Wrestling Slam

You have to blame the recipient for this one – instead of pivoting to go down on his back, he tried to fight it and ended up going on his tender little head. Apparently he got back up and continued the match, which just proves that teenagers are indestructable.

Cary Kolat Backflip

This is just freaking sick – when his opponent went for a single-leg takedown, Pennsylvania high school student and future Olympian Cary Kolat whipped out a full backflip to escape it. Bravo.

Best Example of an Illegal Slam Ever

This is obviously a completely illegal slam – in amateur wrestling, for a slam to be legal, the person delivering it has to touch a knee to the ground before any part of the recipient’s body hits, preventing high-impact injury. This was a high-impact injury, and the dude laying it down is psyched.

Very Illegal Slam

Slo-mo replays at the end make this stuff even more painful to watch, but this is some serious grappling ability on this kid’s part. The best part is when he steps away from his opponent’s potentially concussed corpse on the ground with his hands up in the air like “Who, me?”

Wrestling High School Kyle Starling illegal slam 215 soph year vs Air Academy Duel

This one doesn’t cut right to the good stuff, but there’s a story behind it. Apparently the kid in the blue was all psyched for his next match, against one of the opposing school’s best in his weight class. But then the coach pulled the guy he was hyped to go against and subbed in a new kid with a 25 pound weight disadvantage. Results: epic pain.

Incredible Illegal Wrestling Slam

In wrestling, you’re always looking for an opportunity. And sometimes one arises that you just can’t pass up, as was the case in this high school match where the kid in the red singlet accidentally gives up his leg, leading to an utterly sick slam.

This particular slam owns for all the right reasons. 1) it was completely legal, with Kirk White’s knee going down before he mauls his opponent. 2) the slo-mo at the end with hella Satan voice. 3) White even has a name for the move (a rarity in NCAA wrestling circles) – the “Death Sentence.” Pure win.

There you have it, the 6 sickest amateur wrestling slam moves.

Author Author: K. Thor Jensen

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Winnipeg wrestler Caleb Rutner, a superstar-quality wrestler who beat all the Grade 12ers when he was in Grade 9 last year, has been fighting his heart out in high-level wrestling training camps in the United States this summer.

He’s looking to attract the eyes of scouts offering major prizes. Rutner’s goal is to get a wrestling scholarship to an Ivy League university, and that means BIG money. One guy on his team got a grant worth $350,000 for four years including room board, tuition, and books.

Rutner is going into Grade 10 at St. Paul’s High School this year with Mike Watson as his wrestling coach. This past year, Caleb fought in the biggest amateur wrestling tournament in the world as a member of Team North Dakota. “It’s a superb level of wrestling” says his dad, American-born psychologist Dr. Toby Rutner, who was a college wrestler himself until he got injured. Not that it was all sweat and hard work on the mats this summer for the kid. “You only have to be 14 to drive a car in North Dakota. When they weren’t wrestling, the guys were driving around and shooting off fireworks,” says his poppa, wryly.

MAJOR TALENT HERE: Winnipeg is no stranger to hosting shoots for feature-length films, but the major roles are usually taken by actors from Toronto, New York or L.A. On the set of Hello Darling — Shelagh Carter’s movie lensed in town this month — the scenes are loaded with Winnipeggers in main and smaller character roles, even though the casting call was open far and wide. On the set Tuesday, Maple Leaf School student Kassidy Love Brown played the main role — 11-year-old daughter Sarah, who watches her mom’s mental health disintegrate. “I’ve always believed in Winnipeg talent, but we sent out a call nationally because we didn’t know if we could find our Sarah here,” says director Carter, who grew up in Winnipeg and experienced much of the plot line personally.

“Then, in Kassidy walked, and she was it. She just happened to be a girl from Winnipeg. I saw 15 girls audition, but she was the one.” Ethan Harapiak, a seven-year-old who attends Beaumont School, has similar looks and plays her little brother. He’s a fine actor, too.

Child actors are only allowed to work eight-hours shifts and must be accompanied by a family member, so Kassidy’s dad, Kent Brown, and Ethan’s mom, Corray Classen Harapiak, were ensconced by the food table in the back porch looking after their children between takes.

Beatrice, played by Winnipegger Kristen Harris, is the troubled mother in the movie. Tuesday, she was dressed in glamorous party clothing from 1962 as she said good night to the children. Her husband, David, is played by Winnipegger Darcy Fehr. Crew members are a collection of independent Winnipeg experts and producer Polly Washburn said she and the director “couldn’t be happier” with the standards of Winnipeg film workers.

Got tips, events, sightings, unusual things going on? Call Maureen’s tip line at 474-1116, email maureen.scurfield@winnipegfreepress.com or send mail to The Insider c/o The Winnipeg Free Press at 1355 Mountain Ave. Winnipeg R2X 3B6

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 18, 2010 B1

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Dave Meltzer talks to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. After covering his life-long enthusiasm for pro wrestling and long standing habit of obsessively watching tape on competitors they get to Lawal’s transition from amateur wrestling to MMA:

He didn’t quite get that gold, but he did win national titles in 2005 and 2008, as well as gold at the 2007 Pan American Games. Considered having medal potential in 2008, Lawal was matched against fellow American Andy Hrovat in a best-of-three series to determine who would make the Olympic team. Hrovat, who Lawal beat for the ’08 national title, won the third match by scoring with seven seconds left.

