Mike Grimes is no stranger to the Midland Championships tournament.

Watching from his seat in the stands at Welsh-Ryan Arena as a middle-schooler, Grimes always thought it would be “so cool” to be one of those wrestlers out on the mats.

Fast-forward to his senior year at NIU in the championship match at the Midlands and see Grimes beat his third Big Ten opponent to claim the 149-pound title. Mission accomplished.

Grimes became the first NIU wrestler to ever win a title at the Midlands. So you would figure that no matter what happens the rest of the season, Grimes will consider this season a success, right? Wrong.

One week before the MAC Championships began last season, Grimes woke up and felt a little stomach bug. No big deal. He’s a wrestler. Wrestlers train their bodies like machines and no serious sickness could ever slow them down.

That wasn’t the case. Grimes learned he was grappling with Bronchitis as he laid in bed three straight days.

Heading into the MAC Championships, Grimes body felt lethargic and drained. He wrestled anyway, but he just wasn’t the same.

“I had to call a timeout in the middle of the second period from being so winded,” Grimes said. “I never have to do that.”

The result of getting sick during the MAC tournament was an early exit in the semi-finals to a wrestler he had beaten earlier in the year.

While the loss ended his hopes of winning the MAC Championship, it also prevented him from making a trip to the NCAA Championships.

“You work so hard throughout the season and to not make the NCAA’s kind of ruined my season,” Grimes said.

While he feels not making the tournament was more politics than anything because of the appeal of Central Michigan and their standing in the MAC, Grimes has made last year’s memory a point of motivation for this season.

With his omission driving him, Grimes got back in the gym and made it a point to be one of the best and most confident wrestlers nationally.

“I’ll be fully recovered when I win the MAC,” Grimes said. “But winning the nationals is still my ultimate goal.

Wait. Win the MAC? That’s quite a bold statement.

“He was always confident in everything he did,” said his father, Mike Grimes, Sr. “When he was a sophomore [in high school] he said he was going to quit football so he could focus on wrestling and become a state champion.”

And guess what? He won the state title the next two years.

So you might think twice about doubting his prediction. Plus, Grimes says he has an extra edge to him heading into MAC play this season. One that makes him feel that no one can stand in his way ­- especially Central Michigan’s Brandon Carter, the one who took Grimes’ NCAA tournament bid a year ago.

“They’re the people [MAC wrestlers] that stood in my way last year and took it from me,” Grimes said. “And they’re standing in my way now. And I’m gonna make sure they know that’s not happening this year.”

So if you see Grimes around campus, go ahead and congratulate him on his Midlands title. But at the same time, realize that he’s already past that.