Cobra Spotlight- Austin Akins, Wrestling

The "Cobra Spotlight" is a weekly highlight of a student-athlete at Coker College. Each week we take a different athlete from a different sport and display some facets to get more familiar with them. This week we take a look at Austin Akins, a member of the wrestling team.

Name: Austin Akins

Sport: Wrestling

Position: Heavyweight

Hometown: Matoaca, Virginia

Year: Sophomore

Major: Biology

Why did you choose Coker? I chose Coker because coach Cy Wainwright won a national championship in the same weight class I compete in. I figured wrestling for a coach with his credentials would give me the best opportunity to win a national title as well.

What is your best memory at Coker (athletic related)? Wrestling in the finals of our first open tournament.

What is your best memory at Coker (non-athletic related)? The talent show during our wrestling team camping retreat.

Which athletic team would you play on at Coker other than your own? I would say baseball because it was my best sport in high school.

Favorite class: Lifetime fitness

Favorite professor: I like all of them, actually. The Nutty Professor is always number one in my heart though.

Plans after graduation: A grad assistant job for a wrestling program would be ideal. I want to be a physical therapist or a weightlifting coach for a collegiate program, but coaching wrestling is always an option.

Favorite movie: Rocky Balboa. Billy Madison and Crash are up there too.

Favorite type of music: Hip-hop, but I also dabble in a little old-school jazz flute – mainly Ron Burgundy.

Favorite food: Chicken curry, lamb over rice and cheesecake

Favorite sports team: Oklahoma Sooners, New York Yankees and New Orleans Saints

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite TV show: Dexter; SpongeBob is probably my most quoted though.

Most prized possession: My Beats Pro headphones

What is something people may not know about you? As of less than six months ago, I thought that I would never compete collegiately again. Also, that I do very little with my life other than wrestling, school and Netflix.

Do you have a nickname? If so, how did you get it? I have a group of eight friends back home that all have animal nicknames and I was the owl; only a small part of the reason why I have an owl tattoo.

One word that describes you: Majestic