“I already knew that was my last year in amateur wrestling,” he said. And as soon as he lost at the trials, he knew he was MMA-bound.

Daniel Cormier talks to Ben Fowlkes and credits Lawal with leading him into the MMA world:

“Really, it was Mo, man. Mo was just on me all the time, saying, ‘You got to try this. You could be good at it.’ And once I started doing it I was like, I really like this. It’s fun. But honestly, I think Mo played the biggest part in it. He was always on me telling me how good it was.”

At first Cormier was reluctant to give up his dreams of an Olympic medal. You spend the bulk of your life wrestling, hearing stories of the heroes in singlets who came before you, it can be a little difficult to give up the dream just to get punched in the face for a living.

But after being forced out of the 2008 Olympics due to kidney failure, Cormier began to reconsider trying out MMA. A trip to the American Kickboxing Academy helped cement the decision, but then Cormier faced a new issue. After being one of the top dogs in wrestling, now he was nothing more than a rookie in MMA.

Our own Leland Roling detailed just how impressive Cormier’s amateur wrestling credentials are:

Cormier, of course, was a high school All-American, two-time JuCo national champion, NCAA runner-up, 2004 and 2008 Olympic wrestler, and 2007 World Championships bronze medalist. There aren’t too many other wrestlers in the sport with Cormier’s credentials on a world level, and he’s actually added a powerful punch to his arsenal to make him quite threatening.

So far Lawal is a few steps ahead of Cormier in his evolution in the sport, but both men are progressing nicely. The thing that continues to impress me about wrestling as a martial art and amateur wrestling as a pool of athletic talent.

–

While both Lawal and Cormier are training MMA at a top camp and showing marked progress at adding new elements to their game — particularly Lawal — they are both essentially relying on their wrestling advantage to win in MMA.

Of the three phases of MMA — striking at a distance, the clinch and the ground game — freestyle wrestling prepares an athlete to contend in all three. At a distance the freestyler can shoot in for a double leg, in the clinch he’s got a plethora of trips, throws and take downs and on the ground he’s immediately prepared to control position and ride out a scramble.

Wrestlers like Lawal and Cormier who also bring the natural athleticism to their MMA training that allows them to hit hard and accurately have another quick step up. Not every wrestler who comes to MMA is a gifted ground and pounder or dirty boxer, but those who can naturally hit hard have a very easy time adapting to MMA.

Add to that the fact that of the major combat sports, wrestling probably takes the longest time to master. Some will argue that the striking arts take longer to learn and they may be right, but the reality of MMA is that a pure wrestler will tend to beat a pure striker. Add to that my impression that MMA wrestling is harder to master than MMA jiu jitsu and we might be looking at an insurmountable advantage.

I’m basing that on the fact that we’ve seen numerous wrestling-based fighters add slick submission games to their arsenal — Matt Hughes, Jake Shields, Phil Davis, etc etc — but we’ve seen very few BJJ fighters come in and add a dominating take down and top control game to their repertoire.

Is wrestling the best base art to bring to MMA? I have to say, yes.

via bloodyelbow

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

National preseason high school event set for October 23 in Rochester, MN

Visit Official Site of InterMat JJ Classic

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — Wrestlers from across the nation have had the opportunity to compete in prestigious postseason wrestling tournaments for years. Now wrestlers in grades 7-12, their families and fans can get the upcoming season off to a winning start, with a new elite, preseason open wrestling tournament.

The tournament: InterMat JJ Classic, which is set to take place on Saturday, October 23, 2010 at the UCR Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minnesota.

The InterMat JJ Classic promises to be loaded with national talent. Hundreds of wrestlers in grades 7-12 are expected to participate. There will be 32-wrestler brackets for each of the 14 standard high school weight classes from 103 through 285 pounds. Because of the event’s location, the InterMat JJ Classic is expected to attract top high school wrestling talent from across the Midwest. However, the tournament is open to wrestlers from all across the United States.

The tournament is sponsored by InterMat, the nation’s leading amateur wrestling Web site. The UCR Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minnesota has served as the venue for major amateur wrestling events such as The Clash, Minnesota Christmas Tournament, Northern Quad, Cadet National Duals, and the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Wrestling Championships. The event is being organized by 360 Sports and Events Agency, a sports management company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota that specializes in organizing, coordinating, and operating national sport-themed events, including the All American Bowl and the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic.

The InterMat JJ Classic is destined to become one of the premier preseason high school wrestling events in the country, joining two other pre-eminent, national preseason high school wrestling events that take place in October: Super 32 Challenge in Greensboro, North Carolina, and USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Both of these tournaments are scheduled for the weekend after the InterMat JJ Classic, allowing high school wrestlers the possibility of competing in more than one elite open tournament.

