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Prior to the postseason awards banquet for the King Philip High cross country team, Warrior coach Peter Boucher had mentioned to one of his runners, Conner David, that at one time he had been a wrestler at Bridgewater St. College.

And so the challenge was set.

After all the trophies, awards and accolades were to be dispensed, the wrestling mat would be brought out and Boucher would tangle with David - that would be the only fair and reasonable manner in which to settle the debate, all the chatter that had gone on during the runs through the backroads.

"I was sweating bullets," chuckled Boucher. "We were going to go, too," continued the KP coach, not truly telling the tale of who didn't bring their wrestling tights, their gear. "That proved that not only does Conner have a big heart, he has a kind heart."

Conner David is a larger-than-life story, larger than his 5-foot-4 torso, larger than the 112 pounds that shows up on the weight scale prior to wrestling matches. Conner David is a success story - and not just about a kid who never really ran cross country before, about the No. 20 ranked runner before the season began who steadily moved to the forefront of the pack of Warrior runners, among the elite varsity seven for all the big postseason meets.

Conner David is a success story because he is doing what no other Warrior wrestler has done. Through 32 introductions onto the mat this season for matches at the 112-pound class, David has had his hand raised all 32 times.

David is unbeaten, having won 22 of those by pins.

He has won the Whitman-Hanson Invitational, the Marshfield Tournament, the Timberline (N.H.) Tournament and this past weekend on Cape Cod, he won all four of his matches, all by pins and helped put the King Philip High wrestling team into the MIAA Tournament for the first time in better than a decade.

David is the reigning MIAA Division 2-Central Sectional champion at 103 pounds, taking that title last year as a sophomore and finishing fifth overall at the MIAA State Meet.

He will be the No. 1 seed in his weight class when the Hockomock League Championship Meet gets underway over the weekend at Franklin High. And then come the challenges, the best against the best in the sectional and state meets.

"This is where it gets intense," David was saying over the weekend. "There are four ranked kids among the top 10 in my sectional, eight of the top 10 in Division 2 are ranked. I'd rather be in a division like this, where you have to wrestle the best to become the best - that's what I want to say."

What folks around KP say about David is flattering. For example, the Warriors' new wrestling czar, Matt Wassel, said that "he's technically sound, he has good mat awareness and good balance. He's never in a bad position.

"The second that anyone gives him an opening, he capitalizes. He pushes his body, he has mental toughness."

And Boucher was simply amazed by David. His elder brother Harrison, a KP senior, is the Warriors' No. 1 cross country runner. "Here's a kid who just showed up, I had no idea how could he could be. He moved from 20th to 17th to 15th to 12th to 10th and into our tournament team by sheer hard work. "He is as good a kid as I've coached in 15 years - he doesn't like being in second place."

And a smart one too. His brother Harrison is ranked No. 2 in the senior class and Conner is ranked No. 20 in the junior class.

David is intuitive and perceptive. Like when Wassel was putting into practice some moves on the mat, David struck upon a front head lock from a standing position that has been successful for him.

Instead of working out with grapplers in similar "light" weight classes, David regularly is on the mat with the Warriors' 145-pound bundle of energy himself, Sean Heagney.

Only once this season, against North Attleboro High's Mickey Taylor has David faced a deficit entering the third period. And that was only a 1-0 gap, a penalty point assessed him due to a an illegal move, a full nelson. He took back the point in the third period with an escape, then won with a two-point takedown.

"I thought that the competition coming into the season would be easier this year, that kids would stay at 103 or others would go up to 119," said David. "It's been harder."

When he was a freshman at KP, David heard the message from then KP wrestling captains Eric Lopresti and Jason Maloney, to come out for the team. One of his colleagues, Andrew Sweeney, had signed up to become a mat-man, so David thought that he'd give it a try.

He had second thoughts after the first day of practice. "I didn't know how I'd do it after that first day, wrestling is definitely the hardest sport to train for."

David became so enamored with wrestling that he forgot about chasing his brother Harrison in foot races. Now he has is own 10x10 wrestling mat in the house, working out with his 13-year old brother (and future KP Warrior wrestler) Logan.

Although he wrestled in only eight varsity matches as a freshman, David was determined to make his mark on the mat. It was into the weight room to develop strength. He spent the spring and summer months of his freshman and sophomore years wrestling with the Franklin club team.

And when his junior year arrived, he returned to cross country, to develop his legs, to develop his endurance. "It was a wrestling type sport, it's non-stop," said David. "You have aches and pains, but you keep telling yourself, one more mile."

Which is what David is all about.

He watches his weight, no fatty or junk foods. During the offseason, he's always wrestling "up" in weight class, always seeking the perspective and guidance from different coaches. During the current season, it's been Wassel and Heagney and the encouragement of his teammates that have him becoming a giant among welterweights.

"Coach Wassel is a good technical coach, we learn a lot of moves, practice them and then do them live," said David. "He must have taught us 100 moves, no exaggeration. We're always drilling."

As physical as the sport of wrestling is, creating and having that mental edge "is half of wrestling," said David. "Having the right mental approach, the attitude is half of it. Last year I went through a stage where I didn't have confidence, especially against someone who was ranked.

"I got over that, wrestling four or five days a week during the spring and summer. Running cross country kept me in really good shape, having a coach (Wassel) who made us technically better. It was doing everything that I could. Success just doesn't happen, success comes slowly."

Anyone want to challenge Conner David?

PETER GOBIS can be reached at 508-236-0375 or at pgobis@thesunchronicle.com.