Josh Heinzer is still trying to find the right words to describe his latest accomplishment. The three-time state wrestling champion from Lake Stevens recently returned from winning a title at 112 pounds during the 21st annual NHSCA Senior National Championships held in Virginia Beach, Va.

He became just the fifth wrestler from Washington to win a title at the event, joining Tyler Sherfey (Kamaikin '04), Michael Magnuson (Blaine '01), Michael Christian (Lynnwood '00) and Tommy Owen (University '01).

Here is a short description of the caliber of wrestlers competing in the event taken from the NHSCA Web site:

The NHSCA National Wrestling Championships will feature wrestlers from 47 States and two European countries. A combined total of more than 855 state titles, including (14) four-time state champions, (53) three-time state champions, and (145) two-time state champions will wrestle for a chance to be a 2010 NHSCA National Champion.

The senior is hoping to turn the momentum from the title into a college scholarship. I caught up with Heinzer on Wednesday to talk about the event and his plans for the future.

What was it like to win a title at the NHSCA Senior National Wrestling Championships?

"It was a pretty dominant feeling. I could not explain in words what it was like. It was kind of like winning state all three times together multiplied by about 50,000. I can't put it in words how to describe that feeling."

Did you think winning the tournament was possible when it started?

"I knew it was possible. I was wrestling with Burke Barnes and he won a national title as a cadet, so he's been there before. I knew I had the training partner to do it. I just worked really hard, wrestled tough, lifted weights. When I went down there, I tried to not get too into winning. I just kind of took it one match at a time, wrestled really smart."

As soon as the championship match was over, what was your initial reaction?

"I did a back flip. I was at a dead sprint. I sprinted, did a back flip and slapped my coach's hand. You're supposed to get interviewed after the match and I sprinted straight past the interview and kept running. It was hard to explain. All those years, this is what I trained for, going to the national tournament and winning the national tournament.

"State was really hard, too. It was a big accomplishment, but I knew if I wanted to wrestle in college I was going to have to be at the top, of the top, of the top, of the food chain. When I flew back there I just had this mentality that there's no turning back now. I trained too long to not win these matches and that's exactly how I wrestled."

How have things been since you got back?

"It's pretty great. I'm getting a lot of college calls lately. I'm not sure where I'm going to sign yet. I'm just looking for a place to call home. I'm just going to see what my options are, check out the places and see if one place just clicks."

What schools are you looking at right now?

"I want to go to Iowa, just because Iowa's got the best wrestling in the country. I'm not quite sure. There's a school from Montana. There's a school from Nebraska. There's a school from California. I've been getting a lot of calls. It's kind of hard to tell you what schools I'm really interested in, because I've never actually gone to the campuses yet."

What's the next step in the process for you?

"Lifting weights and getting bigger."