“Bringing a high-level preseason high school wrestling event to Minnesota, specifically Rochester, was very important to us,” said Andrew Hipps, owner and senior writer for Minneapolis-based InterMat. “Rochester hosts some of the finest wrestling events in the country. We felt there was a definite need for a national preseason high school wrestling event because of the abundance of high school wrestling talent scattered all throughout the Midwest.”

The InterMat JJ Classic is named in honor of Justin Kukowski, an athlete and avid sports fan — and best friend of Hipps — who lost his long, hard-fought battle with brain cancer days after his 27th birthday. JJ — as he was known to friends — was a wrestling fan; in fact, the last major sports event he attended was the 2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City. (Visit JJ’s blog.)

Proceeds for the InterMat JJ Classic will go to the cancer support center, the Justin Kukowski Center for Spiritual and Physical Healing, which opened in his memory two years after his passing, and is located in the Minneapolis suburb of Chaska.

“JJ was the kindest, most selfless person I’ve ever known,” disclosed Hipps, who had known Kukowski since the age of 5. “He made everyone he came in contact with feel important. There are so many things about JJ that made him special and unique, but the thing that stands out the most in my mind is the way he treated other people. He didn’t have a negative bone in his body.”

The event

The InterMat JJ Classic kicks off with weigh-ins Friday, October 22 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. CT at the Kahler Grand Hotel — the official tournament hotel — located at 20 SW Second Avenue in downtown Rochester. After weigh-ins, wrestlers, coaches, and their families are invited to a meet & greet at the Kahler Grand Hotel.

The actual one-day tournament begins at 9 a.m. at the UCR Regional Sports Center in Rochester. Competition, open to wrestlers in grades 7-12, will be held in 14 traditional high school weight classes: 103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, 215, and 285 pounds, with no weight allowance.

The InterMat JJ Classic will be set up using 32-wrestler brackets. Twelve wrestlers in each weight will be seeded. Brackets will be set up in a double elimination format, with wrestlebacks to eighth place. The top eight placers in each weight class will receive awards. In addition, each of the 28 finalists will receive custom, limited edition InterMat JJ Classic singlets.

The matches will be wrestled scholastic style. Each match in the championship bracket will be three periods — two minutes in the first; second and third periods will be one minute each. In the consolation bracket, there will be three one-minute periods.

The registration fee for the 2010 InterMat JJ Classic is $40 for wrestlers and $40 for coaches. Payment is due at the time of registration.

For more information on the InterMat JJ Classic and to register online, visit Official Site of InterMat JJ Classic.

InterMat is a leading national wrestling Web site that covers all aspects of amateur wrestling, including high school, college, freestyle and Greco-Roman competition, as well as mixed martial arts. The content includes updated recruiting information and profiles, news, event coverage, rankings and results, along with unique content features such as exclusive athlete profile stories, Q&As, historical features on legendary wrestlers and coaches, and hard-hitting analysis of major issues affecting amateur wrestling. InterMat works in conjunction with ESPN RISE and the Big Ten Network and has twice been named Web Site of the Year by the National Wrestling Media Association.

360 Sports and Events Agency is a sports management company that specializes in organizing, coordinating, and operating national sport-themed events, including the All American Bowl and the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Eric Larkin (top)

It’s late May on the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Mott Gym is packed. This is a welcome sight for Lennis Cowell and John Azevedo, who fondly remember the halcyon days when wrestling drew more than 2,000 fans — four times today’s average — to dual meets against Cal State Bakersfield, the California coast school’s rival.

Tonight’s event won’t feature the oldest sport known to man, but it is of that tradition. And in its name.

“Fight for Wrestling” — a professional mixed-martial-arts show aimed, in this instance, at raising funds for a Cal Poly program, conceivably on the chopping block, that boasts two national champions, 110 All-Americas and one of the best MMA fighters of all time — is finally debuting. The evening culminates a three-year process in which promoters, boosters and alumni (in some cases one in the same) attempted to bring it on campus.

This is what preventive maintenance in the name of saving Division I collegiate wrestling could look like, according to a growing contingent of wrestling supporters.

“Everybody waits until it’s too late,” said Cowell, whose 25-year run as a wrestler-turned-head coach at Cal Poly officially ended in 2003. “That’s been the problem: Coaches don’t see it coming.”

Based on participation and sponsorship rates over the past three decades, no one, least of all coaches, should be blind to the tenuous status of men’s wrestling on the D-I level. In 20 seasons beginning with the 1988-89 school year, men’s wrestling has suffered a net loss of 106 teams, ceding programs in all but five years during that stretch, according to an NCAA study. That puts wrestling atop a list of sports suffering the worst of college administrators’ scalpels. Tennis, ranked No. 2, lost 71 teams over that same period.

Prevailing wisdom holds Title IX — the federal legislation passed in 1972 meant to create the same opportunities and quality of treatment for female and male student-athletes — responsible for the decline in men’s sports, particularly wrestling and other Olympic-style contests. Perhaps this was true in the early 1980s, when men’s teams outpaced women’s by an average of 10.3 to 7.3 per school. Those numbers have since reversed after men lost 287 teams and women gained 714.

