InterMat Staff

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Navy head wrestling coach Bruce Burnett has announced the hiring of Scott Owen as an assistant coach to replace Todd Beckerman, who left for a similar position at the University of Maryland. Owen began his duties on Monday, Oct. 17, and brings a wealth of experience to the Navy wrestling program. "We are very excited to have Scott join our staff. We are very lucky to get someone of his quality this late in the game," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had a number of very strong applicants, but Scott's skills and what he can do for the program really stood out. He will fit in very well here. He is goal-oriented, a very hard worker and understands wrestling. His dad was a high school wrestling coach, so he comes from a coaching background and he knows what it takes to be successful. We are very thrilled to have him join our program." Owen comes to Navy from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., where he helped the Huskies to national recognition on the mats. He served as as a volunteer and assistant coach at the MAC school since 2003, where he helped coach four wrestlers to last year's NCAA Championships. As a collegiate wrestler at Northern Illinois, Owen was a four-time NCAA Qualifier and two-time All-American, placing fifth at 157 pounds in 2002 and 2003. He was the nation's top-ranked wrestler during the 2002-03 season and was a three-time Mid-American Conference champion. He ended his career as the all-time wins leader in Northern Illinois history and is just one of three Northern Illinois wrestlers to finish his career as a two-time All-American. Following the completion of his collegiate career, Owen has remained active on the mat and has claimed several top honors as a freestyle wrestler. He finished in the top 12 at the 2005 United States Nationals and was ranked as high as seventh in the country at 66 kilograms. Owen is a 2008 Olympic Freestyle Wrestling hopeful, and he continues his training to become a member of the USA Olympic Team in Beijing, China. Owen is currently a member of the New York Athletic Club at 66 kilograms and competed at the prestigious U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., where he lost to eventual Olympic Silver Medalist Jamil Kelly in overtime, 3-1. Based upon his outstanding performance, it's anticipated that Owen will be ranked among the United States' top 10 in his weight class. Owens came to Northern Illinois as a three-time New Mexico state champion and was a two-time member of the Asics All-American Team in 1996 and 1997. He also excelled in the classroom, where he graduated for NIU with a 3.63 GPA in biological sciences with an emphasis in pre-med and a minor in chemistry. He was a two-time member of the NWCA First-team Academic All-America team and was named to the Verizon / CoSIDA Academic All-American second team in 2002. He was a four-time Dean's List honoree and a five-time Northern Illinois Victory Scholar, which is given to athletes with a 3.5 GPA or higher. He is currently seeking a master's degree in sport management. from Northern Illinois. "I am extremely excited about this opportunity," said Owen. "Navy is a program on the rise and I am looking forward to helping our athletes reach some big goals while also helping Navy continue to climb the national rankings to the top." Owen joins a top-notch staff at Navy, as head coach Bruce Burnett and assistant coach Joel Sharratt enter their sixth year together at the helm.

Hello wrestling fans. This is Jason Lulloff from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. I have been elected to continue our blog entries. I hope you're looking forward to the upcoming season as much as we are. I decided to write a little bit about my personal challenges in wrestling and share with you how our sport has shaped my mental outlook on life. It takes a special person to fall in love with the sport of wrestling and an even more unique individual to become successful at the sport. Becoming a successful wrestler is not equivalent to simply knowing good wrestling technique. Granted, technique helps, but in my opinion there are other attributes that are just as valuable. Successful wrestlers possess many characteristics that are much deeper than athletic ability. Among these characteristics include courage, a burning desire to win, mental toughness, confidence, and much more. It is rare to find a sport where athletic talent can be beaten by mental toughness and courage. In most sports, the most athletic person is the most successful. Not that having skill in wrestling is not important, but I believe wrestlers call upon more than athleticism to succeed. When I step foot on the mat, technique and ability are the least of my worries. I know it is possible to beat someone who is more technically talented than I am -- simply by focusing on the special attributes that I listed above. I have spent 18 years of my life participating in the sport of wrestling. Throughout those years, there have been times when I thought I was at the top of my game. Fortunately for me, each time that occurred -- it was not long before I realized that I was not. From my youth years up through high school, I accomplished most of my goals. I was successful and had a lot of awards to show for those years. Upon graduating high school, I was very confident with my skills and looked forward to a college career. I decided to attend the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL). It was there where I finally realized how the sport of wrestling really works. When I entered my first season of college wrestling, our team at UWL was very competitive. I found myself battling for a starting position that I had previously thought was easily mine. I earned a spot in the lineup and found early success. Toward the middle part of the season, I lost a match I was expected to win. That was the beginning of my maturing process as a wrestler. I was in a slump because my confidence was low from the loss. My coach came up to me and basically said that I could do one of two things: I could realize that I had everything I needed to be a good a wrestler, work on the mental aspects I was struggling with, and finish top-three in Division III as a true freshman at 174 pounds. Or I could continue to be a decent wrestler, knocking off only the wrestlers who were less talented, and never step foot on the podium. Jason Lulloff, who competes at 184 pounds, is a two-time All-American for the Eagles. Those choices haunted me for a long time until I suddenly realized that wrestling is much more than talent and technique. The day I decided that I was going to be the freshman that everyone was out to beat, rather than the freshman who was out to beat somebody, was the day I finally came out of my slump. I went on to place third at nationals that year. After my freshman year, I was definitely mentally tougher than I had ever been before. I thought then that I had this sport figured out -- I had high expectations and a new attitude. During my sophomore year, I realized that my new attitude was great, but it was not great enough. I lost focus at the NCAA Tournament and was pinned in the first round. Devastated with my fourth place finish, I decided I was going to rededicate myself to the sport of wrestling. I trained that summer like I had never done before. My confidence was so high that I was almost cocky, and my mental state was solid. I could not wait for the season to begin. That is when I ran into a new mental challenge. Only weeks before practice started, I received the results from my MRI. I was so focused on training and becoming mentally tough that I failed to listen to my body. I was having back pains for about two months and finally went to the doctor to get it checked out. I had a severely ruptured disc slightly above my tailbone. Had I gone to the doctor when I first ruptured the disc, I could have avoided surgery. Because I kept training hard, I spread the disc matter into my nerve stem and needed surgery. When I heard the news, I was devastated. I was told that I was not only out for the season, but I would possibly never wrestle again. At first I wandered around, feeling sorry for myself, but then suddenly the mental toughness kicked in. I decided I would have the surgery and I would return to the mat because I am not an ordinary patient with back problems -- I am a wrestler with a mean mental attitude and a will to win a national championship. I found a doctor who said that a return to the mat would be extremely difficult, but not impossible, and booked an appointment with him. He performed the surgery and things went well. I spent a lot of time rehabbing the back and am finally at a state where it is possible to wrestle. Every rehab session and every time there was frustration, I can distinctly recall my mind overcoming the body because there was some driving force more powerful than a painful back -- that force is to win a national championship. Our season at UWL is now underway. I have been participating in all of the practices and so far have had no troubles with my back. I was told that I would never return to 100% of the wrestler I was before surgery, and yet I am extremely confident that this will be my best season yet. I have gained so much more from this injury that I wish everyone could see wrestling as I see it right now. I have been in the seat where doctors have told me I would be foolish to continue competing. I have stared at my trophies and at the open spot on my desk that I have designated for a national championship trophy. I have contemplated if I was tough enough to overcome the unlikely return to the mat. I spent the last ten months watching our team from the sideline, wondering if I would ever wear a maroon singlet again. The waiting is over; I have overcome another hardship and conquered the odds. I am convinced that I am tougher than ever before. I realize now that I am mentally stronger and more determined to accomplish my goals. Through my struggles, I know now that I am ready for anything that life decides to throw at me. I am really looking forward to the upcoming battles. The excitement in the room has me eager to get this season underway. I am ready. I am back. Jason Lulloff Past UW-LaCrosse Entries: Entry 1 (10/10/05)

Stanford, Calif. -- Stanford fifth-year seniors Ray Blake, Ryan Hagen and Imad Kharbush and redshirt sophomore Tanner Gardner were selected by their teammates to be captains of the 2005-06 squad. "I am very excited to have these men represent our program," noted first-year head coach Kerry McCoy. "We have a good mixture of veteran leadership and experience with fifth year seniors Ray, Ryan and Imad. And even though Tanner is redshirt sophomore, he has a tremendous amount of experience and will be the cornerstone of this program over the next few years. They all bring something different to the table and are all committed to lead Stanford to the top." Blake, a Chicago native, will compete at 165 pounds for his final campaign on The Farm. Last season, he picked up 10 wins during the collegiate season, including three wins at the Lone Star Duals, and in the spring Blake came one match away from All-America honors at the U.S. National Championships. Hagen, who hails from Sidney, Mont., has accumulated more than 40 wins during his time on The Farm and finished his junior year with seven dual wins at 184 pounds. Kharbush, a two-time NCAA Qualifier and the 2004 Pac-10 Champion from Livonia, Mich., is ranked in the top-6 in the preseason polls and will be looking for his first All-America honors in Oklahoma City in March. Gardner is the Cardinal's second returning NCAA qualifier, after placing fifth at Pac-10's as a true freshman and earning a wildcard spot. Gardner redshirted last season but continued to compete at tournaments throughout the year, picking up fourth-place finishes at the University National Championships and at the 2005 FILA Junior National Championships last spring. Stanford Wrestling begins the 2005-06 season on Tuesday, Nov. 1, as the Cardinal competes in wrestle-offs at 7 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion.

