GRIFFITH | The boys were warned during their summer practice at the Griffith Wrestling Club. Five push-ups were required after surrendering a takedown.

Jose Champagne had two partners for the drill. Their palms were pressed firmly against the mat over and over again. Meanwhile, Jose caught his breath and waited for the next round. He did not need to do a single push-up.

"He's like a little man compared to a lot of the competition," Griffith Wrestling Club coach Joe Reitz said of Jose. "If he grabs a hold of them, he just overwhelms him."

When watching 12-year-old Jose compete, it's hard to believe he didn't know what wrestling was two years ago. It's hard to imagine he knew virtually nothing about the United States, let alone Northwest Indiana.

But it's true.

In November 2007, Becky and Tim Champagne of Griffith traveled to Bogota, Colombia, where Jose and his brother Carlos, 9, were living with a foster family. A month later, the Champagnes returned to the Region with their two adopted sons.

The language, food and weather in their new hometown proved to be a culture shock for the Colombian brothers. Becky and Tim hoped sports could help Jose and Carlos make friends and adapt to their new surroundings, so they introduced the boys to wrestling.

"He really has developed a lot of confidence because of wrestling," Becky said of Jose. "He definitely is a quiet kid just by nature. He's very, very humble, but he's also very confident about his wrestling. It's transferred over to other areas, too, like with his school work and (with interacting) with other kids."

Jose and Carlos also play baseball and soccer, but Jose has quickly separated himself from his peers and become a standout in wrestling.

"Jose is a very dedicated wrestler," Griffith Wrestling Club coach Kevin Messmer said. "He's excelled more in 19 months than anybody I've probably seen."

Jose's development as a wrestler is indeed a result of his passion. He's a regular at Central Indiana Academy of Wrestling and Griffith Wrestling Club. He has also attended several youth wrestling camps, and he's not shy about practicing at home with his father, Tim, a former high school wrestling coach in Colorado.

"He shows me new moves that I never saw before," Jose said of Tim. "I can pin him, but I can't hold him for a long time."

Jose became an honor roll student during his last two semesters at Franklin Elementary School. He'll soon enter seventh grade at Griffith Middle School, and the Panthers' high school wrestling coaches are eagerly awaiting his arrival at the prep level.

"He's just touching on how good he's going to be," Tim said. "He hasn't by any means mastered the techniques. He wrestles kids that have wrestled six, seven, eight years and know how to do stuff. But he just outworks them."