Gender equity has unquestionably played a part in the current state of college athletics, said boosters, coaches and administrators. But so have budgetary issues; conference requirements; NCAA mandates on the minimum number of teams institutions must sponsor to qualify for D-I status (six for men, eight for women); and a trend among some of the nation’s largest conferences called “focused excellence,” which emphasizes fewer teams in favor of television-friendly, revenue-generating sports.

“I honestly believe Title IX has become an excuse for athletic directors who want to just focus on football and basketball,” said Rob Koll, coach of the No. 1-ranked Cornell wrestling squad. “If I was an A.D. and just had two sports to worry about for all practical purposes, it makes my job easier. It may sound cynical, but I truly believe that’s the case in many situations. If you look at the SEC, less is more. They don’t give a darn about anything other than the sports that make money.”

News isn’t all bad for amateur wrestling in the United States. Participation has increased at Division II, Division III and NAIA schools. And youth wrestling, particularly at the high school level with its 267,000 athletes, has never been healthier, said Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

“Our vital signs are very strong at every level other than NCAA Division I,” Moyer said. “That goes back to focused excellence and the downsizing trend at athletic departments across the country at non-enrollment-conscious schools.”

“Staff members at the NCAA are very much proponents of broad-based participation type programs,” he said. “But the NCAA is governed by the very administrators who are making these decisions at the institutional level.”

Said NCAA spokesman Cameron Schuh: “Institutions must continue to make the fiscal decisions that they believe best equips them to support their student-athletes and their core mission.”

Three of the most active youth wrestling states — Washington, Florida and Texas — are also the biggest offenders when it comes to a lack of Division I opportunities. Meanwhile, state-funded California institutions continue to shed teams. UC Davis, the only school in the UC system that sponsored wrestling, recently shut down its program, citing cost-cutting efforts.

“We’re doing things but we just keep dropping,” said Azevedo, the current coach at Cal Poly, which competes in the Pac-10 conference for wrestling against Stanford, Oregon State, Arizona State, Cal State Bakersfield, Boise State and, before it was cut, UC Davis. “It comes down to money. It’s dire in the West. The Midwest is pretty safe. In the East, wrestling tradition in Pennsylvania is strong. But can they survive if there are 50 programs? If the West drops, it’s a slippery slope.”

College wrestling coaches must wear different hats these days, said Craig Tobin, a booster for Cal State Bakersfield who wrestled there in the 1970s. No longer is it enough to focus solely on winning on the mat.

“He has to be a three-headed steer: marketing, business, coach,” Tobin said of today’s coach. “We’ll call it the trinity of wrestling. If we want this sport to survive, you’ve got to get out there and develop this product so that it’s marketable.”

Tobin pointed to Koll’s work at Cornell as an example of someone doing it right. When Koll took over the Big Red program in 1993, wrestling couldn’t pull more than 50 people for an event. Last season Cornell averaged 1,700 in attendance, making it just one of 10 D-I teams (there are 86) to draw 1,000 or more per event.

Under Moyer’s leadership, the NWCA has invested $800,000 for a CEO training program designed to get coaches thinking about their programs on a broader scale. Sixty coaches will receive scholarships and training over the next three years.

“At the end of the day it’s really in the hands of the coach at institutional level,” Moyer said. “We need to do better with fundraising. We need to do better with marketing. We need to get more spectators in the stands.”

That’s also the aim of Scott Adams, a longtime friend and teammate of UFC legend and Cal Poly wrestler Chuck Liddell, who sees MMA, a sport directly influenced by the best in amateur and collegiate wrestling, as capable of returning the favor. Many of MMA’s biggest names wrestled collegiately, and as the fight sport grows it will continue to provide wrestlers who want to compete professionally an outlet to do so.

“MMA is the first real promise to former wrestlers in the form of an athletic career,” said Aaron Crecy, co-creator of Clinch Gear clothing with U.S. Olympian and MMA champion Dan Henderson, who wrestled at Arizona State (pulled from the ashes in 2008) and Cal State Fullerton (dropped after next year, the school announced Thursday). “I don’t think the MMA community can sit idly by while wrestling is eliminated from the college landscape.”

Crecy speaks from experience. He wrestled at BYU and San Diego State, both goners, and coached at Miami of Ohio, which died in 1999.

UFC president Dana White has yet to fundraise for wrestling at that level, but he did donate money to the team at Bishop Gorman high school in Las Vegas — where he went to school and became friends with Lorenzo Fertitta, who purchased the UFC in 2001. White said if need be, he would put the weight of the UFC, MMA’s top promoter, behind money-raising efforts to help D-I wrestling.

Why the concern?

It’s an easy link considering each of the 47 Americans on the UFC roster has some collegiate wrestling experience. As money and recognition continue to rise in MMA, there’s no reason to expect that decorated D-I wrestlers will stop jumping into the sport. Earlier this month, Bellator Fighting Championships announced the signing of Eric Larkin, who won the Dan Hodge Trophy (wrestling’s Heisman) in 2003, the same year he captured a national championship at 149 pounds for Arizona State.