Nate Baker, now a junior at Minnesota State-Moorhead, is happy to be back wrestling in college again. That's all that matters right now. It doesn't matter that he was once considered a "can't-miss" wrestler who was going to be the next University of Minnesota great. It doesn't matter that his dream, ever since he was a little boy, was to follow in the footsteps of University of Minnesota four-time All-American Chad Kraft. It doesn't matter that he and Josh McLay were supposed to form a dynamic one-two punch in the middle of the Gopher lineup for years to come. It doesn't matter that he won three Minnesota state high school titles and racked up more than 200 career wins. It doesn't matter that he won the prestigious Junior Nationals, the summer after his senior year, in a weight class that would eventually produce an astonishing four Division I NCAA champions. It doesn't matter that he has beaten the following Division I NCAA champions: Ryan Bertin (twice), Chris Pendleton (twice), and Troy Letters (three times). It doesn't matter that he was named "Mr. Minnesota," an honor bestowed upon the top senior wrestler in the state. Nate BakerTo understand why none of those things matter anymore, you must first understand what this 24-year-old's journey has been like, and where he wants it to take him. In the mid-1980s, Nate began tagging along with his father, Randy Baker, a high school wrestling coach, to his practices. Randy grew up in southwestern Minnesota and has spent virtually his entire life in that area. In high school, he wrestled at Jackson High School in Minnesota, then moved on to wrestle and become an All-American at nearby Worthington Community College (now Minnesota West Community College), before finishing up his competitive wrestling career at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After Randy graduated from college with his physical education degree, it took him a few years to acquire a teaching and coaching job. But in 1984, Lakefield, (which has since joined with Jackson), hired him as a part-time teacher and wrestling coach. He's been there ever since. Randy's passion was, and still is, coaching wrestling. He loves every minute of it. He has become one of the most successful wrestling coaches in Minnesota State High School League history. He is also considered to be on one of the brightest wrestling minds around. He has produced great teams, great wrestlers, and great people. He ranks fourth on the all-time list in Minnesota as having coached 17 individual state champions. In 1997, he was named State Wrestling Man of the Year. In 2001, he was named USA Wrestling Developmental Coach of the Year, an award given annually to the top coach in the nation working with age-group wrestlers and programs. So it was only natural for Randy to pass on his love and passion for the sport to his only son, Nate. Nate wrestled in his first match when he was in kindergarten. Those who watched him, even at such a young age, could tell right away that he was naturally gifted. He grew up listening to everything his father preached. He emulated the techniques and wrestling styles of the Kraft brothers, Matt and Chad, whom his father had coached on the high school team. Both Matt and Chad were high school standouts who went on to wrestle for the hometown Gophers. Nate wanted to be just like them. In 2001, Randy Baker was named USA Wrestling Developmental Coach of the Year (TheGuillotine.com).Nate would go on to reach the Minnesota/USA Kids Freestyle State Tournament finals eight times, winning it five times. While many young wrestlers attended wrestling camps all across the country, at places like Iowa, Oklahoma State, and Arizona State, Nate stayed home and learned from his father. Randy could show him everything he needed to know to be successful. "He helped me so much throughout my career," says Nate of his father. "He guided me. He helped me with my decisions. He helped me learn the proper ways to cut weight. Pretty much all the technique I learned came from him." Although Nate saw a lot of success as a youth wrestler, there were still the disappointments along the way. Take, for instance, the time he drew Jacob Clark in the first round of the Minnesota/USA Kids Freestyle State Tournament, and was two and done, after winning the state title the year before. Or the time he lost in the Cadet state finals to Luke Eustice. Or the time he lost to a lesser opponent, because that wrestler stalled the entire match, and Nate didn't get any help from the referee. "You had to deal with those things," said Randy. "It might have made for a little quieter ride home, but when you talked, it was more than just coaching him. It was a relationship and you didn't give up on each other." When Nate was in eighth grade, wrestling for his father at Jackson County Central, he placed sixth at 103 pounds at the Minnesota State High School Tournament. The following year, as a freshman, he finished as the state runner-up at 119 pounds. He won his first state high school title as a sophomore wrestling at 140 pounds. "I was really excited," said Nate of winning his first title. "It was something that I had planned on doing the year before, but I lost in the finals." Randy Baker led the Jackson County Central Huskies to back-to-back Minnesota state titles in 1999 and 2000 (TheGuillotine.com).His junior season, he pinned all four opponents en route to another state title, this time at 152 pounds. He also guided the Jackson County Central Huskies to the state team title. That summer, he placed third at Junior Nationals in freestyle. His impressive wrestling resume made him one of the most sought after recruits in the country. Shortly after July 1, 1999, when coaches are permitted to contact recruits, University of Minnesota head coach, J Robinson, and his top assistant, Marty Morgan, called Nate and expressed interest. Iowa, who had won the national title a few months prior (edging Minnesota), waited a little while, before contacting him for a visit. It wasn't long before Tom Brands and Jim Zalesky were sitting in the Baker's living room, trying to persuade him to come to Iowa City and wrestle for the Hawkeyes. But during the fall of 1999, when the wrestling recruiting season was in full swing, Nate's schedule was jam-packed. He played both ways on the football team and was an avid hunter, so it was tough to find time. He and Matt Shankey, a fellow Minnesota high school standout, took their recruiting visits together. They looked at Wisconsin, Northern Iowa, Iowa, and Minnesota. Baker chose Minnesota. Shankey chose Iowa. "It came down to Iowa and Minnesota," said Nate. "They were my top two choices. I was very interested in Iowa. Obviously they have a great program. But the reason I went to Minnesota is because I knew a lot of the guys. I just felt a little more comfortable with the situation there." His senior season, he won his third state title while wrestling with a torn MCL, and once again, he led the Huskies to the team title. After winning his championship match, Nate walked off the mat and hugged his father. Nate Baker hugs his father, Randy, after winning his third state title (TheGuillotine.com)."The road we were on together made it pretty emotional," recalled Randy. "It was a long process. We went through a lot of great memories, but also a lot of time and work. I think people sometimes don't realize what kids who win state titles really have to go through. Other people are sitting around in the summer, going to the beach, partying or whatever, while a lot of the top wrestlers are going to camps, working out, or going to Cadet and Junior Nationals." Even though Nate was already headed to the University of Minnesota in the fall, he still wanted to test the waters that summer at the always tough Junior Nationals. Prior to the tournament, he and Randy had shingled and done carpentry work in the hot, summer heat -- which gave Nate a strong conditioning base. "At training camp for Junior Nationals, I got my weight down fine, and I just felt really good throughout all the practices," recalled Nate. "So I knew going into the tournament that I was going to have a good performance. Once I got out there, everything started flowing. All of my matches seemed to work out exactly how I had planned them." Nate dominated at Junior Nationals. He won seven of his nine matches in his pool by technical fall or fall. The only two matches that went the distance in his pool, ironically, were against two eventual two-time NCAA champions, Pendleton and Bertin. In the finals, Nate defeated Letters, 7-5, which marked the second straight year that he had beaten him at Junior Nationals. Nate Baker claimed the Junior Nationals title in 2000 at 154 pounds (TheGuillotine.com).With his illustrious prep career behind him, it was time to take care of business at the next level. Nate enrolled at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 2000. He redshirted his first season with the Gophers. Wrestling unattached at 157 and 165, he posted an impressive 21-3 record. He captured titles at the Kaufman-Brand Open (20-and-under division), Northern Open, Flash-Flanagan Open, and Worthington Open. One of his three losses that season came to his teammate, Luke Becker (who captured the NCAA title at 157 that season), in the finals of the Bison Open, 10-5. "My first year at Minnesota was really a good experience for me," said Nate. "Going from high school to college, I didn't know how big of a change in levels it would be. I was wrestling with (Luke) Becker, (Brad) Pike, and a lot of great wrestlers. So I learned a lot just from wrestling them. When I went out to wrestle in competitions, it made it a lot easier, because I was already wrestling some of the best wrestlers in the nation. I felt pretty good about the way I was wrestling all the way through my redshirt year." It was a promising start to what looked to be a great career. He was now ready to make his mark in the Gopher lineup. In the next season, the Gophers had a logjam at 165 pounds. Nate, John Hardy, and Mitch Marr all battled for the right to start. At the Kaufman-Brand Open in November, Nate lost a tight match, 5-3, to Hardy in the finals. It was back and forth all season. Nate never knew when he would be in the lineup. In fact, one time that season, Randy had driven up to Minneapolis to visit Nate. The two were sitting at Perkins Restaurant, casually talking, when all of a sudden Nate's cell phone rang. It was J Robinson. He told Nate to get his weight down, because he had a plane ticket for him to travel Purdue the next day and wrestle in the lineup. Nate, who had no idea that he might be wrestling, was eight pounds over weight. It was 8:00 at night. He ran all night, made weight, traveled to Purdue, and lost his match by two points. Hardy replaced Nate in the lineup for the next dual. Nate won two of his last three duals, which included a fall over seventh-ranked Johnny Clark of Ohio State. He earned the right to be in the lineup for the postseason. "Once I got in the lineup, I tried to show the coaches that I was the one they wanted in there, just by wrestling hard," said Nate. "When it came down to the last couple of duals, I finally earned the spot. So I figured out that all my hard work was paying off." During the 2001-02 season, Nate Baker compiled a 29-15 record while wrestling at 165 pounds for the University of Minnesota (TheGuillotine.com).Nate placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships, which qualified him for the NCAA Tournament. At the NCAA Tournament, in Albany, New York, he won his opening round match, 13-11, but then lost 12-2 to top-seeded Joe Heskett of Iowa State. Nate was then eliminated in the consolation bracket by Chris Vitale of Lehigh. He finished that season with an overall record of 29-15. The NCAA Tournament had been a bitter-sweet experience for Nate. On the one hand, he didn't wrestle as well as he had hoped. But on the other hand, his team, the Gophers, captured their second straight NCAA title. "It was great to be a part of a national championship team," said Nate. "It was something that I knew a lot of the guys really wanted." Nate spent the summer lifting and training as he prepared for the 2002-03 season. The first match that season was the much publicized dual between Minnesota and Iowa. Nate weighed in for the dual, but the coaches decided not to wrestle him. A week later, Nate failed to place at the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha. In early-December, he finished third at the UNI Open. At that time, Nate was trying to cope with serious family problems, something no one would ever want to experience. Soon after that, in the fall of 2002, he left the Minnesota program. In late-February of 2003, Nate stepped back on the mat and claimed the 174-pound title at the USA Wrestling Collegiate Nationals in Rochester, Minnesota. The next fall, Nate got in a car accident, and although no one was seriously hurt, the accident took a financial and emotional toll on him. That winter, with Nate still living in Minneapolis, but no longer wrestling for the Gophers, he began coaching at Eagan High School, a Minneapolis suburb. One of Randy's former wrestlers, Chad Gage, was the head coach at Eagan, and had known the Baker family for years. The next summer, 2004, Nate moved back home and worked. Last winter, he began coaching with his father at Jackson County Central. Bryan Cowdin, whom Nate had known for years, a former Minnesota state champion at a school located near Jackson (Worthington), and an All-American at both Minnesota West and South Dakota State, also joined the Baker duo on the coaching staff. "Bryan and I started wrestling each other when I was in eighth grade," said Nate. "Our matches were a big deal around the area, just because we were both talented wrestlers. A lot of people would show up at our duals. But when he started coaching at Jackson, I got to know him really well." In January of 2005, just for fun, Nate and Cowdin got back on the mat and wrestled in the Worthington Open, held at Minnesota West. Both won titles. So what did Randy think of the experience of coaching with his son? "It was pretty interesting, but it was a lot of fun," said Randy. "It was interesting how he would act, how he would coach. He wasn't really a yeller, but he knew what to do. He did a good job. A couple of times we would have a little disagreement about what we wanted a wrestler to do, but for the most part, we were on the same page." Last season, Don Hoonhorst, a former wrestler at Minnesota State-Moorhead (Division II), who was living near Jackson, noticed that Nate was coaching. If Nate wanted to return to college wrestling, his only options were Division II, Division III, or NAIA, since his Division I eligibility had run out. So Hoonhorst got on the phone and called his former coach, Keenan Spiess, and mentioned that he should talk to Nate about the possibility of joining the program. So Spiess made the call to Nate. "It was just a question of whether or not he was ready to go back to school, get his degree, and move on with his life," said Spiess, who is beginning his third season as head coach of the Dragons. "That was the main thing. I didn't really bug him that much. I just told him that we're interested, if he's ready to come back." Keenan SpiessThankfully for Spiess, it worked. Nate made the decision to enroll at Minnesota State-Moorhead this fall. He is expected to compete at 165 pounds for the Dragons. Cowdin will also join the wrestling program second semester, after he finishes up some coursework at Minnesota West. Randy is happy that Nate made the decision to get back on the mat. "That was one of my goals, to get him back wrestling," said Randy. "I knew that he would get the itch again, especially if he was around it. I just don't want him to have those questions later in his life, seeing guys he has beaten be national champions, and then have some bitterness about what happened in his life. So I wanted to get him back on the mat, and at least answer those questions himself. If you go back, and you don't want to do it, then you'll know. But if you don't ever go back, you're always going to wonder, and wish you would have. Regrets are really hard." On Nov. 23, Minnesota State-Moorhead travels to Augsburg College to wrestle the defending Division III national champions. There is a possibility that Nate could meet up with another former Minnesota prep star, who also spent some time in the University of Minnesota room, Marcus LeVesseur. Levesseur, who transferred to Augsburg after just one season at Minnesota, has won three Division III national titles and has compiled a record of 124-0 while wrestling at 157 pounds. There is unconfirmed speculation, however, that LeVesseur might move up to 165 pounds for his senior season. Nate's goal for this season is to finish on top. "Hopefully I can win a national title this year," said Nate, who has two years of eligibility remaining. "That's my main goal, especially after making it to the NCAA's in Division I. I think that because of some of the guys I've wrestled, and how they're doing, I should be able to do just as well." Added Randy, "If Nate can get to where he was, I think you'll see that smile back on his face. For a long time, he was pretty reserved. A lot of negative things were going on and you don't know how to fix them. Really, until you realize you can't fix them, you kind of stumble." But regardless of what happens on the wrestling mat, Spiess believes that Nate is setting himself up for a prosperous future. "I'm excited to have him on the team," said Spiess. "He's doing really well in school. He's a construction management major. They set them up really well with jobs when they are done here. As long as he sticks to his guns, he's going to have a great life ahead of him." Despite the adversity Nate has faced the past few years, he believes the tough nature of the sport is what helped to bring him back. "I've always known that wrestling is a tough sport," said Nate. "There is a lot of adversity you have to deal with. I've learned a lot through wrestling, like how to deal with different things just from being a wrestler. That's why I'm back in it now."

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The 21st Annual Sunkist Kids/Arizona State University International Open will be held this weekend, Oct. 21-22, inside Wells Fargo Arena on the campus of ASU in Tempe. The longest standing international open wrestling tournament in the United States, the Open is a premiere event that kicks off each USA Wrestling season and includes numerous elite wrestlers from around the world. The tournament, which is used as a selection tool for choosing Team USA's winter touring team, will again feature men's and women's freestyle wrestling as well as men's Greco-Roman wrestling. The event opens Friday at 9 a.m. with the men's freestyle and Greco-Roman preliminary and consolation rounds and will last until 1 p.m. The same two groups will compete in preliminary, quarterfinal and consolation rounds starting at 3 p.m. and lasting until it the rounds are completed. Saturday, the women's preliminary, quarterfinals and consolations, as well as the men's freestyle and Greco-Roman semifinals and consolations, are set for 9 a.m. Saturday until 1 p.m. before the women's semifinals and consolations and all men's third place bouts take the mat from 2:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. The event concludes at 4:30 p.m. when the women's third place bouts and all championship matches take the mat. Included with the tournament is the annual Sunkist Kids/Sun Devil Coaches & Wrestling Clinic. The clinic runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and will be hosted by several outstanding members of the ASU and Sunkist coaching staffs, including Sun Devil Head Coach Thom Ortiz and assistants Aaron Simpson and Eric Larkin. Former Sun Devil Joe Romero and two-time Olympic champion Sergei Beloglazav also will be on hand, as well as many members of the current Sun Devil roster. Tickets to the Open will be available at the front entrances of Wells Fargo Arena both days for $10.

