In his first season as the volunteer assistant coach for the Buckeyes, Heskett defeated 2000 Olympic silver medalist and 2006 Russian National Champion Arsen Gitinov in the championship match to win the gold medal at 74kg/163 pounds in the freestyle competition at the Nov. 24-25 tournament. For his efforts, Heskett was named TheMat.com Athlete of the Week for the week of Nov. 21.
"I am in an ideal training environment with unbelievable support from the training staff," Heskett said. "The training here is no question the most intense and focused training I have done in my life and because of that I feel my strength and conditioning combined with my God-given wrestling talent can push me to the Olympic gold, which is the ultimate goal. I also want to thank my wife, Tara, and my two daughters, Olivia and Ava."
Rowlands defended his freestyle title at 120kg/264.5 pounds at the New York Athletic Club Nov. 18-19, winning all four of his bouts, including defeating Michael Irving, 4-1 and 6-0, in the final.
"I feel good about the fall tournaments," Rowlands said. "This is a stepping stone to the spring and summer."
"Under the guidance of Tom Ryan and 2006 U.S. World Team head coach and OSU assistant coach Lou Rosselli, Tommy has been wrestling the best we have ever seen and has been training harder," Ross Thatcher, Ohio State director of operations and Rowlands' longtime training partner, said. "He has more enthusiasm for going to the Olympics."
Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan believes Heskett and Rowlands' success is motivation for the Buckeye wrestling team this season.
"Not only are they pursuing their Olympic dreams, their actions as leaders set the expectations for the current student-athletes," Ryan said. "It's all about excellence."
Heskett and Rowlands train with The Buckeye Wrestling Club, an Ohio Regional Olympic Training Center at the Steelwood Athletic Training Facility, which also serves as the practice site for the Ohio State wrestling team.
The mission of The Buckeye Wrestling Club includes producing various levels of champions, from the Ohio state high school tournament to national, world and Olympic level events. It is the goal of the center to fund an Olympic hopeful at each of the seven weight classes in freestyle competition within the next three years. Additionally, The Buckeye Wrestling Club seeks to expand the community support for the Ohio State wrestling program in its goal of winning a NCAA championship.
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