Prep wrestling | Relationship with assistant coach David Mason helps Manatee's Caleb Rudisill ascend to title contention

BRADENTON -- Caleb Rudisill's relationship with David Mason went to a different place during the spring. After years of traveling together for wrestling tournaments and spending most of their time together as wrestler and coach, they spent six days during spring break together and away from the mat.

Rudisill, a state championship hopeful for Manatee and the son of a pastor, took his latest mission trip to Costa Rica, where he volunteered at an orphanage and helped build the walls of a church. Mason, an assistant coach for the Hurricanes and Rudisill's greatest influence as a wrestler, went with him.

For six days with the Abraham Project in San Jose, wrestling shuffled to the fringes of their conversations. They had

a different task at hand and it prompted different sort of discussions about faith, service and all aspects of life.

"We spent every waking hour standing within three or four feet of each other," Mason said. "We got to really see each other outside of the serious element of wrestling, let our guard completely down and enjoy each other as friends."

Back in the wrestling room at Manatee High School, where the Canes will host the 32nd Coach Kelly Memorial Hurricane Team Challenge beginning Friday at 4 p.m. and continuing all day Saturday, Rudisill and Mason worry about concluding Rudisill's senior season with an elusive Class 3A title. If Rudisill can finish his Canes career with a state championship, it will be because of the relationship Rudisill and Mason forged nearly five years ago.

Rudisill and Mason first met when Rudisill was coming up through the Manatee pipeline with Mason's Masonites program. The summer before Rudisill's freshman year, though, was when the bond first began to form.

The two spent nearly every day during the summer working out together to prepare Rudisill for his first year with the Hurricanes and they even traveled up to Ohio for a tournament together. During the next four years, these trips have become commonplace. The daily workouts and practices have become routine.

"I spend more time with him than I do with the rest of my family," Mason said. "He's very important to me. He's like a little brother."

They were first drawn to each other by their religion and eventually connected with competitiveness. Mason sensed Rudisill's desire to win a state championship and it has brought out the best in both. When Rudisill finished third in the 126-pound division, he felt it was an upset he didn't win a 3A title. He and Mason were quickly back to work.

Rudisill set the Canes' single-season wins record last year and is closing in on Jesse Fulk's career mark. Despite a pair of losses at the Knockout Christmas Tournament last week in Kissimmee, Rudisill is still on track, head coach Andrew Gugliemini believes. The Christmas Tournament was Rudisill's first time this season at his state weight of 132 pounds. His response this weekend will be telling.

"He has some really lofty goals in front of him," Gugliemini said. "He knows exactly what he's got to do."

Mostly, it means Rudisill continuing to work on his technique, an area Gugliemini said Mason coaches better than anyone else in the region. Rudisill strives to think the way Mason does.

Mason, he says, looks at wrestling like a chess match and he's always thinking two or three moves ahead of the opponent. From the sideline, Mason can bark brief instructions to Rudisill with his expanded vantage point and, more often than not, guide his wrestler to victory.

"He's an encyclopedia of wrestling, in my opinion," Rudisill said. "He looks at it like an art form."

Trying to mimic Mason has been an obvious goal for Rudisill because of how similar their backgrounds and beliefs are. Mason likes to think his work as a wrestling coach is just a way for him to positively affect kids as they develop into adults and Rudisill has been a sponge.

Two years ago, Rudisill's first appearance at state ended with a disappointing quarterfinal exit. His setback only paved the way for his first state medal in 2015 with Mason's help. After his first setback of this season, Rudisill will again have Mason helping get on track for another state title run.

"He's definitely been a mentor to me," Rudisill said, "biggest mentor in my life, and molded me into who I am today. He's definitely my big brother. That's what I consider him."

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Prep wrestling | Relationship with assistant coach David Mason helps Manatee's Caleb Rudisill ascend to title contention ."