Barbecued ribs, macaroni and cheese, sugar cookies. Grilled steak, Dorito Taco Supremes from Taco Bell.
Those were Sunday afternoon's snacks/meals for Jared Johnson and Cole Baumgartner, respectively.
The best thing about being a wrestler, perhaps, is when it's not wrestling season.
No scales required, thanks.
"The worst part is watching your weight during the season, which I really don't have that much of a problem with," Johnson said. "The best part is winning."
To be sure, Johnson is coming off a season that was all about winning. He gorged himself on victory, as did Baumgartner.
Both are seniors at Jefferson City High School --- and both won again Monday.
The pair signed letters of intent with Division I schools --- Johnson a rare wrestling full-ride to the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (UTC), Baumgartner the more-common partial scholarship to the University of Missouri.
"Their coaches have been here for me since Day One," Johnson said of the UTC staff. "The other coaches who recruited me really didn't stand out, but they stood out. Other places like Oklahoma and Missouri may have had more flash and may have better facilities, but that doesn't make the wrestler.
"I feel like I can be successful there."
Missouri wanted Johnson, but the Tigers apparently weren't all that serious in their pursuit.
"They're pretty deep, so they almost gave me a token offer," Johnson said. "It was more of a political offer, I think, than they actually wanted me."
After this season, who wouldn't want Johnson?
He won the 195-pound state championship. That's really good.
He went 50-0. That's fabulous.
Five of his wins were by forfeit. The other 45 were all pins --- 40 ended in the first period. That's unheard of.
"I've never seen anything like it; I've never even heard anything like that," Jays coach Phil Cagle said.
It was indeed a senior season to remember.
"It was perfect, in every sense of the word," Johnson said. "All pins, a state championship, a great senior class with me, and a full-ride scholarship."
Johnson is the son of long-time Jays coach Steve Johnson. It was what Steve didn't do, as much as what he did, that drove Jared to the top.
"I liked wrestling when I was little, but I always wrestled just to impress my dad," Jared said. "He always gave me advice, but he never pushed me. He gave me the option of doing what I wanted, and that made me want to wrestle even more."
While Johnson was a three-time state medalist, Baumgartner won four medals --- only the second wrestler in school history to pull off that feat.
Now, he's trading in the Red and Black for Black and Gold.
"It's really exciting," Baumgartner said. "I've always wanted be a Division I wrestler, go to Mizzou and wear a Mizzou singlet. I just want to keep working hard every day to get to the next level. I need to get bigger, stronger, quicker."
Baumgartner and Johnson finished tied for first with a school-record 182 career wins.
"They're both really smart kids, they're very disciplined and they're dedicated to what they do," Cagle said. "They put a lot of great expectations on themselves, that's what makes them great wrestlers. These two guys were definitely go-to guys for us. In a tough situation, we could always depend on them."
Next winter, Johnson and Baumgartner will both face some tough situations, both on the mat and around the table.
"They shouldn't have the two best eating holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) during wrestling season," Baumgartner said. "When the family sits down to eat, I go take a run to take my mind off food, basically. It's kind of not fair."
Here's hoping, however, that both Baumgartner and Johnson keep gorging themselves on victory.
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