"I am excited to say that I am going to go to school at Ohio State. I can't wait to get to Columbus, start classes, and hit the mats," offered Tyrell Fortune when to speak about his decision."
Tyrell Fortune (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)With colleges lining up to recruit him Tyrell chose to go the nontraditional route to enroll at Clackamas to delay making a college choice and better prepare for the academic side of a wrestling at a major Division I school. Fortune won the 2009 NJCAA heavyweight national championship and redshirted during the 2009-2010 season while making progress towards his degree. Last summer he competed for Team USA at the 2009 Junior World Championships.
"It is a great opportunity to wrestle for the Buckeyes and train with the guys at the (Ohio) Regional Training Center," stated Fortune. I'm going to do everything I can to become the best wrestler and student I can be. I hope that I can represent the team and university well when I am in college and when I am wrestling internationally."
For a wrestler that was headed to an OSU no matter what, the decision to wrestle for the Buckeyes wasn't an easy one but one that he is very comfortable with. Fortune's final three schools were Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and Oregon State.
Fortune has been sent a National Letter of Intent to sign that he is expected to return within the next week. This summer he will be attending classes full time at Clackamas and will graduate with his degree in the fall. Tyrell is expected to move to Columbus in December and become immediately eligible to compete once he is registered for classes. As a junior college graduate he will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Tyrell is the sixth member of the current Ohio State recruiting class. He joins the nation's number-one ranked recruit Logan Stieber, Derek Garcia, Josh Demas, Drew Stone, and Max Gladstone who signed their NLI's to wrestle at OSU in December. Dublin Scioto state champion Randy Languis issued a verbal commitment to the coaching staff earlier this week. Keeping the class at six Garcia will be released from his National Letter of Intent and resign with the Buckeyes in the fall.
Making a national name in Oregon
Tyrell Fortune was not born into a wrestling family and he doesn't come from a traditional wrestling state, at least not one within the wrestling or rust belt. His family became a wrestling family and he was able to get a lot of national exposure and experience because of his early success.
Growing up in Portland, Oregon Tyrell and his twin brother Tyree started training with Peninsula Wrestling Club under Roy Pittman as an after school activity for two rambunctious boys. Both quickly took to the sport, Tyrell excelled. The more success he experienced the more he was drawn to the wrestling and the harder he worked.
"I started wrestling when I was in the third grade. I didn't know much about it, (the sport), I got into it for it football. The coach thought it would help us and I fell in love with wrestling and stuck with it," reflected Fortune. "It was one of the best decisions I have ever made."
Tyrell Fortune (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)"I love the Olympic styles," admitted Fortune. "Freestyle is a little more wide open ... it is every man for himself out there and I like that. Greco is a lot of fun and they both absolutely made me a better Folkstyle wrestler."
In high school Fortune got better every year. He wrestled his first three years at Parkrose before moving to Lakeridge High School for his senior year to enroll in an academic program that would better prepare him for college. Feeling he was ready to wrestle Division I but wanting more time to grow as a student, Fortune elected to attend school with his brother Tyree at Clackamas CC before moving on to a four-year school.
"I chose to go to Clackamas out of high school because my club coach Roy Pittman thought it was a good opportunity to get started in college. I would be able to stay home close to my family and club, get my credits here, and assess what I really wanted to do and where I wanted to go," stated Fortune. "I had time to improve before it was time to leave and become my own person."
Fortune gives a lot of credit to Pittman for his success.
"Coach Pittman is more than just a coach to me, he is a father figure. He has been the biggest influence in my life. He molded me, taking me under his wing on the wrestling mat and in life," offered Tyrell. "I think the best thing I can say is that without him, I wouldn't be the person I am today."
The Clackamas CC experience
"Going to Clackamas was the best decision I could have made. I worked hard to become a better wrestler and I worked just as hard to become a better student. The wrestling team and the coaches were as supportive as they could be," said Fortune. "They are all about trying to move their wrestlers on to bigger and better things and I hope that I can make them proud at Ohio State."
Tyrell FortuneAfter college season was over Tyrell went on to become the only American wrestler to make both the Freestyle and Greco Roman U.S. Junior World Teams. Spending the summer training he traveled to Ankara, Turkey in August and placed seventh in freestyle and sixteenth in Greco.
"Going to the World Championships was a really big eye opener. It is one thing to wrestle Americans, but when you are going against the guys from other countries it is at a whole other level," admitted Fortune. "It opened my eyes to some of the things that would make me a better wrestler ... from the training, the technique, the mindset."
"The whole experience made me want to push myself even more. Seeing the level they were at made me want to get past them or get ready for that every match. Looking back I don't know if I was really prepared but I know that it made me more determined by the time I got back."
Fortune finished his wrestling career at Clackamas with a 40-2 overall record. He went 8-0 last season while redshirting winning both of the open tournaments he entered. As a freshman he was 32-2. The only two losses of his career came at the 2008 Reno Tournament of Champions to nationally ranked Division I opponents Scott Steele (Navy) and Ricky Alcala (UC Davis).
