Nick Marable has placed in the top three in four tournaments this season. Larry Slater photo.

Nick Marable didn’t look like a guy who was about to win the Pan American Championships in freestyle wrestling.

Two minutes into his first match at Sunday’s Pan Ams in Rionegro, Colombia, Marable was in trouble.

Big trouble.

Marable dropped the first period 6-0 to Peru’s Edizon Ambrosia. But the past two-time All-American from Missouri rebounded to win the next two periods 2-0, 1-0 to advance at 74 kg/163 lbs.

“I wasn’t feeling that good,” Marable said. “I was feeling kind of tired and a little bit sluggish. It may have been the high altitude, I don’t know. I let it get to my head.”

Marable said U.S. National Coach Zeke Jones delivered a message to him after his first-round win.

“Zeke told me I needed to be more dominant,” Marable said. “He said, ‘There are times when you are going to feel like crap and you have to fight through it.’ That motivated me and got me going.”

Marable kept on going after that, sweeping Ecuador’s Jose Mercado 5-0, 7-0 in the semifinals before downing World Cup champion Yunieski Blanco of Cuba 1-1, 1-0, 1-0 in the finals.

The match with Blanco came down to the leg clinch in the third period. Marable won the clinch from the defensive position to capture the match and the gold medal.

“The Cuban is real good – he’s a tough wrestler,” Marable said. “That was a big win for me. It lets me know I am up there with some of the best guys in the World. I’ve been to three international tournaments. I need to keep training and keep improving. I need to get better technically.”

Marable, an assistant coach at Missouri, trains with past NCAA All-Americans Joe Johnston and Matt Pell in Columbia, Mo.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Marable did not start wrestling until he was in eighth grade. He was a fast learner, winning Cadet Nationals in 2003 in Fargo, N.D.

“I’ve always liked freestyle,” he said. “The first time I went up to Fargo, I won it.”

Marable placed third in the 2008 NCAA Championships as a sophomore at Missouri. He trained with past college teammate Ben Askren, a two-time NCAA champion who made the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.

"When Ben made the Olympic Team, I was still in college but we trained together and worked out all the time," Marable said. "After he made the Olympic Team, I started thinking about wanting to do it."

Marable placed second at April’s U.S. Open, falling to 2011 Hodge Trophy winner Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska in the finals.

Marable won the first period 3-0 before Burroughs stormed back to prevail 1-0, 3-0 in the last two periods.

“I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be in the third period,” Marable said. “He caught me with that double leg in the third period and it cost me. I know I have to be in better shape for the World Team Trials. You obviously have to be ready to block his double and you have to stay in good position against Burroughs.”

Burroughs will face the winner of the Challenge Tournament in the best-of-3 finals at June’s World Team Trials in Oklahoma City.

“My weight class is one of the toughest in the United States,” Marable said. “The mini-tournament will be tough, but there won't be that many matches. I think I will be fine if I get to the finals. I know I will be ready to go.”

Marable, a three-time Big 12 champion, said he is looking forward to competing in a state he’s been successful in.

“I’ve never lost a match in Oklahoma,” he said. “I never lost a match there in college when we wrestled at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Hopefully, I can keep that going.”

Jones likes the direction the 24-year-old Marable is heading with his wrestling.

“Nick’s coming along pretty well. I like the kid,” Jones said. “As you can see from his results, he’s showing medal potential signs. Nick wrestled like a champion at the Pan Ams. He is a heck of an athlete, holds good position and is hard to score on. As he continues to fine-tune his set-up routines and increase his attack rate, he will only get better.”

Marable, who competes for the Sunkist Kids, placed third in the Ramzan Kadirov Cup in Russia earlier this season before placing third in the Hargobind International in Canada.

“My ultimate goal is to make the Olympic Team,” he said. “It would be great to make the World Team this year as well. It would be awesome to have that opportunity. If I make that team, I would definitely start thinking about winning Worlds.”