“Whenever I step onto the climbing wall, the mindset is great,” sophomore Zach Wrubel said, “All my problems go away. I’m not thinking about anything else when I’m on the wall. Everything in the background goes away, and I’m only focused on the task in front of me.”

Wrubel is dedicated to rock climbing because it is one of his greatest passions. In fact, he took over the rock climbing club after Zach Weiss graduated last year.

Wrubel has not always been so passionate about climbing. “I first started climbing when I was 6 or 7 years old,” he said. “I took a class that didn’t really mean much to me. At first, I wasn’t super into it,  so I fell out of it. However, in early 2015 I decided to give it another try, and I immediately fell in love with the sport. From that point on, I knew I wanted to be climbing every day.”

Wrubel joined a rock climbing team, and now he climbs competitively with his team at a gym called First Ascent on North Broadway. In order to be good, he has to practice.  Wrubel said, “I climb 3-5 days a week for 3 hours on weekdays and on the weekends 1-3 hours.”

Since Wrubel spends a lot of time climbing, balancing school work can become a conflict. Wrubel says, “Balancing my school work is definitely not easy. I spend a lot of time in the gym with the team and it’s not easy to keep up with school work because I dedicate so much time with the team. Also, I usually train on my own, which is a big part of climbing. It’s not ideal but, I do a pretty good job.”

Wrubel aspires to go to regionals. “I only compete when I have to qualify for regionals, which is the main goal,” he said. “I usually compete 6-7 or 8 times a year depending on how you do at regionals,” he said.

Wrubel has a state of mind that he sets himself in before he goes climbing.

“You want to make sure you get a good night sleep and don’t do anything that can cause harm to the way you climb,” Wrubel said. “Most importantly, you have to be in a clear state. Always live in the moment and have fun.”