Nate Marmol remembers sleeping in a tunnel in a park on many nights, alone and hungry. Sometimes he slept in the shack at the local swimming pool, or at a friend's house – he figured it out night by night.

This went on for more than two years, starting when he was in sixth grade.

He was on his own because, he says, his grandmother kicked him out of the house.

His father left before he was born; his mother was in jail. His family says that he wasn't kicked out – that he left on his own – but no one disputes that he was living on his own throughout middle school.

Attempting to spend as much time at school as possible, Marmol joined the wrestling team at his Marion, Ohio school. When he wasn't with the team, he told the Cincinnati Enquirer, he was "lonely all the time – I really had no one." The sport, he adds, is what saved him.

Today he is a thriving senior at Taylor High School in North Bend, Ohio. He's 25-1 in matches this season and will compete for his third consecutive league championship later this month.

Marmol's life started to turn around during his freshman year of high school. By then his mother was married. Her husband's parents took Nate in for the year, but it wasn't the most stable situation.

He often stole food from McDonald's, and he was failing his classes, according to what he told the Cincinnati Enquirer. But at least he woke up knowing where he'd sleep each night.

Then, as the school year ended, the stepmother of his younger half-brother decided to find him. ChristyLee Feaver is married to Kevin Feaver, who had a son with Marmol's mother before marrying ChristyLee.

ChristyLee drove to Marion and stayed in a hotel until she tracked down Marmol. Upon seeing him, she decided he should live with her family in North Bend, about three hours from Marion. The Feavers became his legal guardians, and he moved in with them and their eight other children.

At Taylor High School in North Bend, Marmol joined the football and wrestling teams, and says that being on the teams helped him process what he'd been through. His wrestling coach says Marmol inspires him everyday.

"Every time I feel I've had a hard go of things, I just look at Nate and how his tenacity has gotten him through the toughest of situations," the coach told reporter Adam Baum. "I wouldn't have been able to handle it like he did. I appreciate him and I admire him."

Marmol hopes to wrestle at Mount St. Joseph college next year. He says his experiences have taught him about forgiveness and empathy.

"Wrestling saved my life," he said. "It's given me a perspective... Even though you have a bad day, there's always someone who could have it worse."



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Danielle Elliot is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact her at delliot@yahoo-inc.com or find her on Twitter.



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