NORMAL - Steve Ross appears to fit the description of a person with a liking of uniqueness. Not only does the Normal West wrestler want to major in biomedical engineering in college, but his favorite meal at school is a Monte Cristo.

What exactly is that?

"I really don't know what it is," the senior said.

Before the 160-pound wrestler ran off to the cafeteria for his favorite sandwich, the Pantagraph caught up with a young man who hopes to walk on either at Knox College or SIU-Edwardsville next year.

Q: How difficult is it to maintain weight, especially with it being Thanksgiving?

A: "It's really kind of hard because you really have to watch your weight and watch what you eat, especially since our (season) is starting a lot sooner than in the past. It's a lot harder. … You have to give up on certain foods you want to eat."

Q: What do you think your Thanksgiving meal will consist of?

A: "A lot less than I'd want it to. I'm going to try to lose a couple more pounds right before Thanksgiving so I can eat more."

Q: How much strength and endurance do you need to participate in wrestling?

A: "You need quite a bit of endurance, and you need strength to be able to go the full six minutes. On occasion, you get a close match that goes into overtime."

Q: How do you feel after you pin a guy?

A: "I usually feel pretty good. Then you just start focusing on what you could do to improve on that match and how you could do better in your next match."

Q: When you were younger and you visited Santa Claus at the mall, what did you ask for?

A: "Whatever was new. Whatever new game system came out. I remember one year wanting to have a (Nintendo) 64 and a laptop (computer) and a trampoline - whatever was popular at the time."

Q: Which character from "Family Guy" would you rather be - Stewie Griffin or Brian Griffin?

A: "I would probably choose Stewie just because you know he's going to be really smart when he gets older."

Q: Former Iowa State University wrestler Cael Sanderson went 159-0 during his college career. If you could ask him for one piece of advice, what would it be?

A: "I'd probably ask him how much time he really spends in the wrestling room and the weight room per day, per week."

Q: Why does biomedical engineering spark your interest?

A: "I really like to help people. I'm not really good enough or smart enough to be a doctor. I think working with prosthetics and helping people better their lives is something I'm definitely interested in."

Q: Can you recite the Pledge of Allegiance by heart?

A: "I could."

Q: Do you ever have to be a chauffeur for your younger brother (Brad, 15) and sister (Brittany, 11)?

A: "Right now, I do."

Q: How neat is it being the oldest sibling?

A: "It has its advantages and disadvantages. You're the oldest, so you're the first one to do everything. You usually don't get much leniency."

Q: How do your parents react while you are wrestling?

A: "They kind of keep to themselves. They usually bring a video camera, and they'll be recording (the match), and you can hear them talking and saying things during the match under their breath."

Q: If you could wrestle anyone in the world, who would it be?

A: "I want to go with (former University of Iowa wrestling coach) Dan Gable. To be able to say you wrestled him would be pretty cool."

Know a varsity athlete who would make a fun

"Out Loud" candidate? Send a suggestion to dmakarewicz@pantagraph.com.