My name is Andrew Hochstrasser I'm 28 years old and I'm from Tooele, Utah. I moved to Tooele in the 5th grade from Sacramento California. I went to high school at Tooele High graduated in 2004. I had a great time in high school, where I participated on the golf team, the wrestling team, and the baseball team. From there I decided to go to Boise State University to continue my wrestling/education career.  The only reason I started wrestling was because I was unable to try out for the traveling soccer team, because they had already had tryouts. From not being allowed to try out I met a friend on a rec youth soccer team who had been wrestling for some time and invited me to try it out. I was definitely not interested but my dad insisted anyways, as it turned out, I liked it a lot. Its been a trip ever since. Literally, I've been on the road traveling to different cities, states, and countries, and it's been a blast. In High School I won four state titles. My team was fortunate enough to compete in some tough national tournaments as well. We got to see some of the best talent in the country. It was a great experience for me, and really set my goals high for my future. Deciding to go to Boise State was a difficult decision for me and when I finally had to make a decision, Boise was the best choice for me, and my style of wrestling. I've never regretted that decision. I've had great coaches and great teammates that have helped me achieve my goals, and they still continue to push me to reach my future goals . While at Boise I studied business marketing. It took me a while to decide what to study, but it was a good fit for my schedule and my personality. During my career I competed in two Pac 10 tournaments, one Pac 12 tournament, and three NCAA tournaments. I won a single Pac 10 title, one Pac 12 title, and was a runner up and 4th at the NCAA tournament. After college I was privileged enough to compete in the 2012 Olympic team trials, where I placed 4th. I have also been able to compete in several world team trials. Recently, I competed and won Mexico City in the Pan American Games. A majority of my time is spent training to make the next world team and the 2016 Olympic team. Next years World Championships will be in Las Vegas, so its going to be an exciting year of wrestling.

 

 When I'm not training, my time is usually spent outside, which to me is fitting since I spend so much time inside,  I should even it out by being outside just as often. I like to play a lot of pick up games when I can l such as ultimate frisbee, soccer, flag football, and volleyball. Recently, I've picked up rock climbing, its such an intense sport. The mental stress you have to endure while climbing is scary. Most of the time the only thing holding me back is a mental block, physically I can do a lot, but when your hanging out on a ledge looking down its scary. I really enjoy the complexity of the body movements and the mental challenge, and I think its a good exercise to improve my wrestling.
In the summer I'm usually on the river, rafting or in the new wave we have in Boise. During the winter, well probably all year I really geek out on snowboarding, watching videos, planning trips, researching next years gear and the tech that goes into it. It really fascinates me.  

 

 I think I keep a healthy balance between my wrestling and other activities. Wrestling is where my goals lie right now. They are pretty high goals and there's a lot I need to do to get there but winning a World Championship and an Olympic Championship is what I want and the time I put in is worth it.