"Tyrell was the leader of our team. He really helped put us on the map and if it weren't for his national title it would have been hard to finish third in the country as a team. He is a hard worker that doesn't need to be motivated. When you have a guy like that in the room it can become contagious, it elevates what everyone is doing," offered Clackamas CC head coach Josh Rhoden when speaking about Fortune before leaving for the 2010 NJCAA Tournament.
When asked about his prospects at the Division I level the Cougars' coach was confident Tyrell had the potential to do very well.
"The bigger the challenge the harder he will work. You know you are going to get his best effort with everything he does. Put him in a Division I room with the right training partners and the coaches and the sky is the limit," commented Rhoden. "Fortune has high expectations for himself; he wants to be an NCAA Champion and he wants to be an Olympic Gold medalist. For where he is at right now and what he has already accomplished, I don't think either goal is out of reach."
The road to Ohio State
"I only took three visits; Oklahoma State, Oregon State, and Ohio State. I pretty much knew I wanted to go to an OSU so it was about getting on campus, spending time with the coaches, looking at the workout partners, and finding a place where I felt the most comfortable," stated Tyrell when speaking about picking a college.
Fortune took his official visit to Ohio State in January and was able to watch the Buckeyes beat Penn State in a nationally televised dual on the Big Ten Network. He spent the weekend with the OSU coaches and wrestlers, got to tour the school, met with different support staff members, and got to see some of Columbus.
"When I went there I felt like it was my home away from home," responded Fortune when asked about his visit. "I had never been to Ohio before and it was a great first impression ... From the facilities that they have, to the coaches and team, everything was welcoming. I really like the coaches and the staff. I know some of the guys from a few All-Star teams and competing in some of the same tournaments. I think we all have the same goals, to get to the top as individuals and as a team."
Fortune not only chose Ohio State because he felt that it was the best place for him to win a NCAA title, but also for how it could better prepare him to compete internationally in the Olympic styles.
"The (Ohio) Regional Training Center was one of the biggest things that made me want to come to Ohio State. The workout partners and training opportunities are second to no one in Columbus. Putting the OSU coaches and wrestlers with the Ohio RTC, it was an opportunity that I could not let go to waste," stated Fortune.
The Future with the Buckeyes
Following NCAA transfer rules Tyrell Fortune will have three years of eligibility remaining at Ohio State. After earning an Associate's Degree at Clackamas he is expected to be immediately eligible to compete for the Buckeyes in December once he is enrolled for classes. With fifth-year senior and four-year starter Corey Morrison exhausting his eligibility at the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Fortune is expected to compete for the open varsity spot with current OSU wrestlers Johnny Hiles and Dominic Johntony.
"I am going to be a heavyweight at Ohio State," offered Fortune when asked what weight he was going to go. "For the international styles I am probably going to move up to 265 pounds (120 kg). I could stay down low as a college heavyweight and cut to 96 kilos, I am used to wrestling bigger guys, but cutting weight and going up and down every year isn't healthy. I want to spend my time getting bigger and stronger, not trying to cut weight and then put it back on."
Following the Olympic dream
Anybody can say they want to chase the Olympic dream. Actually being able to perform at that level and making a national team is what separates the pretenders from the contenders. Tyrell Fortune is a wrestler that can make his dream a reality if he can choose between freestyle and Greco-Roman. For the last five years Fortune could be considered the best in his age group after winning six national titles and turning in eight All-American finishes in Fargo. Last year he was the only American that won his weight in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the 2009 Junior World Team Trials.
"I would absolutely want to represent the United States at the Olympics before I am done wrestling," stated Fortune. "Knowing that guys like (Tommy) Rowlands, JD Bergman, and Tervel (Dlagnev) are going to be around with what they have already accomplished and what they want to accomplish, you have to ask yourself how you can't get better working out and training with them. Not only can they help me prepare to wrestle for a NCAA title they can help me prepare to win a Gold medal."
Finishing up at Clackamas & moving to Columbus
Much like redshirting last year was a new experience for Tyrell Fortune this off-season will be quite different for him as well. After competing throughout the spring and summer since before he was in high school Fortune is expected to take some time off to make finishing school on time a priority. He will continue training throughout the summer but he may not wrestle another match before he arrives at Ohio State.
"It is too early to say what exactly I am going to be doing this summer because school is going to be my focus. I don't want to take a lot of online classes because I am wrestling all over the place so it is hard to say how much I am going to wrestle or if I am going to compete at all. I want to be in class and get things done this summer so I can graduate in the fall and be wrestling at Ohio State before the end of the year," said Fortune.
"I am excited to have the opportunity to wrestle at Ohio State and I want to be ready to go when I get on campus. It's a good time to be a Buckeye."
InterMat was granted permission to republish this article from BuckeyeWrestling.com.
http://www.buckeyewrestling.com/?q=node/37256
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now