The U.S. World Freestyle Team did not meet their goals this year at the World Championships in Hungary. It was a very tough tournament for each and every member of the seven-man squad -- as well as the U.S. fans following the event. Team USA came home with two shared bronze medals (Joe Williams at 74 kg and Tolly Thompson at 120 kg) and an eighth-place finish in the team race with 20 points. Since the tournament, there has been lots of constructive discussion on what the U.S. freestyle movement needs to do in order to be more successful. How do our freestylers get where they (and we) want to be? The short answer is that there are no easy fixes to more medals and World titles. Breakup of the USSR It's difficult to overstate the impact the breakup of the Soviet Union has had on international wrestling. In the days of the USSR, wrestling enthusiasts would often claim that the toughest competition in the world was, in fact, the Tbilisi tournament held annually in Georgia. The challenge of the competition was that you had to face a Russian in each and every round. The World Championships of today are similarly loaded with Russian (or formerly Russian) talent, but it's arguably more difficult -- since the wrestlers on the teams of these former Soviet republics are each able to gain more international experience. Could Lee Fullhart do some damage at the World level, if given the opportunity?In the second round of this year's World Championships, at 96 kg, Daniel Cormier lost to Aleksie Krupniakov of Kyrgystan 2-1, 8-1. Wrestling fans may recall that Krupniakov was Russia's representative in the 1998 World Cup. In the dual with the United States, Krupniakov (with the aid of a wicked 3-point hip toss from a whizzer situation) beat standing World champ Les Gutches, 4-2. It was a month before Krupniakov's 20th birthday. If the breakup of the Soviet Union had never occurred, a talent like Krupniakov would most likely been forced to sit behind such great wrestlers as Khadshimurad Magomedov and Adam Satiev at 84 kg or Sazid Murtazaliev, Kuramagomed Kuramagomedov, and Georgi Gogchelidze at 96 kg (all five of whom were World champions). But because the USSR was no more, Krupniakov merely switched citizenship to Kyrgystan and complied a wealth of international experience by the time this year's worlds came around -- where he finally broke through and medaled. It's tough for American fans not to speculate hypothetical World Championship results of guys like John Fisher, Tom Erikson and Lee Fullhart had they had similar opportunities after just missing numerous U.S. spots. And although the might of the former Soviet Republics are hard on everyone (in 2003, Russia finished fourth and watched Georgia win the title) there is the distinct possibility of Russia being able to stack their lineup even more by cherry-picking seasoned talent from other former Soviet republics. There was much talk in international wrestling circles that (2003 World and 2004 Olympic champion) Artur Taimazov of Uzbekistan would be wearing a Russian singlet this year in Hungary. From 2000 through 2002, Taimazov only lost to David Musulbes of Russia in world competition. When Musulbes was no longer around and Taimazov was winning gold, he would regularly defeat Russian team member Kuramagomed Kuramagomedov. It therefore made sense to merely reclaim Taimazov for mother Russia. That Taimazov remained a competitor for Uzbekistan this year (and also didn't perform well) doesn't change the fact that the free-floating nature of former Soviet republic citizenship has made the worlds significantly more difficult than in the past. And that if USA indeed becomes a threat to dethrone Russia, that their lineup could instantly become even stronger. Free looks? In speculating how the U.S. can be more successful, one simply must look to Russia and examine the habits that contribute to their dominance. A reoccurring trend for Russia is that they give the competition scarce few opportunities to see their top team members in action, or more importantly, actually square off against them. The ability of world-level wrestlers to make adjustments against an opponent from match to match is huge. Gigantic. But a simple way to prevent an opponent from dissecting your technique is to not show it to them and only break it out on special occasions. It's been a long-standing tradition for Russia to not send their top guys to the World Cup. Similarly, this year's European championships featured only three of the seven Russian team members who competed in Hungary. Although Russia didn't win either event, please don't shed any tears for them. Their four-champion, 54-point 2005 World team title most surely eases the sting of not winning either of those less-important competitions. And it also shows that they know where their priorities lie. So should USA, similarly, hold back our top guys from international competitions? Probably not. Our needs are different and any and all international experience does us more good than harm. The rest of the world doesn't need to break away from a career of risky folkstyle habits. We want American wrestlers to face the world's best and get crotch-lifted off a head outside single when it's NOT for a world medal. Otherwise, we'll learn the lesson too late. But will such lessons simultaneously let the world get a "free look" at our own wrestler's current bag of tricks and allow them to come up with a counter-strategy down the line? Probably, but it's a risk we have no choice but to take. Focus on freestyle/sticking with it One obvious obstacle for the American freestyle movement is the lack of a full career committed to the discipline. As I see it, the issue is twofold. At the beginning of a wrestler's career, time is (at best) split between folkstyle and free (or, obviously, Greco-Roman). Moreover, a young freestyle wrestler's experience is mostly national, where they aren't threatened by the same types of scoring holds (or, more importantly, counters) that they'll see in other countries. But in all honesty, I'm not convinced this is our World Team's biggest problem. At the senior level, our top folkstyle-bred wrestlers ARE able to succeed internationally. It takes some time to adjust, but many do what it takes and get the job done. It didn't happen overnight, but Gutches, Sammie Henson, Brandon Slay, Kerry McCoy, etc. all eventually were able to turn the world's best from par terre. Can our youth freestyle movement improve? Certainly. In fact, we've got a ways to go. Perhaps I'd nominate HOSTING more international events before adding more competitions abroad. Given our non-freestyle-from-birth situation, having our young athletes face opponents with more experience in the style is lesson enough without having to deal with being in a strange land. While our junior world teams have indeed struggled, when we hosted the event in Las Vegas, we did quite well. In my honest opinion, the bigger problem could well be that many American freestyle careers end too soon. The worlds are obviously an incredibly difficult event, where the tiniest aspects -- both those that you have control over and those that you do not -- cost you a match. However, the more times a wrestler attends the worlds, the greater the odds are of finally putting together a tourney where you do everything right and the breaks fall your way. A good example would be Arif Abdullaev of Azerbaijan, who didn't medal at all at the Worlds until 2003, where, at the age of 35, he took home the gold at 60 kg. Please don't mistake this as an attack on those who choose to leave their shoes in the center of the mat. I don't begrudge the decision. Again, our situation in the U.S. is different than many parts of the world. American wrestlers simply don't have the same incentives to keep at it year after year. Champion wrestler counterparts in foreign countries are important people, getting all kinds of accolades and money. In the U.S, our top guys simply don't get similar respect. Tolly ThompsonAnd it's also tough enough just to keep try and cracking the national team. It would have been easy for Tolly Thompson to not stick with it this long. But he did and put together a great run in winning his bronze medal. USA needs more Tolly Thompson's. But more importantly, we've got to make it less life-draining for American freestyle wrestlers to continue to compete. One cannot overstate the extent to which Real Pro Wrestling aids in this cause. RPW was taped after the Olympics and the rosters featured names of guys I thought were done -- at least for now. But it makes perfect sense. If you're one of these guys, why not show up and try and make some cash while getting slick TV airtime? More importantly, training for RPW is in complete harmony with training for a conventional freestyle career. RPW was wise to keep the weights the same and have rules that were similar to FILA's (although RPW's push-out rule came first). If RPW can succeed, I really think that will give more of our top wrestlers an excuse to keep chasing world titles, which will help our overall performance. Not so bleak The bottom line is that this year's worlds are not the end of the world. Like the previous quadrennials, we'll probably do better in the next two years and peak at the Olympics. That's been the trend and it makes sense. Many wrestlers end their careers at the Olympics and new U.S. talent generally needs the full four years of freestyle experience to finally get into sync. Can we be at the top and win titles? I think so, but it's a tougher task than ever and there are really no easy answers.

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Home dual meets against Michigan State and Michigan highlight the 2005-06 Central Michigan University wrestling schedule. The Chippewas will make a total of four appearances in Rose Arena during the upcoming season. Michigan State and Michigan visit Mount Pleasant on Dec. 7 and 11, respectively, while CMU will also host Northern Illinois and Ohio on Feb. 10 and 17, respectively. CMU opens the season at the MSU Open in East Lansing on Nov. 12-13. The Midlands Tournament will again be held in Evanston, Ill. on Dec. 29-30, while the National Duals are slated for Jan. 14-15 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Northern Illinois will serve as host for the MAC Championships on March 3-4, while the NCAA Championships are slated for March 16-18 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The CMU ticket office is accepting ticket orders now for nationals, with packages costing $110 or $130 depending on the section. The ticket office can be reached at (989) 774-3045 or 1-888-FIRE UP2 (347-3872). Tom Borrelli, entering his 15th season as the head coach at CMU, has guided the Chippewas to seven MAC Tournament titles in the past eight years, including each of the past four.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- A 2005-06 schedule featuring six home dual matches was released on Thursday by University of Virginia head wrestling coach Lenny Bernstein. The Cavaliers are scheduled to host Ohio State University (Jan. 22, Noon), the University of North Carolina (Jan. 27, 7:00 p.m.), Virginia Tech (Jan. 28, 7:00 p.m.), Ohio University (Feb. 5, 1:30 p.m.), James Madison University (Feb. 5, 3:30 p.m.) and the University of Maryland (Feb. 17, 7:00 p.m.). All of the matches will be held at Memorial Gymnasium. Virginia's first competition is the annual Blue-Orange intra-squad exhibition match at Memorial Gymnasium on Oct. 30. UVa opens regular-season competition with matches against the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Gardner-Webb University and Anderson College in Greensboro, N.C., on Nov. 12. The Cavaliers' other away dual matches are at Old Dominion University (Feb. 3, 7:00 p.m.), at North Carolina State University (Feb. 11, Noon) and at Duke University (Feb. 11, 7:00 p.m.). Virginia also wrestles Virginia Military Institute at Robinson High School in Fairfax, Va., on Jan. 4 (7:30 p.m.). The Cavaliers are also scheduled to compete at the Keystone Classic (Nov. 20), the Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 2-3), the Nittany Lion Open (Dec. 4), the Southern Scuffle (Dec. 29-30), the Virginia Intercollegiate Championships (Jan. 7) and the Virginia Duals (Jan. 13-14). The Atlantic Coast Conference Championships are scheduled for March 4 at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., and the NCAA Championships are scheduled for March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The U.S. Olympic Committee today named World Champion wrestler Iris Smith as its Female Athlete of the Month for September. Skier Jeret "Speedy" Peterson was its September Male Athletes of the Month. The USOC Team of the Month honor was awarded to the USA Men's National Volleyball Team. Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) won a gold medal at 72kg/158.5 lbs. at the World Wrestling Championships, the most important international event of the year, Sept. 30 in Budapest, Hungary. Smith scored a major upset in the gold-medal finals, defeating five-time World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan, 3-1, 1-1, 1-0. Smith was the only U.S. woman wrestler to win a World gold medal this year and became only the fourth U.S. woman wrestler ever to win a World title on her way to leading the United States to a strong third-place finish in the team standings at the World Championships. Smith won four matches on the way to her historic win. In her first bout, Smith stopped Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria, 3-1, 1-0. In the quarterfinals, Smith stopped Angnieska Wieczczek of Poland, 2-0, 6-0. She also had a strong semifinal win over Anita Schaetzle of Germany, 3-1, 2-0. Smith was competing in her second World Championships. She is a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program. Volleyball's Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa) placed second among the women after being named the most valuable player of the NORCECA Continental Championships Sept. 11 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. She led the USA Women's National Volleyball Team to the gold medal with a 25-13, 22-25, 27-25, 20-25 victory over Cuba. Metcalf, who tied a match high with 21 points in the final, also tied for the tournament lead in scoring with 67 total points on 55 kills, seven blocks and five aces in five matches. Team USA posted a 5-1 record and qualified for the prestigious six-team Grand Champions Cup tournament in Japan in November. Third place for the women went to snowboarder Hannah Teter (Belmont, Vt.), who earned back-to-back halfpipe wins just three hours apart at the World Cup season opener Sept. 15 in Valle Nevado, Chile. Teter was the lone American woman to qualify for either halfpipe final and the two victories bring her total career World Cup wins to six. On the men's side, reigning World Cup aerials champion Peterson (Boise, Idaho) won the first World Cup aerials event of the Olympic season Sept. 3 at Mount Buller, Australia. In collecting the fourth World Cup victory of his career, Peterson had 246.25 points and landed two quad-twisting triples (four twists, three flips), a double full-full-full and a full-double full-full. Second-place honors for the men went to volleyball's Donald Suxho (Redondo Beach, Calif.), who guided the USA Men's National Volleyball Team to its second-straight NORCECA Continental Championship as the squad posted a 25-22, 25-27, 25-23, 25-22 victory over Cuba Sept. 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Suxho, who earned the tournament's best server honors after blasting 11 aces, set Team USA to a hitting percentage of 0.441 (195 kills, 43 errors, 345 attempts) and averaged 6.6 points per match. Rower Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.) placed third for the men after stroking the men's eight to a gold medal Sept. 3 at the 2005 FISA World Championships in Gifu, Japan, its first World championship title in the event since 1999. Hoopman, who raced in two boats at the world championships, also helped the U.S. men's four to a fifth-place finish Sept. 3. Freestyle wrestler Tolly Thompson (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Sunkist Kids), a World bronze medalist at 120 kg/264.5 lbs., received first-place votes in the balloting. In the team category, the USA Men's National Volleyball Team held off a stubborn Cuban squad, 3-1, to win its second-consecutive NORCECA Continental Championship Sept. 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The USA posted a 25-22, 25-27, 25-23, 25-22 victory to finish the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record while losing just one set (15-1). The Americans, who also won the last NORCECA Championship in 2003, earned back-to-back crowns for the first time in 20 years. Second place went to the U.S. Rowing Men's Eight with Coxswain. Despite four members rowing in two events, the squad won the gold medal at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships Sept. 3 in Gifu, Japan. The victory marked the first time the U.S. won gold at the World Championships since 1999. Third place in the team category went to the U.S. International Junior Women's Gymnastics Team, consisting of Natasha Kelley (Katy, Texas) and Bianca Flohr (Creston, Ohio), which earned three gold, five silver and two bronze medals at the International Junior Gymnastics Competition Sept. 18-19 in Yokohama, Japan. Results (first place votes in parentheses) WOMEN 1. Iris Smith, Wrestling 20 (5) 2. Nancy Metcalf, Volleyball 16 (3) 3. Hannah Teter, Snowboarding 11 (2) Also receiving first-place votes: Kristin Armstrong (Cycling), Diandra Asbaty (Bowling), Michelle Guerette (Rowing), Deena Kastor (Track & Field), Jenny Potter (Ice Hockey) MEN 1. Jeret Peterson, Skiing 17 (2) 2. Donald Suxho, Volleyball 15 (2) 3. Beau Hoopman, Rowing 13 (3) Also receiving first-place votes: Abdi Abidirahman (Track & Field), Brett Anderson (Baseball), Bill Furbish (Disabled Water Skiing), Royal Mitchell (Paralympic Track & Field), Craig Schmersal (Equestrian), Tolly Thompson (Wrestling) TEAM 1. USA Men's National Volleyball Team 25 (4) 2. U.S. Rowing Men's Eight 17 (5) 3. U.S. International Junior Women's Gymnastics Team 16 (2) Also receiving first-place votes: USA Women's Goalball Team, USA Baseball Junior National Pan Am Team, U.S. Wakeboard Team