The migration of top amateur wrestlers to MMA has some people concerned about the long-term impact on USA Wrestling, which oversees the sport at the international and Olympic level. But the organization, said spokesman Gary Abbott, believes the “success, publicity and popularity of mixed martial arts has given people a new perspective on the sport of wrestling.”

Said Moyer: “To protect our future, we’re going to need an association with MMA.”

Adams, who helped create the WEC with Reed Harris before it was sold to Zuffa, hopes to capitalize on MMA’s popularity and its symbiotic relationship with wrestling for his “Fight for Wrestling” program, which last Saturday raised $35,000-$50,000 for Cal State Bakersfield in its second event and $50,000 for Cal Poly in May.

For now, Adams said he will treat the cards like charity events and donate all proceeds to the program being supported that particular evening. Fight for Wrestling is scheduled to return to San Luis Obispo on April 9, 2011.

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar lent his immense popularity to the Bakersfield event by auctioning off a signed bracket sheet from his 1999 NCAA championship match against Stephen Neal.

“All I know is we’re going to keep grinding to do what we can do to survive,” said Neal, who left wrestling after beating Lesnar and earning every major wrestling award to become a starting guard and three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots.

Earlier this year, Neal helped raise $130,000 in one night to prevent Bakersfield from joining UC Davis on the scrap heap. The program has built up its coffers to keep it safe for the next three years.

Now, Neal said, “We just have to figure out a way to connect with the fans.”

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Name: Ryan “Darth” Bader
Promotion: UFC
Division: Light Heavyweight
Height: 6 ft 2 in
Reach: 74 in
Record: 11-0
Specializes: Wrestling

Career summary: Ryan Bader developed most of his game from an excellent collegiate wrestling background. After his amateur wrestling career saw him notch 120 wins, become a three time all PAC 10 and a two time All American, Bader made the move to MMA. He began his career dominating lesser known opponents in small promotions; it wasn’t until he landed a spot on The Ultimate Fighter season eight that he saw his career take off. While on the show he breezed through the competition and earned his way into the finals, taking out Vinny Magalhaes in round one by knock out to become the season eight light heavyweight winner. He then made a successful post TUF debut defeating Carmelo Marrero by unanimous decision. Since then he has gone on to dominate Eric Schafer by unanimous decision, and most recently he earned a KO win over UFC veteran and TUF season two alumni Keith Jardine.

Strengths: Bader’s strengths are all spawned from his technique and pure power. He excels at close range takedowns, and on the mat he shows the ability to use proper weight distribution so that his opponents have trouble executing sweeps and reversals. Unlike most wrestlers, when Ryan gets the mat he has shown a propensity to use his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as an offensive weapon scoring three submission victories in his career – as opposed to just maintaining top control and working his ground and pound. Ryan has also adapted a good boxing game; he keeps his hands up and has great hip movement when throwing punches. In addition to his devastating power, he puts 100% of his power into every punch he throws and has the ability to knock an opponent out with his left or right hand at any point of the fight.

Weaknesses: Ryan has an issue with his striking defense, and when his opponent attacks he has a tendency to either swing with him, take it on the chin and absorb the blow, or begin to back pedal quickly to avoid being punched. He’s able to get away with these because he’s faced lower level fighters, but if he were to do any of those with a skilled striker it could end the fight there. Swinging with his opponent of course opens him up to being hit, taking it on the chin could result in a knockout, and back pedaling puts him off balance and could result in a takedown or being knocked off balance if his opponent can connect. The best course of action when an opponent attacks would be to fade so that he can avoid the contact, and then counter. Bader also needs to work on his cardio; in almost all his fights we’ve seen him begin the fight with a blaze of haymakers and takedowns, but then as the fight enters the second and third round he gets gassed and begins to rely on his superior wrestling to lay on the opponent and score points that way, instead of trying to finish the fights. If he continues with those habits against more capable fighters he stands a great chance of coming out on the wrong side of a haymaker.

Where he stands in the division: Ryan Bader has worked his way into becoming a rising title contender. It’s too early to say he should get a shot at the belt, but he’s beginning to open people’s eyes with his strength and ability to dominate opposing fighters. The toughest thing that Bader will have to work through is that he is fighting in maybe the most stacked division in MMA. I’d currently put him at about 9th in the UFC’s 205 pound division, mainly because he hasn’t fought anybody that great so far, but if he can come in and beat Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at 119 it could put him over the top and give him a legitimate a chance to fight one of the elite light heavyweights.

Read more at MMATorch

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

“It’s an honor to coach this team and it’s definitely something I look at as building toward the 2012 Olympics for our freestyle team. It’s a great challenge for us as a team as we continue to build toward being the best,” said Smith.

Both have coached past U.S. World and Olympic teams in freestyle wrestling. Smith was the coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, as well as the 1998, 1999 and 2009 U.S. World Team Coach. Prior to taking the Iowa position, Brands worked as USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Resident Coach from 2005-2008, and coached with the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team and three U.S. World Teams (2005-07). Both have coached individual World and Olympic champion wrestlers for the United States.

