Thirteen months have passed since Ohio State’s Anthony Echemendia stepped on the mat in a competitive wrestling match. After bringing home a pair of stop signs from Fargo, the Cuban immigrant wrestled fellow Fargo champ Josh Saunders at Flo’s annual Who’s #1 event. After steamrolling Saunders 10-0, Echemendia has been waiting for the chance to get back on the mat and pick up his next victory.

COVID-19 not only scuttled last season’s NCAA Wrestling Championships, but also kept college athletes away from their school’s training facilities for the better part of the past eight months. That’s an eternity for elite-level athletes.

“I spent a long time without training at all because I couldn’t get into Ohio State,” Echemendia said. “Now I’m getting back in shape. We’re training really hard.”

While Echemendia is widely considered a freak athlete with rare physical gifts, going more than a year between competitions — and going without elite-level training for a significant period of that time — is a tall task.

“This will be a big test,” said Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan. “Timing, cardio all questions.”

Ohio State allowed athletes back into the Jennings Family Wrestling Facility at Covelli Center a scant two weeks ago, and it was clear from social media that Ohio State’s future phenom was happy to be back in the building.

Since rejoining his teammates in The Room, Echemendia has spent most of his time drilling with 157-pounder Elijah Clearly and 149-pounder Sammy Sasso. Top-ranked Sasso will also wrestle on the Burroughs vs. Zahid card Nov. 14.

Getting back into the grind, and finally getting the full NCAA training experience, has been a welcome change of pace.

“[It’s been] tough because I never lifted weights before and we’re lifting a lot, but I need that,” Echemendia said of the first weeks back.

While Echemendia is famous for making practice as much like a live event as it gets, his Nov. 14 match against a veteran like Evan Henderson will test how far the Cuban’s natural talents can carry him against a senior-level opponent after one of the strangest offseasons in history.

Andy Vance is a Columbus-based journalist who covers the Ohio State University wrestling program for Eleven Warriors, the largest independent sports site on the internet for Ohio State news, analysis, and community. He is co-host of the site’s Eleven Dubcast podcast. Follow him on Twitter @AndyVance.