Dubuque, IA -- The Dubuque Convention & Visitors Bureau and Loras College have teamed up to bring the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships back to Iowa! We are proud to announce that Dubuque has been awarded the 2007 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. The event will take place March 2-3, 2007 at the Five Flags Center and will showcase some of the top wrestling programs and talent in the country. "The NCAA Division III Championships Committee is excited for the championships to return to Loras College and the City of Dubuque after the outstanding job they did in administering the NCAA Division III National Championships in 2004. The wrestling fans in Iowa are second to none and we are looking forward to an exciting championship in 2007," Ron Beaschler, Chairman of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships Committee. Randy Steward, Loras College Wrestling Head Coach says this will shed a national spotlight on the wrestling program, faculty and staff. "I feel that it is a great honor to host an NCAA Championship one time. To serve as host for the second time, it should send a message that we are one of the top programs in the nation and Loras College is a class institution." The impact of this decision will be felt across the entire community. Not only will it put some of the nation's best wrestlers on the mat, it will put thousands of people in the stands. In 2004, this major sporting event drew an estimated 8,400 people to Dubuque and the surrounding area. "Players, coaches, families and fans will drive and fly to Dubuque as well as stay in our hotels, dine, shop and fuel at area restaurants, stores and stations during the tournament. We estimate the economic impact of the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships on the Dubuque area to be about $5.2 million dollars" according to Sue Czeshinski, Director of the Dubuque Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Columbia, Mo. -- The Missouri wrestling program announced today that it will hold its annual Black and Gold wrestle-offs Thursday, Nov. 3, in the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse. The Tigers, sitting at No. 14 in the preseason rankings, will begin action at 7 p.m. (CT). Admission is free to the public. Headlining the matches will be returning All-Americans Ben Askren (174) and Matt Pell (165). Askren, a junior and a native of Hartland, Wis., enters the season ranked No. 1 in the nation and looks to improve on his second straight runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships. Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.), who finished seventh at 184 pounds last season to earn his first All-America honor, returns to his natural collegiate wrestling weight of 165 pounds and enters the 2005-06 campaign ranked No. 5 in the nation. Missouri fans will also get their first glimpse at the 2005-06 freshmen class, 12 newcomers looking to make an impact at the Division I level. Jumping into the fire immediately will be heavyweights Sean Connole (Erie, Penn.) and Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.), both of whom will likely burn their redshirts and start at the Tigers heaviest weight this season. "We have several very competitive weight classes this year, and the Black and Gold match is one of the deciding factors in who will start at our opening dual meet," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "It's also a chance for the incoming freshmen to put on a Missouri singlet for the first time and participate in their first collegiate match with referees and the three-two-two clock format." In addition to the Black and Gold matches, the Tigers will hold a free youth clinic in the Missouri wrestling room (fourth floor of the Hearnes Center) for young wrestlers eighth grade or under. The clinic will be conducted by Smith and the Tiger coaching staff, and will include an information session about the Columbia Youth Wrestling Club. Participants will have a chance to sign up for the club, which practices in the state-of-the-art Missouri wrestling facilities.

USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, is proud to report that the organization's membership set records in four major categories during the 2004-05 year. The 2004-05 membership year, which ended on August 31, 2005, set annual records for athletes, coaches, clubs and sanctioned events. During the 2004-2005 year, USA Wrestling registered 142,624 athlete members, topping the record of 135,519 athletes set during the 2003-04 year. The number of registered coaches climbed to 19,813 from the previous record set one year ago at 19,362 coach members. USA Wrestling chartered clubs reached a new record level, with 3,117 club programs, up from record of 2,927 clubs set during the 2002-03 season. Sanctioned events were also at a new level, with 1,741 USA Wrestling events during the 2004-05 season, breaking the previous year's record of 1,682 events. The membership records were possible through the efforts of USA Wrestling's volunteer leaders on the regional, state and local levels, who provided the most comprehensive program of wrestling activities in the nation. "USA Wrestling has again set all-time records for athletes, coaches, clubs and sanction events during its 2005 membership year. This outstanding accomplishment is directly related to the hard work of so many great USA Wrestling volunteers," said Mark Scott, Director of State Services. "USA Wrestling State Leaders were superlative in attracting new members to the organization as is evidenced by our new membership records. USA Wrestling's State Leaders are a unique group of people who are so dedicated to the ideals that wrestling brings to individuals that they make it a priority to grow the base," said Scott. For the membership year ending August 31, 2005, USA Wrestling is proud to announce that 33 states increased their athlete membership. Those state organizations and their leaders should be commended for their hard work and effort. The states with athlete growth this year were: Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. A total of 28 states experienced growth in the coach membership category: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming. USA Wrestling is excited about the new 2005-06 year, and will work hard to continue to increase opportunities within wrestling all across the nation.

San Francisco, Calif. -- San Francisco State University wrestling program will look to continue its tradition of having an All-American this season. The Gators streak is at 16 straight years and was continued by a pair of All-Americans including a National Champion last year. Senior 149 lb. wrestler Pacifico Garcia (Fresno, CA/Clovis HS) captured his weight class last season in Omaha, Nebraska, while now Assistant Coach Donald Lockett (Daly City, CA/Lowell HS) finished in third place at 141. As a team, SF State finished tied for 11th place at the Nationals with Central Oklahoma University. "This season we are looking to finish in the top three in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and in the top ten at Nationals in March in Findlay, Ohio," stated head coach Lars Jensen. In order to get there, Coach Jensen is looking for returnees Garcia, Eric Fitzpatrick (Sr, 141, Union City, CA/James Logan HS), Mikhail Higa (So, 125, Hilo, HI/Waiakea HS), and Kirk Fitzpatrick (Jr, 157, Union City, CA/James Logan HS) along with freshman Virgil Lockett (Fr, 133, San Francisco, CA/George Washington HS) to lead the way. Garcia finished his junior season with a 33-7 record. Besides being a returning National Champion, he is also a two-time All-American for the Gators. Eric Fitzpatrick finished last year with a 6-5 record and a placer at the 2003 RMAC/NCAA Division II West Regional Championships. Higa finished his first season as a Gator with a 8-13 record and also was a place at the RMAC/NCAA Division I West Regional Championships while Kirk Fitzpatrick red-shirted last season. Coach Jensen is also looking for newcomers Will Simmons (Jr, 174, Sacramento, CA/Sac City College), Richard Escobar (Jr, 197, Los Gatos, CA/West Valley College), and Sandeep Singh (Sr, 285, Union City, CA/Fresno State University) to play a major role in the Gators' upcoming season. In RMAC, Jensen is looking as Nebraska-Kearney, Adams State, and Fort Hays State as the top teams in one of the toughest NCAA Division II conferences in the nation. Other returnees for the Gators are: Cleveland Berto (Sr, 157, Winter Haven, FL/Lake Region HS), Alek Butler (Sr, 133, Sonora, CA/San Joaquin Delta College), RJ Clifford (Jr, 165, Huntington Beach, CA/Golden West College), Danny Dahl (Jr, 184, Modesto, CA/Grace Davis HS), Jeff Johnson (So, 141, Antelope, CA/Center HS), Tim Pridmore (So, 184, Napa, CA/Will C. Wood HS), Justin Switzler (So, 157, Elverta, CA/Rio Linda HS), Merrick Tan (So, 149, Union City, CA/James Logan HS), and Brian Watanabe (Jr, 125, Napa, CA/Vintage HS). SFSU's newcomers besides Simmons, Escobar, and Singh include Ben Lockett (Jr, 125, San Francisco, CA/Skyline College), Jamil Smart (Fr, 133, Pittsburg, CA/Pittsburg HS), and Nelson Um (Fr, 133, Oakland, CA/Oakland HS). The Gators will begin their 2005-06 on Saturday, November 19 in Ashland, Oregon, as they will participate in the Southern Oregon Open. Their first dual meet will be the following Tuesday, November 22 at 7pm against Bay Area rival Stanford University in SF State's Main Gymnasium.

