De Soto ? Perhaps it’s appropriate that the two dominant colors in Neil Erisman’s wardrobe these days are green and orange.

After all, a Halloween color scheme is only fitting for a kid who has spent the better part of four years scaring Kansas high school wrestlers.

While wearing the emerald singlet of De Soto High, Erisman has chalked up three stellar showings at the Class 4A state tournament. After finishing second at 145 pounds as a freshman, Erisman followed up with a third-place showing at 152 as a sophomore and earned his second silver medal as a junior, again at 152.

That success, coupled with his efforts on the junior wrestling circuit, paved the way to scholarship offers from numerous college wrestling powerhouses. However, once orange-draped Oklahoma State entered the picture, Erisman quickly pinned down his future, signing a letter-of-intent to join the defending NCAA champs next fall.

Until then, all that’s left for the 171-pounder is to keep padding his 34-1 record and find the right path to the individual state title that has eluded him thus far in his high school career.

How do you feel about the way your senior season has progressed?

It’s gone pretty good. I’ve wrestled some tough opponents. I feel like I’ve progressed a lot. But I feel like there’s still some stuff I need to work on. There’s a couple of areas I need to improve to help me get to the top and my goal of being a state champ.

De Soto High Wrestler Neil Erisman is 34-1 this season and among the favorites to win the 171-pound state championship at this year's Class 4A wrestling meet.

What are some of those areas in which you’d like to see improvement?

The main one is my shape, to get into better physical shape to where I can wrestle hard for six minutes straight without gassing out in the third period. That’s going to be one of my biggest battles – I’ve got to get in really great shape.

Is there anything else you’re looking at trying to work on these last couple of months?

I’ve still got to work on technique. I’ve still got to work on the mental aspect part of the game. Pretty much all around – but my shape is going to be a big part of it.

You suffered your first loss of the year Saturday in the finals at the Baldwin Invitational Tournament. In the long run, does that maybe take some pressure off of you when you head out on the mat the rest of the year?

I don’t know if it takes pressure off of me, but I think I maybe learned a good lesson. It opened my eyes to some things, stuff I need to work on that I mentioned, like getting in better shape and working on the mental aspect of the game. I think it was more of an eye-opener, I guess you could say, more than anything.

You’re not going to see that kid (Oak Park, Mo., sophomore Brent Haynes) the rest of the year. You’ve run the table against all the Kansas competitors you’ve seen this year. Do you feel like based on your results so far this year that you’re putting yourself in good position to finally win that state championship?

Yeah. I feel like I’ve done a lot; I’ve done what it takes. These last four weeks are going to be the most critical and most important. I’ve just got to do whatever it takes to win. I can’t start messing around now thinking that I’ve got it won because I don’t. Something can always happen. I’ve just got to continue to work hard and work harder than I have been so I don’t have to worry about it. Let the winning and losing take care of itself – hopefully there is no losing.

You made the decision in November to sign with Oklahoma State. Are you still feeling good about that?

Definitely. Oklahoma State I feel like is a perfect fit for me. They’ve got the best coaching staff, the best team, they’ve got every opportunity for me to be the best I can be, and I can help the team be the best that they can be also. And even after college they’ve got stuff for me, which is great, with freestyle, which I can go on and compete internationally. So I feel like Oklahoma State is the best place for me.

Every kid you go up against likely knows that you’re going to Oklahoma State next year. Have you sensed that people are stepping up there intensity against you this year knowing that they’re going against a guy of that caliber?

People are always going to try to wrestle me hard. Whoever they wrestle, they’re going to wrestle hard. They’re going to go out to win no matter what.

You wrestled 152 the last two years and 145 the year before that. What went into the decision to wrestle at 171 this year?

I was at the weight where I would have had to cut a little bit for (160). I probably could have made it, but I really didn’t feel like cutting any weight. I feel better when I’m not cutting weight. I feel stronger and I just feel better all around.

What does the path at 171 look like compared to maybe 152 or 160? Do you feel that possibly is a better path to get to a state championship?

Any road you take is going to be tough to a state championship. The way I look at it is I’m going to work harder than anybody and I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. It shouldn’t matter what weight I’m at or anything like that. I feel like I’ve worked harder than anybody else and I’m going to do what it takes to win.

When you look back over your high school career and what you’ve done to this point, do you need a state championship to make it feel complete?

Yeah, I guess you could say that.