The Sandy

Creek Patriot wrestling team is more worldly this season,

if a little less experienced.

The team

has Erlend Hunstad, a first year wrestler from Norway,

who is attending Sandy Creek this year as part of the AFS

Exchange Program.

Hunstad is

from Bodeo, Norway and will turn 18 years old in March.

He has completed what we would consider high school in

Norway and is using this year as an experience builder.

While attending school in Norway, Hunstad belonged to

what is called the "Sports Line." Students in

that section of the school take the same core classes as

the rest of the school but their electives are more

focused on athletics.

Hunstad ran

cross country for the Patriots in the fall and really

enjoys the experience he is getting as a wrestler. In his

first meet, Hunstad placed third overall in his weight

class. "It's really fun," Hunstad said,

mentioning that athletics in Norway are less competitive.

Another

difference between the two nations is that there are no

inter-school athletics. The students play on club teams

that are more city and neighborhood based. The team

experience also has been very exciting to Hunstad, who

has found many friends through his athletic activities.

Wrestling

also has helped him see more of this country, as Sandy

Creek recently wrestled in Florida in the first week of

the new year. While in America, Hunstad is staying with

the Niggley family until July. He has visited some other

states around the South with his host family and hopes to

see some more of the nation before returning to Norway in

July.

As for

cultural differences, Hunstad sees the students in Norway

as more mature and more independent. The other major

difference is the poulation of his country. Norway has

approximately 4.5 million people and lots of space.

The

wrestling season will last several more weeks, after

which Hunstad hopes to run track and field for Sandy

Creek.

As for

future plans, he hopes to study psychology in college and

to stay active and athletic. He would also like to get

some more victories under his belt. Sandy Creek would

like that too.