Forecasting the career development of young wrestlers is sketchy at best. The list of wrestling prodigies who seemed fated to become legends, yet didn't pan out (some would say flopped), is a lengthy one indeed. By contrast, consider the humble beginnings of some wrestlers who did go on to become legends: Bruce Baumgartner never won state in New Jersey. John Smith never placed higher than fourth at Junior Nationals and failed to place at NCAA's his freshman year. Lee Kemp didn't even begin wrestling until he was a sophomore in high school, when he compiled a record slightly above .500. Mark Schultz had a losing record his junior year in high school. Nonetheless, it is perhaps second nature for wrestling fans to look for the young wrestler whose sheer dominance indicates that they may be the next transcendent star in our sport. This writer will not even attempt to predict who the next Gable, Smith, or Sanderson (insert your pick for greatest American wrestler of all-time here) will be. However, the following are wrestlers who are likely to at least be the next Dustin Schlatter, Brent Metcalf, or Troy Nickerson -- stars who transcend the sport at the high school level (Note: the wrestlers selected will not necessarily be those at the top of the Rev Power Rakings -- also compiled by this writer -- because those ranking focus on current skill level rather than long-term potential). Not since the aforementioned Dustin Schlatter has a wrestler entered Ohio with so much acclaim as the young David Taylor. Wrestling for St. Paris Graham (where Schlatter began his career, ironically). The result of nearly every Taylor match for the last three years has been Taylor winning by a technical fall. What separates Taylor from other great young wrestlers is that he is equally proficient on the mat as on his feet. A relentless competitor, he quickly transitions from a takedown to a tilt, arm bar, or other pinning combination, allowing him to pile up points in large quantities. Consider: In three years of competition at the Ohio Junior High State Tournament, Taylor never went the distance -- and nearly all of his wins (including the finals each year) were by technical fall, in 4 minute 30 second matches. At first glance, one might be inclined to be relatively unimpressed by victories at a Junior High State Tournament. However, the Ohio Junior High State Tournament is actually much tougher, relatively speaking, than the Ohio High School State Tournament, in that it is one division. It is truly a "state tournament" in that it truly contains all of the best competitors in the state. There are, in fact, countless examples of wrestlers placing higher in the Ohio State High School Tournament as freshmen than they had the year prior in the Ohio Junior High State Tournament. Taylor next dominated all comers at FILA Cadets and in Fargo at Cadet Nationals. Shockingly, Taylor was pinned once in Greco-Roman in his pool -- and also in the finals. However, Taylor's stock should not go down when you consider that Greco-Roman is a very different style -- and not Taylor's specialty by any means -- and in both situations he was approaching a tech fall in the first period when he simply got caught in headlocks. In freestyle, Taylor set things right by pinning or tech falling all opponents, including highly regarded BJ Futrell of Illinois in the finals. Taylor was also unscored upon in the freestyle competition. At FILA's in April, Taylor tech falled all but one opponent in every single period (the international system of a six-point lead being a "tech" for that period was used). You may be sensing a pattern here. Anthony Valles, who will be wrestling for Blair Academy this winter, dominated the field at Cadet Nationals at 98 lbs (photo by Wyatt Schultz).The biggest question mark for Taylor this year will be whether he is big enough for 103. Over the summer, he competed at 91 lbs, whereas most of his rivals for the coming year competed at 98 or 105 lbs. A big match-up for Taylor will be at Ironman against two-time Cadet Nationals champion Anthony Valles, who has recently transferred to Blair Academy. Valles dominated the field one weight class above Taylor (98 lbs). In addition, Cadet and Junior Nationals double champion Boris Novachov of California will be in the mix at this weight. If Taylor is the most anticipated freshman in Ohio since Schlatter, then Collin Palmer would have to be a very close second. The younger brother of three-time state champion and Junior Nationals third-place finisher, Lance Palmer. The reports for years have been that the younger Palmer brother was even better. It has become almost a cliché to hear a great wrestler's younger brother is even better than he is -- but in this case, it is apparently true. The younger Palmer's record of winning youth national titles is unmatched. Over the last three years, Palmer's only loss appears to be to Riley Adamson (the No. 4 rated freshman, who is the only wrestler who may have won more national titles than Palmer and also was FILA Cadet Nationals champion this past spring) at Tulsa Nationals in 2004. Palmer has since avenged that loss with two victories over Adamson. Palmer joined Taylor as a three-time junior high state champion. Palmer does not wrestle much freestyle and chose not to go to Cadet Nationals this past spring. However, Palmer has previously matched up against most of the high place finishers -- and beaten them all, mostly by large margins. He scored a 12-4 victory over Ben Sergent in the Ohio Junior High State Tournament in the spring of 2004. Sergent finished second at 98 lbs. Palmer owns wins over both finalists at 112 lbs, Graff and Moore. He also owns several wins over Jordan Oliver of Easton, Pennsylvania (also featured in this article), who will begin this season regarded by most as the No. 1 103 in the nation. Palmer will apparently be competing at 112 lbs for the storied Lakewood St. Ed's squad this season. This writer will make the prediction that Palmer wins both the Ironman and Beast of the East, provided that Juniors Nationals runner-up Aaron Hart of St. Paris Graham competes at 119 lbs -- rather than 112. If Hart should compete at 112, this writer views Palmer's match-up against Hart as a tossup, despite the fact that Hart is a senior and Palmer is a freshman. He is that good. This match-up would also be somewhat ironic in that Hart is a former rival of Palmer's older brother. Palmer could also match-up with highly regarded California state champion Trevor Machado and California state runner-up Filip Novachov at the Ironman. Eighth graders placing at Cadet Nationals above 119 lbs is exceedingly rare. In addition to the difference in physical maturity -- having 1-2 years of high school experience is obviously a huge advantage in Fargo. If you look at the names of those who have placed in Fargo above 119 lbs before beginning high school, they are consistently names like Brent Metcalf, Matthew Coughlin, David Craig, and Jason Welch. However, none of these competitors placed higher than the only eighth grader to accomplish that feat in 2005, Alec Ortiz of Oregon, who finished fourth. Ortiz's only losses were to one of the nation's top juniors, Luke Ashmore, and to Andrew Howe of Indiana (who finished 49-1 as a freshman at 130 with his only loss to three-time state champion Reece Humphrey). Ortiz pinned or tech falled the rest of his opponents. Even more impressively, Ortiz actually beat Luke Ashmore on his way to a second-place finish at FILA Cadet Nationals. The only wrestler who defeated Ortiz, Matt Ballweg, is a senior in high school this year. Ortiz also owns a win over highly regarded Cadet Nationals runner-up Johnny Koepp of Texas at the 2004 Tulsa Nationals. While Ortiz is ranked No. 3 in the Rev Power Rankings, a strong case could be made for him being No. 1, in the sense that while there is no freshman at Taylor and Palmer's weights who would stand much of a chance of beating them, this writer believes there is no other freshman middleweight who would be remotely competitive with Ortiz at this point. Unfortunately, Ortiz will be competing at none of the major folkstyle tournaments so we will not see him in action against national competition again until the freestyle season. The underclassman with the most upside potential at this point may be Jason Welch of California. A takedown artist, this sophomore piles up points in bunches. Moreover, this writer likes his approach of never shying away from a challenge. Welch bypassed what would have been an almost guaranteed Cadet Nationals title (with apologies to the outstanding trio of Civan, Stalcup, and Medina) to compete at the Junior Nationals in freestyle. By doing so, he thrust himself into arguably the toughest weight in the competition, a weight class laden with junior and senior stars. Entering the tournament -- most applauded the daring of this 15-year-old freshman, but gave him little chance of placing. Simply put, freshmen generally cannot compete with top upperclassmen in the middle weight classes. Welch proved everyone wrong, coming away with a fifth-place finish. Along the way he dominated highly regarded Wesley English and Sean Nemec. Ironically, Welch was defeated by another freshman in his own state, Louis Bland, in 2005. Welch moved up a weight from his usual 145 lb class to challenge Bland, who would go on to be the state champion at 152. Welch finished second to the highly regarded Luis Gonzales in the treacherous California State Tournament in 2005. Should Welch and Bland be in the same weight class this season, look for Welch to reverse the result of the previous year. Alex Meade, who moved from Delaware to Virginia to wrestle for Christiansburg, claimed a Cadet Nationals title over the summer (photo by Wyatt Schultz).Alex Meade, originally of Delaware, now of Christiansburg, Virginia, is another wrestler to watch. In the era of the "redshirt freshman," Meade is a young sophomore who won Cadet Nationals last summer as a first-year Cadet. Meade's record over the years is one of consistent excellence. Basically, he has won every national tournament he has entered -- whether is it Cadet Nationals, FILA Cadet Nationals, Tulsa Nationals, or the Ohio Super Tournament. Lightning fast, Meade is able to create his offense against anyone. Meade will be competing at both the Ironman and Beast, so there is a possibility of him matching up with a number of top upperclassmen. Perhaps the diamond in the rough of this year's sophomore class is Michael Mangrum of Washington. Certainly the least polished wrestler on this list, Mangrum epitomizes the word "explosive." After finishing third as an eighth grader at Cadet Nationals, Mangrum dominated both styles of Cadet Nationals this past summer with a very aggressive, powerful style. Mangrum hit the most impressive move of the finals when he lifted Utah state champion Jason Chamberlain completely into the air from a fireman's carry -- it was one of those things you had to see to believe. That finals match in freestyle was not nearly as close as the 7-3 score might indicate -- as Mangrum gave up two meaningless points near the end. In the Greco-Roman tournament, Mangrum did not yield a point until the finals- when he scored an 11-1 technical fall. Michael Mangrum of Washington dominated both styles of Cadet Nationals this past summer (photo by Wyatt Schultz).Once David Craig graduates, there will likely be a new upper-weight who stands out from the rest just as he has: Andy Thomas of West Virginia. Thomas completely dominated the Cadet Nationals in freestyle at the 171 lb weight class last summer -- while essentially wrestling folkstyle. In his 8-3 finals triumph, Thomas scored five takedowns while giving up just one -- showing an impressive array of leg attacks. Thomas took some lumps as a freshman -- as a freshman upper-weight wrestling at Ironman, Beast of the East, and Powerade might be expected to do, but came on enough by the end of the season to win the state title at 160 lbs. Obviously, freshman state champions at such a high weight class are exceedingly rare. Mario Mason of New Jersey, a sophomore, scored a huge win at the NHSCA Final Four Duals over senior Jordan Frishkorn of Virginia (photo by Wyatt Schultz).Other strong possibilities for greatness are sophomores Jordan Oliver, Mario Mason, and Louis Bland. The accomplishments of Bland (winning a California state title as a freshman at 152) have already been mentioned. Oliver was second in a donnybrook weight class in Pennsylvania to the No. 1 103 in the nation (Matt Kyler) -- despite being drastically undersized for 103. Oliver is also the last wrestler to defeat David Taylor in folkstyle, doing so back in the spring of 2003. Probably the most technically polished underclassman in the nation, Mario Mason, scored a huge win at the NHSCA Final Four Duals over Jordan Frishkorn, and also dominated highly regarded Johnny Koepp of Texas by a score of 7-0 to win Cadet Nationals in freestyle at 135 lbs. Predictions of future greatness lack reliability -- and many of America's great wrestlers had surprisingly humble high school careers. However, this writer will pretty much guarantee that the aforementioned young wrestlers will be heard from a lot in the near future. Who the next Dustin Schlatter, Brent Metcalf, or Troy Nickerson is remains to be seen -- but count on them being from this list!

Hello again. It's time for another look into my life as a wrestler. We finished up our preseason workouts last week and I have finally come to the realization that wrestling doesn't last forever. Almost every wrestler I have ever known, that no longer competes, preaches that you have to take advantage of every moment in wrestling, because it doesn't last forever. I always heard them saying it, but never really comprehended it. Now I do. I came to this realization as we were running what are known as Pioneer Hills. Pioneer Hill runs through our campus at about a 40 degree angle for about a quarter mile. We run this hill doing buddy carries (piggy back). We only do it four times, which doesn't seem like much, but is extremely difficult … especially when you get down to the last two. Returning All-American Jimmy Rollins pushes Burke Barnes up the hill.To get to the bottom of my epiphany, I have to take you back to last year's preseason, when Leister Bowling and I were doing the Pioneer Hill workout. I was struggling on the third one and Leister got off me and told me to get on his back. He then finished my turn to the top and we headed back down. Leister took his turn and we returned to the bottom for my fourth trip up. Once again, I just couldn't push myself up the hill, and Leister jumped off, and finished my turn himself. As I was on his back, I said to him, "You are crazy! How the heck can you keep going?" He simply stated, "You'll know how when you are a senior and it's all you have left." I guess I never understood exactly what he and everyone else meant, but as I was running the hill this year, I figured it out. You really don't have forever, and you have to take advantage of now -- not counting on what you will do tomorrow. You have to be willing to push yourself past the limit of exhaustion, and go further than you ever thought you could go. I think this is one reason that people are successful. The earlier you understand this theory, the faster you will become successful. Our last workout was a three-mile run through a park in Omaha, which finishes up with a set of 187 stone steps that seems to be straight up to the sky. This is actually a great run until the stairs, which as most of you could imagine is just plain nuts to run up five to ten times in a row. Leister showed our team the trail last year after he learned about it from Todd Meneely. Willie Parks, a former JUCO national champion for Iowa Central, is determined to get to the top of the hill.What was most intriguing to me about the run was not seeing guys on our team run up the stairs time after time, but the fellowship of my teammates. It is amazing to me to see 70 guys getting along and pushing each other, cheering and yelling for everyone else. It really made me feel proud to be a captain of this team. Some guys were struggling to make it, and others were relentlessly pushing them to the top. What really blew my mind, though, was seeing Willie Parks haul a 100-pound stone down the stairs and right back to the top. Granted, I thought he was going to die afterwards, but he did it, and it really makes you think about how you train, and if it's hard enough. To me, preseason is not just a time to start preparing yourself for the grueling hours of hard work ahead, but a time to see what you are made of. I learned a lot about myself and my teammates this past month, and I can only look forward to building on it over the next five months. Every year, I hear about all these teams that start the season with 50 guys and end up with 25, and I am happy to say that everyone on this team is still holding strong and has a good attitude. Coach Costanzo gathers the team for a breakdown after a preseason run.We are getting ready to get in the room this week and I can't wait. I know now that every time I step into that room, I have to make the most out of it. The fun part will be trying to portray this to everyone on the team, because that kind of attitude is what builds and makes champions. I will leave you this time with a quote that I heard in some movie I was watching last week: "If something comes easy, it usually isn't worth having. Are you ready to work for it?" Until next time, keep getting better. Marshall Marquardt Past Entries: Entry 1 (10/1/05)

