The impulse is so foreign and wrong that once the thought of giving up enters the mind, it can destroy the foundation of an athlete's will.

It can leave their confidence crumbled and torn. If the negative thought gets embedded deep enough it can be hard to return from the dark side, with the host never competing at their previous level of expectations again.

Alex Carrillo had such thoughts break him, but the Desert Vista (Phoenix) junior has seemingly gotten past the darkness.

"I gave up," Carrillo said, talking about last year's state semifinals. "I don't know where (the thought) came from, but it was there. I hated it, but I didn't let it stick around long."

The Desert Vista two-time state placer is 24-0 on the season and has won three tournaments – Moon Valley, Cerritos Tournament of Champions and Peoria – and looks to be on pretty solid ground heading into this weekend's ultimate test.

The Flowing Wells Invitational, which begins Friday with the finals at 6 p.m. on Saturday, is considered the toughest tournament in Arizona and somewhere in the 120-pound bracket will be the true test.

Carrillo's dark moment came against Paden Mason of Mountain View (Mesa), who took an early lead and built on it before securing the pin at 5 minutes and 8 seconds.

"I'm ready and I'm not backing down from anyone," Carrillo said. "I'm sure we will face each other again. I let myself down in that match and I got stronger mentally."

This weekend's action, as well as the field at the Doc Wright Invitational in Winslow this weekend, will test the mental strength of a good portion of the state's top wrestlers.

Returning champions are Danny Vega of Ironwood Ridge (Tucson), Vicente Guerrero of Cibola (Yuma), Jesse Nieto of Cleveland (Rio Rancho, N.M.) and Mason.

The team race appears to be Mesa Mountain View's for the taking after the team moved to No. 30 in one set of team national rankings after finishing second at the Reno Tournament of Champions and Cheesehead Invitational in Wisconsin.

The Toros' depth should allow them to defend their Flowing Wells title, but will be challenged by Sunnyside (Tucson), Boulder Creek (Anthem), Desert Vista, Cibola and Chandler, all of which could have multiple competitors reach the finals.

"The No. 30 ranking is something I have no control over," Mountain View coach Bob Callison said. "At the same time I am a competitor, and there are a couple of teams we have placed in front of at the tournaments that they continue to rank in front of us. I tell people all the time Arizona wrestling is on the rise. We have some of the best kids and coaches in the nation."

And a good portion of them are headed to Tucson this weekend. Getting through long, grueling tournaments can be a drain and a moment of weakness will lead quickly to the other guy getting his hand raised.

Carrillo knows all about it, but his coach has seen him come through the other side.

"He has the mentality now that he is not going to leave it up to anyone else," Thunder coach David Gonzalez said. "He is going to take care of it and let the chips fall where they may.

"He's at that point where he is like (former DV three-time champion) Robbie Mathers was his sophomore year. He knew he wasn't going to lose again. He wants what he wants and Alex has that mentality."

Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Prep Sports Director for 1013 Communications, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.