Name: Ron Williams
Height: 5’10”
Weight class: 174
Classification: Senior
Major: Biology
Favorite color: Silver
When we hear someone say wrestling, most of our minds jump almost
automatically to the WWF Superstars and forget about the legitimate
wrestlers in high schools, college, and in the Olympics.
When someone says UNCG wrestling, a lot of people get a puzzled look
on their face, and unless they know someone on the team personally,
tend to ask, “We have a wrestling team?” The UNCG wrestling squad is a
hard working bunch of student athletes and one of the main fixtures on
the team is senior Ron Williams.
The senior Biology major was born in Kentucky, but his family now lives
in Wilson, North Carolina. Growing up in a close-knit family, Williams
names his parents as two of his greatest role models. Williams is following in his father’s footsteps in several ways. His father wrestled in high school and college and it was he who encouraged Ron to get involved in wrestling with a local Junior Olympics program
in 1992. Williams father and his background in medicine also helped
his decision to enter a major in biology and to pursue pathology as a
career.
After finishing at UNCG in May, Williams is interested in furthering his academic career in medical school, but has made no firm decisions yet. He plans to go into medical research, concentrating on oncology and cancer studies.
Throughout his academic career, Williams has enjoyed classes within his
major and lists Organic Chemistry as one of his most challenging, but
favorite courses that he has taken.
His background in Christianity provides a great deal of Williams’
motivation in life and he firmly believes in his potential to better
himself every day. His Pastor in Wilson, Reverend Jones is also one of his greatest influences. While many lose faith in their day-to-day life when they are presented with trials and tribulations, Williams’ faith only appears to grow stronger as he gets
older and experiences more in life.
Williams differs from the stereotypical male in that he has no problem
admitting to a couple of things that a lot of guys would be embarrassed
about. For instance, the 80s standard that we all know and love (and
may have done karaoke to once or twice) Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just
Wanna Have Fun” is one of Williams’ favorite songs. He also says that
when he needs to relax and get away from some of the pressures in his
life, he has a tendency to just get in his car, pop in a CD of 80s
music, and just drive around for a while.
Williams also freely admits to being the proud owner of not one, but two stuffed animals. Williams reserves a place in his heart and presumably his room for Chip and Dale, of Disney’s Rescue
Rangers.
But do not let the softer side of the man confuse you about the fact
that Williams is a tough character on the mat. With a 9-8 overall
record this season, Williams has helped UNCG to several victories this
year and in the past.
Since transferring from North Carolina A&T; his sophomore year, Williams
has been an integral part of the team at UNCG. As one of the few
seniors on this year’s team, he will undoubtedly be missed. Although he
has no plans to seriously pursue wrestling after graduation, Williams
hopes to participate in tournaments occasionally and possibly help out
with a Junior Olympics program similar to the one he started with.
After his first year at A&T; Williams made the decision to transfer
cross-town to UNCG at least partially because A&T; is without a
wrestling team. While here at UNCG Williams have enjoyed being a part of the athletic department despite the fact that the division of time between wrestling and his scholarly endeavors is often difficult to manage.
As many student athletes will note, the balance between athletics and
academics is sometimes difficult to find, but absolutely vital to their
success in both areas. Because of the constraints put on them, student
athletes are often left with little or not time to themselves and the
challenge of maintaining their GPA while continuing the perform on the
court is sometimes too taxing.
Even though he is not “The Rock” or “Stone Cold”, Ron Williams is
without a doubt an exceptional athlete and an asset to the athletic
department here. So if you ever get a chance come on out and watch the
UNCG wrestling squad if nothing else you’ll get to see guys in unitards.