California Junior College State Rankings: 125 1. Singh-Fresno 2. Hernandez-Santa Ana 3. Romero-Sierra 4. Naverrette-Palomar 5. Macalolooy-Chabot 6. Gibson-Bakersfield 7. Medina-Moorpark 8. Mendoza-Cuesta 133 1. Hambata-Mt. SAC 2. Gibson-Bakersfield 3. Justo-Santa Ana 4. Valdiva-Cerritos 5. Patterson-Santa Rosa 6. Velasco-Modesto 7. Durago-Chabot 8. Righi-Fresno 141 1. Garcia-Delta 2. Schantin-Santa Ana 3. Aparicio-Cerritos 4. Gonzales-Sierra 5. Owens-Modesto 6. Marquez-Cuesta 7. Castro-Palomar 8. Williams-Bakersfield 149 1. O'Hare-Santa Ana 2. Hull-Golden West 3. Pezzat-Fresno 4. Emmett-Sacramento 5. Morales-Bakersfield 6. Herrera-Bakersfield 7. Machado-West Valley 8. Aparicio-Cerritos 157 1. Lichinger-Sierra 2. Barrett-Mt. SAC 3. Taylor-West Valley 4. Thrall-Sacramento 5. Lowen-Palomar 6. Cruz-Santa Ana 7. Landois-Bakersfield 8. Castillo-Fresno 165 1. Sousa-Mt. SAC 2. Williams-Bakersfield 3. Davis-Cerritos 4. Wender-Fresno 5. Williams-Cuesta 6. Giffen-Sierra 7. Deshirlia-West Valley 8. Fernandes-Sacramento 174 1. Points-Bakersfield 2. Smith-Moorpark 3. Nejal-Palomar 4. Thomas-Santa Rosa 5. Eaton-Santa Ana 6. Ordoniez-Delta 7. Lightner-Golden West 8. Edwards-Cuesta 184 1. Mooney-Bakersfield 2. Judd-Santa Ana 3. Riggs-Moorpark 4. Schwartz-Sacramento 5. Hawkins-Mt. SAC 6. Audelo-Cerritos 7. Showaker-Santa Rosa 8. Hert-Victor Valley 197 1. Griffin-Fresno 2. Newton-Cerritos 3. Lara-Skyline 4. Starr-Cuesta 5. Brownbridge-Victor Valley 6. Collard-Santa Rosa 7. Compton-Sacramento 8. Jiminez-Moorpark Hwt 1. Moore-Sierra 2. Marquez-Bakersfield 3. McKay-Palomar 4. Rodriguez-Santa Ana 5. Doran-Cerritos 6. Carmago-Fresno 7. Arroyo-Rio Hondo 8. Whetstone-Fresno Team Rankings: 1. Bakersfield-88 2. Santa Ana-84 3. Fresno-63 4. Sierra-57 5. Cerritos-57

IOWA CITY, IA -- The University of Iowa wrestling team will hold open practices the next two Saturdays (Oct. 15 and 22) at the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Practices will start at 8:30 a.m. and go for approximately 90 minutes. Takedown Wrestling Radio will do a live broadcast from the wrestling room on October 22 from 10 a.m.-Noon. Fans can tune in at AM-1460 or www.takedownradio.com at no cost. The Hawkeyes will also host their annual Coaches Clinic Friday, November 11, at the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The clinic will feature instruction from former Iowa NCAA champion Cliff Moore, and former Minnesota NCAA Champion and Olympic and World Team alternate Jared Lawrence, as well as an opportunity to watch the 2005-06 Hawkeyes practice. For more information on the clinic, contact the Iowa wrestling office at (319) 335-9405. Iowa opens the 2005-06 season November 13 at the Dubuque Open.

MOUNT VERNON -- Mike Duroe, head coach of the 2005 U.S. Freestyle World Team and head coach of the University of Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling Club since 2003, has been named interim head wrestling coach at Cornell College. "We're pleased to have someone of Mike's caliber available and able to join us on this interim basis," Cornell athletics director Tina Hill said. "We have an exciting group of wrestlers anxious to get the season started and we're very happy to have Mike's skills and qualifications leading our program." Duroe replaces Drew Pariano, who resigned in September to become an assistant coach at Northwestern University. Duroe, a native of Charles City, has been head coach at Northern Michigan University, an assistant at the University of Pennsylvania and head coach of the Northwestern University Wildcat Wrestling Club. He was a member of the coaching staff for the Pan American Games (2003) and the Olympic Games (2004). At Northern Michigan from 1980-84, Duroe compiled a record of 82-27 with 23 All-Americans and two NCAA champions. For two years he was in charge of the Northwestern Wildcat Wrestling Club before leading New Trier (Ill.) High School from 1986-98. He was named Illinois High School Athletic Association regional coach of the year four times. From 1998-2001 Duroe was national resident coach at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. He was the head assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 2001-03 before joining the Hawkeye Wrestling Club in 2003. "I have extremely high expectations for this program," Duroe said. "My goals are always to win, and I'll work tirelessly to make this program better. I'm fired up about these kids, and my job will be to instill in them that they can achieve greater things." Cornell has won 43 conference championships with 57 NCAA All-Americans, eight individual national champions, seven Olympians and one NCAA national team championship. The Rams are in a rebuilding phase going 6-12 last season. Their last winning season (10-5) was in 1995-96 when they won the Midwest Conference championship. Cornell's 2005-06 preseason roster includes two seniors, 10 sophomores and 14 freshmen.

19-year old wrestler Kyle Maynard's new book, No Excuses, is listed on the New York Times Bestseller list at No. 20 for hardcover non-fiction for the week ending October 16. Maynard is a wrestler who has become a national hero for his inspiring life overcoming challenges in order to pursue his dreams. On September 29th, Maynard launched his autobiography No Excuses on the set with Oprah Winfrey. Within minutes, he had won the hearts of millions around the world, making his book an instant success and landing the young athlete a spot on the New York Times Bestseller List in its first week. In his book, inspired by his incredible journey as a congenital amputation (born with no limbs below the elbows and knees), Kyle Maynard shares valuable insight that he has learned and applied to his life, allowing him to overcome his physical obstacles to achieve his dreams. Driven by his will to succeed and supported by a devoted family, Kyle has excelled at nearly everything he has attempted in life. From playing middle school football to becoming a high school wrestling champion to breaking world records in weightlifting, Kyle Maynard has inspired millions around the world with his simple life's message: No Excuses. At just 19 years old, Kyle Maynard has already achieved greatness - on the wrestling mat and in life, including: - Receiving the Medal of Courage from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (June 2005) - Winning the world record in the modified bench press (March 2005) - Receiving the ESPY award for the Best Athlete with a Disability - Being honored with the President's Award for Courage - Joining the Washington Speakers Bureau as a motivational speaker - Being named to the Georgia chapter, National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Georgia State Wresting Hall of Fame Kyle Maynard has been featured on numerous television and radio shows this season, including ABC's 20/20 and CNN's Larry King Live. He will also be a guest on ABC's hit show Extreme Make-Over: Home Edition in November, where he will inspire a family to never give up hope. As a champion weightlifter and wrestler, Kyle Maynard is the real deal. But as a champion human being, he is one of the most inspiring people I've ever met. —Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger What People Are Saying About Kyle Maynard Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People & The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness says about Kyle: "Kyle Maynard's inspirational story is about succeeding against odds that most of us can't imagine. How does Kyle do it? His title says it all: ‘No Excuses.' That's a habit we could all adopt from this great book, written by a highly successful young man." Troy Aikman, former quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys, was also inspired by Kyle: "Significant achievement occurs to those who have the courage to overcome disappointment and setbacks to pursue their dreams. This is an inspirational book about the perseverance of the human spirit. Let Kyle inspire you!"

Thad Benton is on track to become one of the most accomplished wrestlers in University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (UPJ) history. But if you ask Benton about his place in school history, he suddenly shifts gears. The two-time Division II All-American and defending NCAA champion at 141 lbs, would rather talk about his team. Thad Benton"To be honest, I'm more concerned this year about bringing the team title back to Johnstown, than where I stand," said Benton. "I already have my individual title." UPJ, which sits less than 70 miles east of Pittsburgh, has an extremely rich wrestling tradition. The Mountain Cats have captured 18 regional titles since 1976, including the last three, and 10 in a row from 1992 through 2001. They claimed the Division II national team title in 1996 and 1999. Carlton Haselrig is, without question, the most accomplished wrestler to come through the program. He won an unprecedented six NCAA titles at heavyweight from 1987 to 1989 (three in Division I and three in Division II). Haselrig later went on to play professional football in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The other household name, at least in wrestling circles, is Jody Strittmatter. Strittmatter was a two-time Division II NCAA champion for UPJ (1998 and 1999), before transferring to the University of Iowa, where he placed third as a junior, and was an NCAA runner-up as a senior. In two seasons as a Mountain Cat, Strittmatter compiled a .967 winning percentage, which ranks second all-time at UPJ, only behind Haselrig. UPJ coach Pat Pecora, who has coached 106 All-Americans and has twice been named NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year, believes Benton could solidify his place in school history, just behind Haselrig and Strittmatter, by adding another national title to his already impressive wrestling resume this season. "We've had some great ones," said Pecora, who has coached 29 seasons at UPJ. "From Carleton Haselrig to Jody Strittmatter to John Strittmatter to Lee Schickel. Thad is right up there. Carleton Haselrig obviously has to be at the top because he won six national titles. Jody Strittmatter has to be the next one in line because he won two Division II national titles and placed twice in Division I. We've had eight other national champions, but each of those guys only won it once. If Thad repeats, then you have to put him right up there as the third best wrestler to ever come out of our school, with the only ones ahead of him being Jody and Carlton. That isn't too bad." Pecora believes that Benton has all of the ingredients necessary to be a great wrestler. "He has a lot of physical tools," said Pecora. "He's good on top. He's good on bottom. He's good on his feet. He's good on attacking legs. He's good with upper body. He's very flexible. So he has a lot of good things in terms of wrestling skills. His body fat is low. I always say he has ice in his veins. He's very cool in big match situations. He's not intimidated by anybody." In high school, Benton placed three times in the rugged Pennsylvania AA State Tournament (5th, 2nd, 3rd), and compiled a record of 132-15 while wrestling for Claysburg-Kimmel High School. Through the years, Claysburg-Kimmel has created a pipeline with UPJ -- sending numerous wrestlers to the Division II powerhouse. Their coach, Dave Marko, is a former UPJ wrestler who wrestled for Pecora. So when Benton made the decision to attend UPJ, he already had an idea of what to expect from his new coach. "When I got up here, he was exactly like how my high school coach explained him," recalled Benton. "He'll push you to the limit and won't let you stop short of any goal you have. He'll push you as hard as you can to achieve your own goals. He's just a great guy and a great coach." Benton arrived on the UPJ campus in the fall of 2001, and redshirted his first season. "It kind of let me mature a little bit in terms of my school work and with wrestling," said Benton. "I thought I was ready to start in the lineup right away, but after wrestling a few tournaments, I was glad that I did redshirt that season." The next season, as a redshirt freshman, Benton not only found a spot in the UPJ lineup, but he also found a spot on the All-American podium -- placing fifth at 133 lbs. He finished the season with an impressive 25-9 overall record and led team in pins with 17. As sophomore, Benton had hoped to improve upon his fifth-place finish. After compiling a 16-2 record, he appeared to be on the right track. But suddenly, in a midseason practice, while wrestling live, his knee popped out of place, and he ripped the tendon. He immediately began rehab with hopes of returning to the lineup. But his rehab made it tough for him to maintain his weight. UPJ already had senior All-American Jason Nestor at 141, so moving up a weight class was out of the question. Pat Pecora"We just got to the point where rather than hurt his knee or push the senior out, we decided that it would be best to take the rest of that season off," said Pecora. "Then he could move you up to 141 and get ready for the next season." Benton spent that off-season lifting and training like a madman. He gained a lot of muscle. His knee had healed. And he had come back in great shape. Last season, he rolled through the regular season with a 22-5 record, with four of the five losses coming to Division I wrestlers. At the East Regional Tournament, Benton pinned all three of his opponents to capture the title and advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament. "He just got to the point where he was starting to dominate people," said Pecora. "You just had a feeling about him. You just knew something good was going to happen. I always said that he was going to be the next national champ we had." Two weeks later … it happened. At the NCAA Tournament, Benton won his first three matches to advance to finals. In the finals, Benton faced the highly touted Eli Dominguez of Nebraska-Omaha. Benton wasted little time against Dominguez -- taking him down 45 seconds into the match -- and putting him on his back to go up 5-0. That would be enough to propel him to an easy 9-4 victory and the national title. "When I put him to his back in the first period, I knew that it was over," said Benton. "There was no way that I was going to lose that big of a lead. The match just went on and on. He started scoring a few points. I knew what my cutoff point was for points, so when he started getting close, I started wrestling harder. Next thing I know … I got my hand raised." Added Pecora, "More than him winning nationals, was how he won it. He dominated that national tournament. He was basically tech falling national runner-ups from the year before. He was breaking people. The dominance of the way he won the national tournament performance was very impressive." During his time at UPJ, Benton has formed a close friendship on and off the mat with Strittmatter, who serves as an assistant coach under Pecora. "Jody and I grew a lot closer this past summer," said Benton. "We were hanging out all the time. We were practicing all summer long. I can call him and talk to him about anything. He's not the kind of guy who is going to run off and tell everyone. He is just a nice, down-to-earth guy who you can just talk to about wrestling, non-wrestling, or anything." Pecora sees Strittmatter as a symbol for the UPJ program. "Jody has helped tremendously with the development of a lot of the wrestlers on the team," said Pecora. "He is just a great asset to have both as a coach and as a workout partner. I also think with the mental side -- he has helped a lot. With Jody being a two-time national champion for us, and an outstanding wrestler, and then moving on to Iowa, I think all the kids really admire him. He is one of them. He wrestled for me. He wrestled at UPJ. He was in this uniform. But yet he also wrestled for Iowa and was a Division I national runner-up. And he was ranked third in the United States in freestyle at one time. And he's one of them -- a local boy from Cambria Heights. Jody represents every UPJ wrestler's dream. They can identify with him because he is from their hometowns. He has a real big impact on our program. I'm just delighted to have him." Thad Benton pinned all three of his opponents at the 2005 Eastern Regionals.As Benton begins his senior season, he is focused on defending his national title and bringing the team title back to Johnstown. He's not yet certain of his post-collegiate plans. Pecora believes that he has the potential to continue his wrestling career in freestyle. "He's a very good freestyler," said Pecora. "I think if he wanted to, he's somebody who might be able to take it to the next step. But that step is such a big one for anybody. We'll wait and see. We'll worry about that later. We always sit down and talk about those things at the end of the year after they get their degrees. With Jody here, he has someone he can talk to about it. He went that route for a while and knows what it's like."

