Khamari Whimper has lost a few times in his life, but he learned early on to profit from those setbacks.
"Adapting from the losses has made me get better over time," he said, knowing that one of those wrestling losses led him to Baylor and will eventually lead him to the Ivy League and the University of Pennsylvania.
The loss while representing a small school from Social Circle, Ga., was to Baylor's Blake Sutherland at the Archer Duals in Lawrenceville, Ga.
"I was already looking at going to a boarding school, and Baylor is close to home," Whimper said. "I saw they had good coaches and I wanted to go to boarding school - a better environment, better academics, more opportunities."
One thing led to another and Whimper, a GHSA Class AA state runner-up as a sophomore, joined the Red Raiders.
"He came here last year as a junior. He had talked with Blake, making inquiries about the school, and eventually applied," Baylor wrestling coach Ben Nelson recalled.
Since that arrival, Whimper has locked away one TSSAA state championship and is now looking for another.
"He has a great combination of quickness and strength," Nelson said of the 182-pounder. "It's a huge benefit when he's wrestling guys who are cutting a little bit of weight. He's able to keep up with them strength-wise, but he usually is a little quicker. He has athletic gifts that you can't teach, an innate ability to do things that a lot of guys aren't going to be able to accomplish."
Whimper loves using the strength and quickness, combining them with great balance and the education from losses along the way.
"I like getting takedowns," he said. "I wrestled for the national team and got beat by older guys, but I got better. Adapting from losses has made me get better over time."
How much better? He's a nationally ranked competitor, but he doesn't know his record or his ranking.
"I was ranked eighth at one time, but I quit looking. And I don't keep up with my record. I know I've lost one," he said.
That loss was in the semifinals of the Kansas City Stampede to the eventual winner. He wound up a third-place finisher in the nationally renowned tournament.
For the record, he's 18-1 but he knows his grades better than his won-loss total.
"He is extremely focused academically, almost overly conscientious, and he stresses himself out about academics," Nelson said.
He was a straight-A student.
"Well, I was," Whimper said. "I got a B last semester - environmental sciences - and I'm still thinking about that."
He took the B as a loss and he's learning from it, and while his wrestling talents might have gotten him noticed, Whimper's grades opened the doors at Penn.
"He's doing things right in all aspects of his life academically and athletically," Nelson said, "and going to Penn to wrestle for them is a great accomplishment in itself."
It takes more than one person, Whimper reminded.
"All of my experiences have led me to where I am today. My mom helped me a lot; my grandmother, my sisters; my coaches and my teammates," he said. "You just keep pushing."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-86-4765. Follow him on Twitter @wardgossett.