Both are among the greatest freestyle wrestlers in history, and have been elected as Distinguished Members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Smith won two Olympic gold medals (1988, 1992) and four World titles (1987, 1989-91), stringing his six gold medals in consecutive years. Brands was a two-time World champion (1993, 1995) and won an Olympic bronze medal in 2000.

Smith went on to say, “the team is different this year, from a standpoint that there are some new athletes who broke through. I do believe this tells us we are building our depth back up in freestyle wrestling. The expectation for us is that we win several more medals than we did last year.”

Smith served as a co-head coach for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, which competed in Sydney, Australia. The U.S. won four individual medals, including a gold medal from Brandon Slay.

He is currently the head coach at Oklahoma State Univ., one of the most successful Div. I wrestling programs in history. He is the winningest coach in Oklahoma State history, with a 296-44-5 career record. He has led the Cowboys to five NCAA team titles (1995, 2003-2006).

Oklahoma State has won 11 Big 12 team titles under Smith. Eight times, Smith has been Big 12 Coach of the Year. As an athlete, Smith was considered by many the best freestyle wrestler in U.S. history. He claimed gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games, and won four World gold medals (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991). His six straight World-level titles is unprecedented. He also won titles at the Pan American Games (twice), Goodwill Games (twice) and the World Cup. Smith won most of the major awards in amateur athletics, including the James E. Sullivan Award, the USOC SportsMan of the Year and the World Trophy. He was FILA Wrestler of the Year in 1991, and won the 1990 FILA Master of Technique Award.

He is a member of the FILA International Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, along with many other major honors. In 2004, Smith was presented with the Titan Award by the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the next year, he joined his brother Pat as one of 15 wrestlers named to the NCAA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Smith was a two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State (1987-88) and a three-time All-American. He originally hails from Del City, Okla., where he won two state high school titles.

They will work with USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones of Colorado Springs, Colo., and the USA Wrestling national coaching staff to lead the team that will compete at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 6-12.

Smith serves as the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University, and Brands is the assistant wrestling coach at the University of Iowa. Their programs are annually among the most successful in college wrestling, with Oklahoma State and Iowa having won the most NCAA team titles of any other programs.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

In the latest episode titled ‘Bad Reputation’ they remade Olivia Newton John’s song ‘Lets Get Physical’ and in the video the guys were wearing wrestling singlets and performing dance moves that sometimes resembled what you might see in a wrestling practice.

Depending on how you look at it, Glee may or may not have promoted amateur wrestling. Sure the guys looked like wrestlers, but it was more about the body than the sport. See for yourself.

I don’t think Glee really promoted wrestling, but it may be as close as it gets.

If you want to check out the full episode of Glee, you can catch it on Hulu.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

No one stopped 17-year-old Jerod Botts of Waverly from climbing into the cage for a mixed martial arts fight even though he was underage, didn’t have a parent’s permission and had never fought before. An experienced fighter beat him badly, leaving him with a broken nose, a cracked eye socket and vision damage.

When 20-year-old Zach Kirk of Shenandoah was paralyzed from the neck down in an amateur fight, the promoter who staged the event didn’t offer to pay medical expenses — and wasn’t required by law to do so.

The fist-pumping adrenaline rush and freewheeling style of combat draws young fighters despite the danger. The intoxicating swirl of bloody spectacle, thumping music and alcohol attracts crowds to bars and concert halls across Iowa.

Industry insiders, in interviews with The Des Moines Register, said they love the sport, but they believe certain practices in Iowa’s amateur fight scene lead to exploitation and injuries and need to be cleaned up.

Iowa is one of 15 states with no regulation of amateur mixed martial arts fights. Amateur fighting is illegal in six states. Other states have either regulation by state officials or oversight by a third-party sanctioning body.

A bill to change Iowa’s law has passed the Iowa Senate and is now before the Iowa House.

“There is a very dark side to some of these unregulated fights,” said Franklin DeToye, a mixed martial arts referee and trainer in the Quad Cities.

Some promoters let fighters into the ring even if they’re impaired by alcohol or drugs, don’t check IDs for birth dates, and pit lighter, rookie fighters against bigger, veteran foes. They don’t require blood tests, leaving fighters vulnerable to catch a disease if an opponent with HIV or hepatitis gets cut and blood flies.

Iowa has more amateur fighters in mixed martial arts than most states because of the state’s deep roots in wrestling, insiders said. Any Iowan can usually find a show at least once a week within 60 miles, they said.

Iowa doesn’t regulate mixed martial arts fights if the contestants aren’t paid. Iowa Labor Commissioner David Neil said some promoters pay fighters under the table — $100 to $1,500 per fight — to pretend they’re amateurs to avoid following government rules. Neil has championed the drive to regulate amateur fights.

Sen. William Dotzler, D-Waterloo, who led the bill to unanimous passage in the Senate a week ago, said: “The more we expose some of the underbelly of the amateur fighting world, the more disturbing it is. There are good promoters, and there are promoters who are exploiting our youth.”