The University of the Cumberlands (Formerly Cumberland College) Women's Wrestling Team went on the road to engage in a pre-season scrimmage. The Patriot ladies traveled to London, Ontario to practice and contend against ladies from the University of Western Ontario. Western's coach Ray Takahashi and UC's Kip Flanik set up the scrimmage for all the ladies to practice together and get a few matches over the course of the weekend. Coach Flanik and twenty-four wrestlers traveled to Canada to get any available mat time before their intra-squad dual on October 14, 2005 and their season opener, Sunkist Open, in Phoenix, Arizona on October 21-23, 2005.

In a press conference attended by wrestling legend Dan Gable, the University of Sioux Falls announced the addition of wrestling to Cougar Athletics. In 2006, Cougar wrestling will begin its first year of competition since the program was cut following the 1972 season. Also announced was the hiring of Tim Homan as the new head coach of Cougar wrestling. "This is a very exciting day for Cougar athletics," said Athletic Director Willie Sanchez. "The sport of wrestling attracts the type of student-athletes that the USF strives to recruit." In Homan's presentation, he spoke about his commitment to the program and expectations of the future student-athletes involved. "I call it a 16:3 commitment," said Homan. "This comes from Proverbs 16:3, ‘Commit unto the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.'" Homan begins his collegiate coaching career after a decorated high school career. Homan's coaching career began in the Webster school district. From 1981-83, he served as the head wrestling coach and an assistant coach on the football and track teams. In his final year at Webster, Homan was nominated for the South Dakota Wrestling Coach of the Year award. In 1983 he moved to Brandon, South Dakota. At Brandon Valley High School he was the assistant wrestling coach until 1990 and head coach until 1995. In 1986, Homan was named the South Dakota Assistant Coach of the Year. Homan was also an assistant football coach from 1983 to 1995. From 1995-2004, Homan led Roosevelt High School's wrestling team. There he was named Sioux Falls Coach of the Year in 2000, 2003, and 2004. He earned Greater Dakota Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and 2004. Homan was named Region I Wrestling Coach of the Year in 2004. Homan is a 1981 graduate of Augustana College. As a Viking, Homan was an All Conference Academic Team selection, a three-time NCC wrestling place winner, and a two-time NCAA D-II All American. Homan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education and also studied geography as a minor. Homan continued his education at the University of South Dakota, where he earned his Master of Arts in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.

Glory Days. The Rider University wrestling team has certainly had its share. Multiple All-Americans, a Top 10 national ranking, countless top 20 national rankings, conference championships. With the return of four national qualifiers and seven conference place winners, the young 2005-06 Broncs are looking to return to those Glory Days. "That's what we're working on now, getting back to those days," said Rider head Coach Gary Taylor. "We've rounded the corner, and we have a good, young team with a good attitude. We need to get back to being a conference champion, to having All-Americans, and with enough hard work and health, this could be the time to do it." The last two seasons the Broncs placed second in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship tournament to nationally ranked Hofstra. Hofstra is again one of three top 12 teams on Rider's schedule this year, but Taylor feels the Broncs can once again rise to the top. "In order for those goals to occur, several people need to have a breakthrough year," Taylor said. "Several need to take that next step, from being competitive on the national level to winning at that level." The Broncs will be led by four wrestlers who begin the season nationally ranked, junior 141 Don Fisch (ninth), sophomore 184-197 T. J. Morrison (17th ), senior 157 Dave Miller (18th ), and sophomore 133 Tim Harner (20th ). "We're very excited about having four of our 10 wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in the country," said Taylor, who has compiled 299 victories at Rider, and has guided 118 Broncs to Nationals, coming home with 11 All-Americans. "We're all looking forward to the upcoming year." Last year Fisch was named Rider's Most Outstanding Wrestler, winning his 141 pound weight class at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships and coming within one win of All-America honors at the NCAA Nationals Championships, winning three of five bouts. Fisch finished second in the nation in pins last year. "Donnie is extremely talented and explosive, and strong,: said Taylor. "I believe he has the ability to be an All-American, and if he continues to improve he could be a national champion. That's how good I think he is and can be." Morrison received the Fred Henson Memorial Award last season, presented to "the individual who demonstrates hard work and positive attitude on and off the mat." Morrison placed third in his 184 pound weight class at the CAA Championships and won a bout at Nationals, and could move up to 197 this year. "Morrison came back bigger this year," said Taylor. "He has a big frame, and may be even better at 197, where he can just concentrate on wrestling, not cutting weight. He's a hard worker who wants to be good. He will need to continue to improve to be what he's capable of. Last season he was very competitive with some of the best wrestlers in the nation." Miller finished runner-up at the CAA Championships after a 13-0 dual meet season, and won a match at Nationals, finishing sixth in the nation in pins. "Dave got a little banged up at the end of last year, which affected his performance at the CAAs and at Nationals," Taylor said. "We're getting him 100 percent healthy and getting him better on his feet. If we can do that he can be an All-American." Harner won 26 matches last season as a rookie, including one at Nationals. Other key returnees include sophomore Ryan Smith at 125, junior Ryan Cunningham at 165/174, sophomore Michael Palma at 141/149, sophomore Jeff Black at 184/197, heavyweight Tyler Rees, sophomore Zack Cunliffe at 133, senior Chris Marold at 165-174, junior Joe Maroney at 165/174, and freshman Doug Umbehauer at 174. Smith finished seventh in the nation in pins among 125 pounders last season as a rookie, winning 23 matches. "Ryan had a very good freshman year, and he showed he can compete with some of the best wrestlers in the country," Taylor said. "He works hard. Last year he had a year to mature and to grow. He should be a lot better this year. He knows now the price you have to pay to be great at this level. He was so talented coming in, he never had to pay that price before. Now he's ready to make that next step." Cunningham was a Freshman All-American in 2004, and won three bouts at the CAA Championships last year. "Cunningham finished strong last season after a rough year," Taylor said. "We hope he picks up where he left off last year. He suffered a high ankle sprain last year that he never really recovered from until the end of last season. Palma and Black were both named to the CAA All-Rookie team last year, with each winning six of eight CAA duals. "Mike is pretty tough, and really improved last year," said Taylor. "He was our most improved wrestler last year as a red-shirt freshman and has really showed signs of making the adjustments needed to be good at the Division I level. He's still growing." Black placed third at the CAA Championships last season, winning three of four bouts. "Jeff had an injury-riddled season, but certainly came on strong at the end of last year," said Taylor. "He could drop down to 184 this year. We're hoping he will picks up where he left off. This could be a break out year for him." Rees also was a member of the CAA All-Rookie team last year, winning 17 matches, including 5-1 in CAA duals. "Rees had a good year last season but a disappointing finish," said Taylor. "He was very competitive during the season. Our hope is he gets more offensive in scoring this year. He will be very good if he can do that." Cunliffe won six bouts as a rookie, and placed fourth in his weight class at the Keystone Classic. "Zack had an adjustment year last season, and filled in nicely when Harner was out," said Taylor. "He's a strong, quick, competitive kid, who is tough on top." Marold won 10 matches last season after a 17-win sophomore year. "Chris moved down a weight class, where he thinks he can be more competitive, and will look to challenge for that spot this year," Taylor said. Maroney placed second at the Keystone Classic last season. "Joe will also be a strong candidate for 165," Taylor said. Umbehauer wrestled three times before being injured and received a hardship waiver for his freshman season. Wrestling unattached, Umbehauer won the Penn State Open last season. "I think Doug has shown that he can compete regionally and nationally for us this year," Taylor said. The newcomers are led by James Garrett at 125, Tim McGoldrick and Eric Vinores at 141, Michael Kessler at 149, Michael Miller at 165/157, and Peter Reid at heavyweight. Garrett was a New Jersey State place winner at Egg Harbor Twp., finishing fourth at 125. "James is very talented, quick and explosive," said Taylor. "This will be a valuable learning year for him." McGoldrick was a Cadet Greco-Roman National Champion and a Junior Freestyle All-American. "Tim is a tough Pennsylvania kid who had an outstanding high school career," Taylor said. Vinores was a Maryland State Champ at 140 pounds last season. "Eric is a smart and talented young man," said Taylor. "He's a Presidential Scholarship winner, so along with helping us on the mat, he will help us climb from being 30th in the nation in team grade point average." Kessler was a four-time Maryland State Place winner, wining the 152 pound title as a senior, and is the younger brother of former Bronc and conference champion Gregg Kessler. "Mike is very competitive, very talented, and was the most outstanding wrestler at the Maryland State Championships," Taylor said. "The future looks bright for Mike if he can make adjustments quickly. He could make an impact immediately." Miller won the 171 pound Delaware State title last year after finishing runner-up the year before. "Mike is a gifted athlete who beat the state champs from Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey last year, and reached the finals of the Beast of East tournament as the 11th seed," said Taylor. "He's a legitimate contender at 165." Reid was a Junior National Freestyle All-American last season, placing eighth in the nation at the tournament in Fargo. "Peter is a late bloomer and a hard worker, and if he makes the proper adjustments he will be a solid kid." The schedule features duals with there top 12 teams in Lehigh, Cornell and Hofstra, along with the Virginia Duals, and continues to include the Keystone Classic, Lock Haven's Mat Town, and the CAA Duals. Some of the wrestlers will again compete at the prestigious Midlands tournament, while the rest of the team travels to the Southern Scuffle at UNC-Greensboro. "The good news is we have a lot of home meets when the students come back from winter break," said Taylor, but the bad news is we're on the road until the end of January. But overall I'm happy with the schedule." Over the years the team goals have not changed much. "As always, we want to be in the top 20, we want to have All-Americans, and we want to have conference champions again," said Taylor, "and we're heading back to that." Heading back to the Glory Days.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Mid-American Conference wrestling coaches announced the preseason weight class individual rankings in conjunction with the league office today. The rankings will be released on the second Tuesday of each month throughout the season, with one additional ranking system (two total) coming in January and February. The preseason rankings, voted on by the league's head coaches in an open forum, are as follows: 125 pounds (1) Luke Smith, R-So., CMU (30-10 overall, 4-1 MAC in 2004-05; Individual MAC Champion) (2) Chad Vandiver, So., Northern Illinois (14-9 overall, 3-2 MAC) (3) Caleb Metcalf, So., Ohio (11-20 overall, 2-3 MAC) (4) Chad Sportelli, Fr., Kent State 133 pounds (1) Jason Borrelli, Jr., Central Michigan (22-9 overall, 2-0 MAC; Individual MAC Champion) (2) Mark Budd, Jr., Buffalo (23-16 overall, 4-1 MAC) (3) Drew Opfer, R-Jr., Kent State (19-10 overall, 2-3 MAC) (4) Phillip Plowman, R-Sr., Eastern Michigan (9-8 overall, 3-2 MAC) 141 pounds (1) Josh Wooton, Sr., Northern Illinois (8-4 overall, 5-0 MAC; Individual MAC Champion) (2) Nick Conklin, R-Jr., Eastern Michigan (1-5 overall, 0-4 MAC) (3) Dana Gingerich, So., Buffalo (17-19 overall, 1-4 MAC) (4) Brandon Carter, R-So., Central Michigan (26-20 overall, 2-3 MAC) 149 pounds (1) Mark DiSalvo, R-Jr., Central Michigan (35-8 overall, 5-0 MAC; Individual MAC Champion) (2) Mike Grimes, Jr., Northern Illinois (16-10 overall, 2-3 MAC) (3) Jason Bake, R-Jr., Kent State (18-4 overall, 3-2 MAC) (4) Jermaine Thompson, Jr., Eastern Michigan (16-4 overall, 4-1 MAC) 157 pounds (1) Eric Neil, R-Fr., Central Michigan (29-14 overall, 4-1 MAC) (2) Kurt Gross, R-So., Kent State (18-17 overall, 1-4 MAC) (3) Chad Roush, Sr., Eastern Michigan (16-12 overall, 2-2 MAC) (4) Scott Rendos, So., Buffalo 165 pounds (1) Johnny Galloway, Jr., Northern Illinois (25-6 overall, 4-1 MAC) (2) Jake Blowers, Jr., Buffalo (16-17 overall, 2-2 MAC) (3) Scott Vaughn, So. Eastern Michigan (Transfer) (4) Jason McGee, So., Kent State (20-14 overall, 3-2 MAC) 174 pounds (1) Danny Burk, Jr., Northern Illinois (17-16 overall, 1-4 MAC) (2) Nate Rock, So., Buffalo (10-16 overall, 1-1 MAC) (3) Aaron Miller, So., Kent State (16-13 overall, 1-3 MAC) (4) Ryan Knapp, So., Ohio (5-9 overall) 184 pounds (1) Alex Camargo, Jr., Kent State (32-6 overall, 3-2 MAC) (2) Garrett Hicks, Sr., Buffalo (22-18 overall, 3-2 MAC) (3) Brian Cesear, Jr., Ohio (13-22 overall) (4) Christian Sinnott, R-Fr. CMU 197 pounds (1) Wynn Michalak, R-Fr., Central Michigan (34-10 overall, 4-2 MAC; Individual MAC Champion) (2) Kyle Cerminara, Sr., Buffalo (3) Ben Rings, Jr., Kent State (14-16 overall, 1-1 MAC) (4) Derek Hunsinger, So., Northern Illinois (15-9 overall, 2-1 MAC) Hwt (1) Marcus Adelman, Sr., Ohio (14-8 overall) (2) Bubba Gritter, R-So., Central Michigan (Redshirt Freshman) (3) Charlie Walker, R-Sr., Eastern Michigan (10-20 overall, 1-4 MAC) (4) Harold Sherrell, Sr., Buffalo (22-17 overall, 3-2 MAC) The preseason team rankings were also decided in the same forum. The six schools were ranked based on the number of first through fourth-place votes that were earned in the individual voting system. A first-place vote was worth four team points; a second-place vote earned three team points; third-seeded votes were worth two team points, while a fourth-place tally earned that team one point in the team ranking system. Central Michigan was picked to win the MAC Championship for the eighth consecutive season. The Chippewas return five individual MAC Champions from a squad that finished 60.5 points ahead of second-place finisher Northern Illinois. CMU has won five straight MAC Tournament titles. Buffalo and Northern Illinois both earned 19 votes, tying for second-place in the preseason poll. The Huskies will field a young team that includes just two seniors, but have three individual wrestlers ranked as the league's top performer in their respective divisions. Northern Illinois garnered 59 total points at last year's MAC Championships. Buffalo may be one of the most improved and experienced teams in the MAC. Finishing sixth at last year's championship, the Bulls return nine starters this season, including 2003-04 All-American Kyle Cerminara, a redshirt last year. Kent State, collecting 17 points, was picked fourth in the preseason poll. The Golden Flashes return seven starters from last year's team, all of which were seeded in the top-four of their respective weight classes for the upcoming campaign. Kent State finished third at last season's MAC Championships, collecting 46.5 total points. Eastern Michigan garnered 11 team points in the voting process, and was slated as the league's fifth-best team overall. The Eagles had key losses in seniors J.J. Holmes and Ed Magrys (both NCAA qualifiers last season), but return the remaining eight other starters from a team that went 7-10 overall. The Eagles finished fifth at last year's MAC Championships with 33.5 team points. Picked sixth in the league was Ohio. The youngest team in the MAC, the Bobcats have 22 combined freshmen and redshirt freshmen on the roster. Key returnees for Ohio include sophomore Caleb Metcalf (125 lbs.), Ryan Knapp (174 lbs.) and Marcus Adelman (285 lbs.), who enters the season as the top-ranked heavyweight in the MAC. The preseason team rankings are as follows: MAC Team Rankings (1) Central Michigan 25 (T-2) Buffalo 19 (T-2) Northern Illinois 19 (4) Kent State 17 (5) Eastern Michigan 11 (6) Ohio 9

