It's Miller time ? sort of Oakmont sophomore wrestler frustrated by aliments

You can make a pretty solid argument that these are the halcyon days for Oakmont High wrestling. Rarely has the program been in the position it's in now; defending a league championship with a team loaded with talented underclassmen.That's part of what has made much of the past two years so frustrating for Calvin Miller. Currently the 140-pound standout is dealing with the affects of a sprained left ankle that he suffered a week and a half ago at a tournament in Grass Valley. The injury, which he tweaked again in practice Monday, will likely keep him out of this weekend's prestigious Advocare Foothill Invitational at Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium.But that's nothing compared to what happened to him last year when, as a freshman, he looked at times like the team's best individual hope to reach the state tournament, and someone who could help raise the program even higher in the future. He ultimately finished the season with 15 wins in his 16 matches.But that Miller only had 16 matches last year and never participated in any of Oakmont's postseason competitions hints at the problem that he's still in the process of burying in the back of his mind. It was a physical malady that had him and everyone around him worrying about his well being, and made his father and Oakmont volunteer assistant coach Russell Miller end his year abruptly, telling him, "you need to get out of the season alive."About a year ago during a tournament in the Bay Area was the first time Vikings' head coach Patrick Bussey learned Miller was experiencing chest pains in some of his matches. The pains were sharp and insistent. "When it was happening it was scary," Miller described. "It hurt bad during matches, and after them it hurt worse. It would stay sore for a couple of days, then go away."A trip to the doctor revealed no obvious causes, though the location of the symptoms made some fear the problem was Miller's heart. But how could that be? High school freshmen - especially otherwise healthy looking, football playing, star wrestler freshmen - don't normally have heart trouble.Russell Miller wasn't taking any chances, however. A native of the Michigan town of Adrian, a small city 50 miles south of Detroit, the energetic 45-year-old first gained his love of the sport as a grade-school kid from his father John. He eventually moved to California, where he was a top wrestler at Modesto High, and later wrestled for the University of Oregon and Cal-Poly.Like his father, Russell Miller did a good job of imparting his love of the sport to his sons Calvin and Jerin, a freshman at Oakmont. He did such a good job, in fact, that Jerin once caused him to tear one of his biceps when the two were wrestling, forcing him to have surgery.Russell Miller has been the primary coach for both boys almost since they could walk, and there is little he would like more than to see them be successful in wrestling at Oakmont. But when doctors couldn't tell him one way or the other what was causing Calvin's pain, the elder Miller couldn't tell Calvin to stop wrestling fast enough."I didn't know what was going on," Russell Miller said. "I just made a decision; I'm pulling him. I couldn't take a chance, and they (Bussey and Oakmont assistant Jon Russell) understood."It was kind of a relief (for Calvin) because he'd lay down for 20 minutes after a match in pain. I just told him wrestling is nothing compared to what you mean to me. Wrestling is just a sport to get you somewhere."Calvin Miller understood, but that didn't keep him from being frustrated."I thought I would have done well as a freshman and it just totally brought me down to end everything," he said. "But I knew it was just my freshman year and I could wrestle (for Oakmont) my other three seasons, plus (wrestle) freestyle."Of course, the chest pains would have to subside for that to happen. According to the Millers, the only red flag physicians ever found was an elevated blood pressure, so Calvin was given medicine to deal with that. Otherwise, he just relaxed.By the beginning of this wrestling season, Calvin said he hadn't felt any serious chest pains since last May. Though cardio tests ruled out the heart as a cause, there still hasn't been an official diagnosis of Calvin's condition.But Russell Miller, who knows relaxing doesn't come easily to his eldest son, thinks he knows what the problem was."He put too much stress on himself," he said. "Earlier this year he had a little incident (pains) the first match out, and I said Calvin, you've just got to relax. Jerin's totally opposite. You can't get him riled up until someone hits him."Calvin Miller is a quiet sort who is almost always intense when it comes to wrestling. He began wrestling competitively when he was in kindergarten and he competed for Eich Middle School against seventh-graders when he was just in the fourth grade. He says the key for maintaining his improved health is, "I just need to keep training all-around, training better and everything. I just need to keep up my intensity."He's 21-3 this year, including the one default due to his ankle injury. If the ankle holds up, he could make good on his goals of reaching the state tournament and finishing in the top six there. He also hopes to help Oakmont win the Sac-Joaquin Section dual meet.On the mat, Miller describes himself as someone who is comfortable being either the aggressor or a counter puncher. He's at his best when he's upright and looking to take his opponent down.All of Calvin Miller's skills should be on display later this season, and for two more seasons to come at Oakmont.Assuming he can continue to relax a little bit.