ERIE — Trevor Gallo wasn't used to this.

Gallo was accustomed to having his way with his opponents on the wrestling mat at Slippery Rock High.

He manhandled his foes. He mauled them. In his high school career, he won 111 matches and lost just 24 on the way to third- and sixth-place finishes in the PIAA tournament.

But then he walked into the wrestling room at Mercyhurst College. Suddenly, it was he who was being manhandled and mauled.

"You couldn't help but feel a little down on yourself after that," said Gallo, now a junior 197-pounder for the Lakers. "It helped me, though. You just have to accept the fact that every one at the college level is tough."

And that toughened him to the rigors of college wrestling.

After an 11-11 freshman season and a 20-17 sophomore campaign at Mercyhurst, Gallo has put it all together this season.

It's a replay of his high school career, when he was an afterthought during his first two seasons before bursting into the limelight during his third year.

Gallo is second on the nationally ranked Mercyhurst wrestling team with 24 wins and recently finished third at the East Region Championships to qualify for the national championships, which begin March 14 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

If he fares well there, he could be an all-American.

"Trevor definitely has the talent to compete at the national level," said first-year Mercyhurst coach Mike Wehler.

And he should know. For the last two years, he's had to compete against Gallo as the coach at West Liberty State College in West Virginia.

Wehler said Gallo's strength is he has no weaknesses.

"He's a really tough kid," Wehler said. "He's just so strong and versatile. He's good on his feet, on the bottom, on the top, at neutral. He's just a solid all-around wrestler and that's what makes him so tough."

Gallo also has an equally strong competitive streak. Struggling for two years did not sit well with him.

Last year, he thought he had turned the corner heading into the East Regional, but he finished a disappointing sixth and failed to make nationals.

"Going 2-2 at the regionals was tough on me," Gallo said. "I wasn't used to losing. I'm still not used to losing."

Wanting to lose as few times as possible during his junior year, Gallo dedicated himself to the weight room in the offseason to get even stronger and quicker on his feet.

That meant sacrificing some fun time.

"I was always in the gym," Gallo said. "It was hard because I was in there on Friday nights when a lot of my friends were out having fun. Whenever I felt like skipping my workout, I just thought of how I felt at the regionals last season."

It paid dividends, as Gallo become much more explosive this season.

It helped that he had a wrestling room full of teammates who could challenge him.

"It was a whole different world," Gallo said. "At SlipperyRock, I just had Jeff Becker and coach (Fred) Powell to work out with. Here, everyone in this room is really good."

Count Gallo as one of them. He's not getting mauled in practice anymore. Now, he's doing the manhandling and mauling again.

He hopes to do more of that inIowa.

"I always felt if I get there, I'm not going to waste it," Gallo said. "I want to be an all-American."