At age 23, Jesse Jantzen already has an impressive wrestling resume. First four-time New York high school state champion. 2004 NCAA Division I champ at 149 pounds. Three-time NCAA All-American. Three-time EIWA conference champ. One of eight wrestlers in his weight class selected to compete in the inaugural season of Real Pro Wrestling. Subject of a four-page spread in Exercise and Health magazine. Gold medalist at the 2005 World University Games. Jesse Jantzen is focused on his goal of representing the U.S. at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.But that's all in the past. Despite these incredible accomplishments, Jesse Jantzen is not looking back. When asked about previous achievements and honors, Jantzen is rather modest -- and almost reluctant -- to discuss them. Instead, he's looking forward to the next freestyle event, and the next, and the next … all with the idea of gaining experience to prepare for his ultimate goal of wrestling in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In fact, at the time of the interview, Jantzen was getting ready to travel to Budapest, Hungary for the 2005 World Wrestling Championships. Not to compete, but, according to Jantzen, to "support the U.S. team." Jantzen adds, "I want to observe the wrestlers from other countries in my weight class, and learn by seeing them in action in person. It's also helpful for me to travel overseas, and gain additional firsthand experience in the differences in food, accommodations, training facilities and officiating so that these won't be as much of a factor for me in international competition." An Emerging Force in Freestyle Jantzen is fairly new to the international freestyle wrestling scene, having graduated from Harvard University in 2004. In a little more than a year, the 66kg/145 lb Jantzen was crowned champion of the Henri Deglane International … was runner-up at the NYAC (New York Athletic Club) Open … placed third at the Dave Schultz Memorial … sixth at the U.S. Nationals … and fourth at the 2005 World Team Trials, the event that determined who would take to the mats for the U.S. at the Worlds in Hungary. Jantzen's most recent -- and arguably most significant -- freestyle accomplishment was winning the gold medal at the World University Games in Turkey this past August, a prestigious tournament open to wrestlers under age 28. Jantzen defeated Russia's Kelaxsaev Berding 4-0, 2-0 in the finals to become only the third U.S. wrestler to win gold at this international event, joining mat legends Wade Schalles (who was champ in 1977) and Bruce Baumgartner, who earned gold in 1981. (Later in the tournament, U.S. wrestlers Nate Gallick and Tommy Rowlands also earned gold at the University Games.) Jantzen did not lose a single period in the entire event, and shut out his opponents in seven out of ten periods. "I didn't know any of these guys, being kind of new to international (competition)," Jantzen said in a published interview after winning the gold. "Sometimes I think that is good for your wrestling style. Fortunately, I just had those two periods each time, which definitely helps in this environment and with only 15 minutes between matches." When asked about the World University Games for this profile, Jantzen said, "This year, there was a University Team Trials qualifying event in Colorado Springs in the spring of 2005. I think that resulted in having one of our stronger teams ever at the Games." Back to the Beginning: Writing Wrestling History in New York State Jesse Jantzen was born and raised on Long Island, a long-time hotbed for amateur wrestling. "My dad was a wrestler, and introduced me to the sport when I was five or six years old," said Jantzen. "When I was in grade school, I also played soccer and baseball, but, by ninth grade, I decided to concentrate on wrestling." While competing at Shoreham Wading River High School, Jantzen built an impressive 221-3 record … with those three losses coming in seventh and eighth grade. In the state of New York, qualifying seventh and eighth graders are allowed to compete at the state wrestling tournament. Jantzen took advantage of this rule, and placed third both years. "It provided me with good experience in competing at that kind of event," according to Jantzen. In fact, that experience served Jantzen well in subsequent trips to the state tournament. Jesse Jantzen competed for the New York Outrage in the inaugural season of Real Pro Wrestling.He became the first wrestler to win the New York high school championship four times (1997-2000). Adding to the luster of Jantzen's accomplishment: Unlike most states with wrestling championships conducted in multiple divisions based on school enrollment, New York had only one state champ in each weight class at the time Jantzen claimed his titles. And, making it all sweeter was the fact that Jesse was coached by his father Don, who was head wrestling coach at Shoreham Wading River. When asked if there was pressure to achieve an unprecedented fourth state championship, Jantzen said, "Yes, but most of it was self-imposed. Overall, it was a pretty exciting year, but it was a relief to win the title senior year." And, as if four state titles weren't enough, Jantzen accomplished even more as a wrestler while still in high school. He was a three-time All-American and two-time national champ … was named ASICS Wrestler of the Year … and National Most Outstanding Wrestler in 2000. Coming to Harvard With all these achievements as a high school wrestler, it's no surprise that Jantzen was heavily recruited. However, Jantzen's dream was to attend Harvard University. "A friend of mine, Andrew McNerney, is a volunteer coach at Harvard," said Jantzen, referring to the 1983 Harvard grad who earned NCAA All-American honors that year. "I was immediately impressed with the coaches, and how Harvard brought together the best of both worlds in terms of athletics and academics." "Early in my coaching career at Harvard, one of our alums told me about this eighth grader in New York," said Jay Weiss, head wrestling coach for the Crimson. "Through this alum, Andrew McNerney, I met Jesse during his high school career. I told him that we could help him become a national champion." In 2004, Jesse Jantzen defeated Zack Esposito to claim the NCAA title at 149 pounds.That NCAA title came in Jantzen's senior year, a capstone to a great career at Harvard. An Inspiration in the Ivy League Even as a freshman, Jantzen accomplished great things. He posted a 17-7 record, placed second at the EIWA championships, and was an NCAA qualifier. His achievements were recognized by others, being named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and first team All-Ivy … and selected to the 2001 All-Rookie team by Amateur Wrestling News. And, as a portent of things to come, Jantzen was named Most Promising Freshman, and earned his team's Hardest Worker Award. "I've never had a more dedicated wrestler than Jesse," said Weiss. "His work ethic is incredible. He's a quiet leader, one who inspires others in the wrestling room to work harder and do more on a daily basis. He's a prime example that hard work pays off." At the 2004 NCAA Tournament, Jesse Jantzen earned Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament honors for his efforts.As a sophomore, Jantzen was crowned EIWA champion at 149 pounds, and was named the conference's Most Outstanding Wrestler. At the 2002 NCAAs, he placed third -- the best finish of a Harvard wrestler since 1953 -- and earned All-American honors. In his junior year, Jantzen claimed his second EIWA title, and again took third place at the NCAAs that year. He also earned Academic All-American honors in 2003 -- the only Harvard athlete to do so that year. Senior year was the pinnacle. Jantzen earned his third straight EIWA title, earning a trip to the 2004 NCAAs. In St. Louis, the top-seeded Crimson wrestler worked his way through the talent-rich 149-pound bracket to make it into the finals, where he achieved a 9-3 win over second-ranked Zack Esposito of Oklahoma State. For his performance at the NCAAs, Jantzen earned Outstanding Wrestler honors. When Jesse Jantzen won the NCAA title in 2004 -- he became the first Harvard wrestler to accomplish the feat since John Harksness won the title in 1938.Jesse Jantzen was the first NCAA champ from Harvard since John Harkness won the 175 pound title in 1938. Harkness was in the stands, cheering for Jantzen. "We made sure he would be there," said Weiss. "He was so thrilled to be a part of the event." Having a Go at Real Pro Wrestling In addition to his freestyle wrestling career, Jantzen was selected to compete in the first season of RealProWrestling, shown on Fox Sports and PAX-TV in the spring of 2005. One of eight competitors in the 66kg/145 lb weight class, Jesse wrestled for the New York Outrage team. "I'm glad to have been a part of it," said Jantzen. "I liked the rules that made it easy to score points, and encouraged action. I would do it again." What's Ahead Jesse Jantzen continues to focus on the future. A member of the New York Athletic Club freestyle team, Jantzen lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and continues to work out in Harvard's wrestling room, providing guidance and inspiration to other wrestlers … and preparing himself for the long road towards the 2008 Olympics. "I try to go to every tournament, to gain more experience and learn by wrestling and observing." said Jantzen. "Jesse makes a strong impression on all he meets, whether through wrestling, or off the mat," according to Weiss. "He's inspiring on a daily basis."