A newspaper in New York City once quoted Setrak Agonian as saying he was a 300% man.  That included 100% Armenian, 100% Bulgarian and 100% American.    It is the 100% American part that makes Set so valuable to the wrestling community in the United States. It is the driving spirit behind his countless hours of volunteer work and considerable personal investment in the sport of wrestling. It is why Set Agonian is USA Wrestling's Man of the Year this year.     Set Agonian is not a person you will forget when you met him. He is large and active and opinionated. A former national champion boxer for Bulgaria, he brings that kind of pugnacious attitude to everything that he does. Trained in college to coach both boxing and wrestling, Agonian also has the heart of a wrestler, the competitive fire that makes him establish high goals and the drive to achieve great things.  He also has a heart of gold, a true concern for other people.    Set Agonian was brought into wrestling by one of his major life mentors, the legendary Bill Farrell of the New York AC. Farrell was a coach of the U.S. freestyle wrestlers in 1971 when the World Team was scheduled to compete in Sofia, Bulgaria. Born in that country, Agonian joined the delegation as the assistant team leader. He was the person who was with the team to assist them in that nation, to protect them from challenges and guide them in dealing with a Soviet-bloc system that was designed to make things difficult for Americans. He has some crazy stories about how he had to deal with some of the political issues that came up while he was there assisting the American wrestlers in Bulgaria. Some of them sound like pages from a spy novel.    From that event started more than 30 years of active involvement in wrestling, not only on the national level, but on the local scene in New York, as well as within the international arena. For Agonian, it is all about building and promoting wrestling, a sport that he loves with a passion.    This came together with the creation of the Metropolitan Wrestling Association, the New York-based wrestling group that played a leadership role in the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling in New York City. The idea came to Set in 1984.    "With Sonny Greenhalgh, I said, 'why don't we organize something in our city? Let's organize the Metropolitan Wrestling Association as a non-profit.' This was so we could bring international events to New York City," he said.    Agonian saw former wrestler Rocky Aoki, the founder of Benihana, at a social function, and told him that he had turned his back on wrestling, as he was heavily involved in other activities such as ballooning. Aoki agreed with him. Soon, Agonian and his wrestling group helped organize a function at the New York Athletic Club to honor Aoki. The end result was a sponsorship from Benihana for a USA vs. Russia wrestling dual meet, which was held in Madison Square Garden and was televised. The MWA was off and running.    Set is not afraid to go after things that are important to him. And he is not worried if he ruffles a few feathers if it helps get things done.    "It has been like this all my life," said Agonian. "In boxing, at 14, I was a champion. I was fighting with everybody. I stand up for justice. I'm outspoken. I don't give a darn."    Since Agonian is also 100% Armenian and 100% Bulgarian, he has gotten involved in helping those nations in some of his projects. He convinced the Soviet powers-that-be that they should let an Armenian team (which at the time was a republic within the Soviet Union) come to the USA for wrestling matches. The team was able to arrive in America and wrestle matches in New York and Boston. It was the first time a group representing Armenia, not the Soviet Union, was able to compete in wrestling in our nation. The Armenian flag was displayed for all to see.    The inspiration came when a woman who works cleaning his office told him that she has sent money to Armenia to assist the victims of the earthquake there. The woman was not even Armenian, just a person looking to do something for those whose lives had been destroyed.    "I'm thinking that I am Armenian," said Agonian. "Why don't we bring the team here to wrestle? I asked the Russians. I am a good friend with Ivan Yarygin (then coach of the Soviet freestyle team). We got it done."    As far as the 100% Bulgarian heritage, Agonian brought the New York Police Department to Sofia, Bulgaria, with support from AT&T. This year, he was chosen to represent the U.S. Olympic Committee in some important Olympic meetings held in Bulgaria. Agonian took great pride in representing the USA at this Bulgarian Olympic function and prepared an extensive report with photos of all the Bulgarian dignitaries that he met on the trip.    Agonian was the driving force in keeping the MWA active, helping run the operations from his office and coming up with projects. Over the years, the MWA has grown and developed a very strong Board of Directors. This group was truly tested when the World Championships came to New York. They not only handled the challenge, but they helped make the event a tremendous success.    Agonian talks about some of the proudest moments of his life , many of which happened in New York during the 2003 World Championships.    "A high moment happened when I got to stand up in the Opening Ceremonies and read a letter from the President of the United States to congratulate us, as well as the Legends who were being honored," said Agonian. "I got to read this on the floor of Madison Square Garden," he said.    "My goal is to make professional sports give back to amateur sports," said Agonian. "I said that now you people of New York will see the real wrestling. My dream came true to be there. We promise to be back there."    Another highlight for Agonian was when he received his FILA gold star on the raised mat in the Garden, next to one of his heroes.    "It was a high point when the man who introduced me to wrestling, Bill Farrell, my mentor, was there on the stage to receive the gold star of FILA," said Agonian. "I was standing next to him. That was my thanks to him."    Agonian was equally proud during the "Night of Legends" dinner at the New York Athletic Club, where Dennis Hastert, Donald Rumsfeld and Stephen Friedman, all officials with the current government were honored, along with author John Irving and Nobel Prize winner Norman Bourlag.    "To see we have three men in the administration of the government, that is what wrestling creates," said Agonian. "Set Agonian believes in old fashioned values. We have to teach these things to young people. Everybody should understand how proud we are of the Speaker of the House, the Secretary of Defense and the Chief Economic Advisor, all wrestlers. Many others are running major corportations. For both men and women, we are doing something to create leaders."    When Set tells a story, he talks about all of the people he knows, all over the world. This is a man who is not shy about getting in the middle of things and being with important people. There was a key moment in getting the 2003 World Championships back to New York after the 2001 meet was taken away by the September 11 attack. Slovakia had the rights to the 2003 Freestyle Worlds. It was Agonian who met with Slovakian officials in meetings in New York which resulted in the World meet being brought back to New York.     Ultimately, it is all about wrestling. Agonian loves the sport, and loves the people in the sport. That is why he puts in all the time and effort. Plus, as a 300% man, he has a lot more to give than most people do...