares about the junior high program, he cares about the youth kids, and you can always find him in the weight room helping a junior high kid work out or at the elementary practice helping. He's a great kid."
Evident in the fact of his Fredericksburg supporters, who found themselves scurrying around the Giant
"We had a whole bunch of fans here," noted Wallace. "The Northern Lebanon kids came out in droves today. We had a big cheering section. It's good for our program, and it's good for the junior high kids to see. It gives them something to shoot for."
Daub expects to give up wrestling to pursue a college football career after high school (LVC, Shippensburg, Kutztown, Lock Haven). He ranks second on Northern Lebanon's all-time win list behind Jim Collins.
"I just want to finish out strong, and we'll see where it goes," added Daub, eventually cracking a smile.
The Class AA quarterfinals resume Friday at 9 a.m. followed by the second-round consolations at 10:45 a.m. The semifinals and third-round consolations are at 6 p.m. and the fourth-round consolations follow at 9 p.m. Saturday's session concludes with the finals, third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches all at 1:45 p.m.