The sport at its best showcases athletes skilled in boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, judo and other martial arts disciplines.

Adam Miller, a 25-year-old fighter from Cherokee, said the amateur circuit is a good way to test skills and stay fit. If fighters prove themselves, they can become professionals; even lesser-known fighters can earn $1,000 each bout, and the stars can earn hundreds of thousands in the Ultimate Fighting Championship or Strikeforce circuits.

Andrew Fichter, 21, an Iowa fighter who recently moved to New Mexico, said he was a quiet youth who never got in trouble. He got in the cage twice because “if I was ever in a situation where I needed to defend myself, I wanted to know if I was able to.”

The sport at its worst is “a bunch of thugs street brawling,” said Jason Neef, who owns an online mixed martial arts data service.

Anyone can put on an amateur fight in Iowa, set whatever rules and “take any kid who saw mixed martial arts on TV and wants to fight now,” said Neef, of Kansas City. “For the safety of the fighters, it’s a travesty.”

Referee says some care little for fighter safety

DeToye, the referee from Davenport, said he has seen fighters under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs who were in no condition to enter the ring. In two cases, he argued with promoters to stop the youths from fighting. Both times, he was overruled, so he refused to oversee the bout. The promoters called in other referees willing to ignore the safety risks, he said.

In one case, the intoxicated fighter was badly beaten.

“The fighter was carried to a back room and left on the floor unattended,” DeToye said. “I found him there and called an ambulance. He was unconscious and choking on his own vomit from what I believed to be a concussion or worse.”

In the other case, a young man with no mixed martial arts experience was matched against a professional fighter. When the rookie fighter’s arm broke just seconds into the bout, “the ref didn’t notice until I yelled,” DeToye said. “The crowd cheered as his arm dangled and flopped around.”

A promoter in Iowa can insist an amateur fight continue, even if it’s getting ugly.

DeToye said an amateur fighter was knocked unconscious twice in one night, then fought again in the next two weeks and was knocked out twice more. In professional bouts, fighters who are knocked out get a 30-day suspension to allow healing.

The lack of regulation in Iowa’s amateur scene also troubles Charles Craft, a promoter who operates on the eastern side of the state.

“I’d rather do fights in Illinois,” said Craft, owner of American Combat Sports in Fort Madison. “They know what right and wrong is.”

The Illinois State Boxing Commission doesn’t regulate amateur events, but promoters there can choose to sanction their events with the commission. Minnesota uses official state regulators, as does Nebraska, which has tougher regulations than what Iowa is considering.

Some promoters working in Iowa already take steps to protect fighters beyond what lawmakers propose; others do little to ensure fighter safety, insiders said.

For some promoters, “it’s all about action in the cage,” Craft said. “They want it as exciting, as brutal as possible, because that’s what the fans want. It’s bad in Iowa.”

Amateur, professional fights could be regulated similarly

Iowa promoters disagree on just how much regulation is needed.

The proposed bill, Senate File 2286, would let the state take a 5 percent cut of gate receipts to pay for regulation at amateur events. It would also require promoters to carry $25,000 in health insurance per amateur fighter and $20,000 in life insurance, the same as for professional fighters. Supporters of the legislation think promoters, who make money on tickets and videos, can afford it.

“They’re making a fortune on these kids,” Dotzler said. “If they’re charging $25 at the door, and you’ve got 400 people, that’s 10 grand.”

Craft thinks that the health insurance coverage should be no higher than $10,000 per fighter and that life insurance is unnecessary because deaths are so rare.

Other promoters, such as John Halverson of Midwest Cage Championship in Des Moines, don’t mind the insurance proposals, or the 5 percent cut.

“If that’s what it takes to make the sport better, then I really don’t see that as a hindrance,” he said.

Midwest Cage Championship stages shows a couple of times a month, with about four slots for amateurs and a dozen for professionals. Halverson said he has tapped the health insurance required for pro fighters just once, for a broken jaw.

Halverson sets rules to protect amateurs, such as a two-minute limit per round and a ban on any kicking.

Amateur fighters said it’s not uncommon to use drugs or alcohol to loosen inhibitions and ease nerves before a bout. Even though the law doesn’t call for it, Halverson requires fighters to pass an alcohol breath test.

“Let a kid fight after a couple drinks, he gets his arm or jaw broken, or worse he gets hit and goes into a coma,” Halverson said. “It’s just foolish to drink. Your perception would be thrown off.”

With regulation, Halverson said, “the 300-pound tough guy fighting the 150-pound guy that got dared into fighting by some of this buddies — those things aren’t going to happen.”

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Gutches, who has a strong business background and a lifetime in wrestling as an athlete and coach, will be responsible for developing new or expanded programs, events and activities for USA Wrestling. He will work closely with state associations to increase membership and programs in underdeveloped markets in all styles of the sport. He will also expand strategic partnerships with other organizations, and assist in promotion and marketing activities.

