Deitchler stole the show at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials

Jake Deitchler stole the show in Las Vegas.

Jake Deitchler became the first high school wrestler to make the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team in 32 years (Photo/The Guillotine)

The precocious 18-year-old from Ramsey, Minnesota, became the first high school wrestler to make the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team in 32 years. I have to admit, as a Minnesota native who has followed Deitchler for several years and admired his abilities, I didn't give him much of a chance to come through the 66 kg meat-grinder bracket that included a two-time World bronze medalist (Harry Lester), U.S. Olympian (Oscar Wood), U.S. Nationals champion (Mark Rial), Turkish Nationals champion (Faruk Sahin), and a former U.S. World Team member (Marcel Cooper). In my eyes, Deitchler was still a few years away from contending for a spot on a U.S. World or Olympic Team. Everyone knew this was Harry Lester's weight class and his year to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Apparently someone forgot to give the memo to Deitchler. After Deitchler upset Lester in a thrilling three-period semifinal match that sent shockwaves through the Thomas & Mack Center, I made my way down to the press workroom where there were several wrestling writers and photographers present. I overheard the following exchange between a wrestling photographer and a wrestling writer.

Photographer: "A high school kid just beat Harry Lester!"
Writer: "Holy $%#@!"

That 'high school kid,' who is technically not a 'high school kid' anymore since he graduated from Anoka High School in early April, instantly became the talk of the tournament after upsetting the 24-year-old Lester. Deitchler then followed that performance up with a gutty, come-from-behind victory over a tough Faruk Sahin in the finals.

It's hard to put into perspective the significance of Deitchler's achievement. The fact that he became just the third high-schooler ever to make a U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team gives Joe Blow who doesn't follow the sport of wrestling but hears about it on the local news or reads it in the newspaper, an idea of the significance of the achievement. But what is most impressive about the achievement, and what Joe Blow does not know or understand, is that Deitchler beat the U.S's best hope to bring a home a gold medal in Beijing, Harry Lester, someone who many viewed as untouchable. Prior to losing to Deitchler, Lester had not lost to an American wrestler since 2005. I can tell you that USA Wrestling national Greco-Roman coach Steve Fraser did not see this coming. This is a quote from Fraser just prior to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials published on TheMat.com:

"Harry Lester has a great opportunity to become a gold medalist for the USA in Beijing. He is one of the most tenacious wrestlers I have ever known. Harry is a great competitor and is extremely talented. The key for Harry will be to manage his weight properly and stay healthy for the summer."

I guess Harry Lester won't have to worry about managing his weight properly and staying healthy for the summer anymore.

Jake Deitchler has thrived under the tutelage of former Olympians Dan Chandler and Brandon Paulson (Photo/The Guillotine)

I don't think enough credit can be given to Deitchler's coaches, Brandon Paulson and Dan Chandler. Paulson and Chandler not only helped Deitchler improve technically and tactically, but also helped instill the confidence in him that he can win at the senior level. Paulson, a 1996 Olympic silver medalist who won a national title in each of USA Wrestling's age group levels, started working with Deitchler in 2004. Chandler, who has served as head coach of the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Team, has been churning out Minnesota Greco-Roman stars for over two decades.

Deitchler, who won three state titles for Anoka High School, signed to wrestle collegiately at the University of Minnesota. He is the prized recruit (along with Blair Academy's Mario Mason) of the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. He will be wrestling for a collegiate wrestling program that has won three national titles over the past eight years. He will be close to home. And he will have his Greco-Roman coaches, Brandon Paulson and Dan Chandler, who also wrestled collegiately at the University of Minnesota, nearby. Plus, he will get a great education in the process. From an outsider's perspective, it seems like a perfect fit.

Still, there are others who believe Deitchler would be better off focusing strictly on Greco-Roman at Northern Michigan, which has a Greco-Roman program at the United States Olympic Education Center (USOEC), or training full-time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

"We tried to get (Deitchler) into our program," said Northern Michigan (USOEC) assistant coach Jim Gruenwald at the 2008 U.S. Nationals. "He's a stud … He's in high school and he's in the national finals … That's the kind of kid we want in our program. But he signed with Minnesota, so we're professional about it, we'll leave him alone, until he decides to …"

Jake Deitchler, who will wrestle at the University of Minnesota, has excelled in all three styles of wrestling (Photo/The Guillotine)

Is Deitchler making the right decision to attend the University of Minnesota, where he will be focusing almost primarily on a wrestling style that is not Greco-Roman and is not even contested in the Olympic Games? Obviously, Deitchler feels that he is making the best decision for him at this point in his life. And who can really question the kid? He proved on June 14 that you don't have to be a full-time, year-round Greco-Roman wrestler to make a U.S. Olympic Team.

But as we have seen over the years, Greco-Roman success does not exactly translate into collegiate success. And visa-versa. In fact, of the seven Greco-Roman champions crowned at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, only one of those wrestlers, Brad Vering, was an NCAA All-American.

Interestingly, the last two collegiate wrestlers to make a U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Team, Brandon Paulson (1996) and Garrett Lowney (2000 and 2004), both wrestled collegiately at the University of Minnesota.

Paulson and Lowney were both NCAA All-Americans for the Gophers, but neither won an NCAA title. However, it's important to note that both Paulson and Lowney were undersized in their respective college weight classes. Paulson, who won an Olympic silver medal at the 1996 Olympics competed internationally at 114.5 pounds and collegiately at 118 pounds. Lowney, a two-time Olympian who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics, competed internationally at 211.5 and 213.75 pounds and collegiately at heavyweight, where the maximum weight is 285 pounds.

There is no reason to believe Deitchler won't be successful at the Division I level. Because like Paulson and Lowney before him, Deitchler's wrestling resume includes numerous achievements in folkstyle and freestyle that can all but match his achievements in Greco-Roman, of course with the exception of his most recent success in Greco-Roman on the senior level. In folkstyle, Deitchler was a three-time high school state champion (2006-2008), NHSCA Nationals champion in 2007, and won 111 high school wrestling matches in a row. In freestyle, Deitchler was a Junior Nationals runner-up in both 2006 and 2007.

But before we start speculating how great this kid can be in collegiate wrestling and putting undue pressure on him to succeed at the next level, let's first let him be a typical 18-year-old kid and enjoy his last summer before college.

Oh wait, I forgot, Jake Deitchler is anything but a typical 18-year-old kid. After all, a typical 18-year-old kid doesn't spend his summer wrestling in the Olympic Games.

Please Note: This story also appears in the June 27 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering amateur wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote amateur wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. For information on The Guillotine, Click HERE.

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