Junior Mike Kimberlin is strong, explosive and faster than anyone else on the Northwestern wrestling team. He can do back flips and handsprings, too.

Kimberlin (157 pounds) will lead the Wildcats (8-2, 0-1 Big Ten) this weekend as they host three dual meets — against Purdue on Friday night and then Indiana and Missouri Baptist on Saturday afternoon.

Kimberlin was the only member of the NU squad to win his matches against both Purdue and Indiana last year.

Coach Tim Cysewski said that Kimberlin is one of the best athletes on the team — and maybe at the school.

“He’s very strong, quick and powerful,” Cysewski said. “It’s a great combination and it helps him when it comes to competing at a high level.”

Kimberlin’s ability isn’t restricted to the wrestling mat. Along with being a two-time state champion wrestler at Bishop McNamara High School in Bradley, Ill., Kimberlin was also an All-State and All-American football player. Though he was recruited by Illinois and Northern Illinois to play football, Kimberlin chose to wrestle.

“Wrestling is a one-on-one sport,” Kimberlin said. “You lose or win by yourself. I like the intensity of it and I like the practices, to a certain point. It was just better off for me in the long run.”

Kimberlin’s agility and gymnastic skills are another sign of his athletic ability. He said he often uses forward roles to surprise his opponents and gain control over them.

College wrestling is so demanding, Kimberlin said, that it makes all other parts of life seem easier. He described the challenges he faces as a college wrestler, between cutting weight, balancing school and workouts and maintaining a social life.

But the hardest part is the mental aspect, he said.

“Wrestling is 90 percent mental — the rest is physical,” Kimberlin said. “Athleticism can only get you so far. If you have a guy that keeps the intensity up, he can break you mentally. It’s all attitude and mindset — there is not a guy who can beat me if I have the right attitude and mindset.”

Kimberlin has a strategy to help him dominate opponents.

“I like to picture my opponent sitting down on the bench, not working out,” Kimberlin said. “I like to think that I outworked him all week and that there is no way he can beat me.”

While he’s hoping his upcoming opponents are taking the week off, Kimberlin is hard at work in the wrestling room. In practice, Kimberlin said he likes to focus on one move each day, perfecting and adapting it for every situation.

“I’ll try to hit one move and set it up in different ways,” he said. “I work at things I need to get better at until they become second nature and I have a program set.”

Freshman Nick Hayes often practices against Kimberlin. At a recent practice, obscenities streamed from Hayes’ mouth as he tried to fight back against Kimberlin. While he gets frustrated, Hayes said he knows that practicing against Kimberlin makes him work harder and faster.

“If he gets a leg, he’s going to take you down,” Hayes said. “If you take a bad shot, he’ll capitalize on you because he’s so fast. You can’t match his speed or strength so you have to find other ways.”

Kimberlin’s explosiveness — his ability to grab his opponent’s leg and control the match — is a quality that he works hard to perfect.

“I try to be constantly all over him,” Kimberlin said. “I want my opponent to think, ‘shit, I can’t get on this guy,’ and then give up. It makes my job easier.”

After losing his match at Iowa on Saturday, Kimberlin said he will have to stay aggressive this weekend and keep his intensity level higher than his opponents’. Cysewski said he thinks Kimberlin has a great shot at winning both of his Big Ten matches this weekend.

“He should beat both of those guys,” Cysewski said. “But even though he is supposed to win on paper, you still have to go out there and wrestle every second like its your last second on earth.”