He will also oversee the State Services staff of the organization, and work with a talented team which includes Manager of State Services Tony Black, Membership Services Assistant Shonna Vest, Manager of Coaches Education Cody Bickley and State Services Assistant Marge Civil.

“Les Gutches has an incredible reputation for integrity and performance,” said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. “He is a tremendous motivator, a wonderful father, a respected coach and one of our greatest champion athletes. His presence, leadership and work ethic will take USA Wrestling membership to new heights. We are excited to welcome Les Gutches to our team and are confident that his efforts will impact the entire wrestling community.”

Gutches will begin at his new job at the USA Wrestling corporate headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo. on February 1.

“I have been involved with USA Wrestling from my time as a PeeWee wrestler through the Senior level. I also went into coaching and remained active in the organization,” said Gutches. “To come back with the opportunity to help grow USA Wrestling and the sport in general is an exciting prospect to me. I have been in the business world for a number of years and am very excited to return to wrestling. I’m going to have the opportunity to combine my passion for the sport with an ability to apply my professional and academic experience. This is the perfect place for me.”

Gutches comes to USA Wrestling after serving as four years as a commercial lender and credit analyst for Citizens Bank, Inc. in Corvallis. Among his duties was to generate and develop new business relationships for the company, as well as assisting business clients in measuring performance and strategic decision making.

He received a Masters of Business Administration from the Oregon State University’s College of Business in 2006, where he was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. His undergraduate degree at Oregon State was in Anthropology with a minor in German Language and Literature. He was a three-time NCAA First-Team Academic All-American as an undergraduate.

He served eight years as an assistant wrestling coach at Oregon State, helping build the Beavers into one of the nation’s top programs. Gutches helped coach five athletes to NCAA All-American honors. In addition to athlete instruction, he had responsibilities that included business and alumni relations activities for the program.

He was also a club coach with the Orange Crush Wrestling Club, working with athletes from the university as well as the Corvallis community. Gutches has also been an active clinician for many years, teaching young athletes on many levels.

“Membership is the lifeblood of USA Wrestling. Our membership allows USA Wrestling to invest in and grow the sport at all levels. It is exciting to me that I can make an impact in an area that is so important to the organization. I see this as a position where I can make a difference in the sport on a daily basis,” said Gutches.

As an athlete, Gutches grew up within the USA Wrestling system, competing on the local, state and national level for many years in Oregon. In fact, he was the first athlete to win USA Wrestling national titles in all five existing age group levels at the time – Cadet, Junior, Espoir, University and Senior. He competed in the World Championships on four age-group levels, as well. He won a Cadet World silver medal in 1989 and an Espoir World bronze medal in 1993. Gutches won three state high school titles at South Medford High School

Gutches had a remarkable career at Oregon State Univ., winning NCAA titles in 1995 and 1996, and placing fifth in the 1994 NCAA Championships. He received the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top college wrestler in 1996.

He became one of the best U.S. freestyle athletes of his era. His top achievement was winning the gold medal at the 1997 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Krasnoyarsk, Russia at 85 kg/187.25 pounds. He added a World bronze medal in 1999.

After his senior year in college, Gutches won both the U.S. Nationals and Olympic Team Trials to make the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. He placed seventh in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga.

Gutches won all of the major events on the international circuit, including 1999 World Cup, the 1999 Pan American Games and the 1998 Goodwill Games. He also captured five straight U.S. Nationals titles.

Gutches was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009, and was a James E. Sullivan Award finalist in 1997. He was the 1997 Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year, as well as Freestyle Wrestler of the Year for USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

He and his wife Jennifer have two young children, Lexi (5) and Logan (2).

“I have been involved in wrestling clubs as a competitor and coach on the local, state and national levels,” said Gutches. “I have seen firsthand what makes a great club. It all comes down to one thing – investment. For coaches, the most important resources they have to invest are their time and expertise. They invest in each of their wrestlers, to help them become the best athletes and individuals that they can. USA Wrestling is committed to investing in the success of its state organizations. We will look at everything, from how we market our programs to the product itself, and how to best serve all of our members.”

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

At about the same time that I reached the apex of my wrestling glory, 130 miles to the northwest, in Waterloo, a kid named Gable was launching his career. It’s a story of 2 choices. I opted for being a really bad basketball player and he chose to become one of America’s greatest wrestlers. A few years later, in Del City, OK, some brothers named Smith were exposed to wrestling and chose to pursue their dreams – with John going on to win two Olympic Gold medals and four World Championships.

Long before I, or Dan Gable or the Smiths were born a kid named Norman Borlaug stepped on the mat in Cresco, IA. After his wrestling career at the University of Minnesota, he, too, made a choice – to go an to graduate school and earn a masters degree and PHD in plant pathology. His lifetime of food production research saved millions of people around the world from starvation and in 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr. Borlaug said of his wrestling background, “Wrestling taught me some valuable lessons. I always figured I could hold my own against the best in the world. It made me tough (my emphasis). Many times I drew on that strength.”

So – what’s the one common thread running threw Dr. Borlaug, Dan Gable, John Smith and me? We were all exposed to wrestling at an early age. We may have all taken divergent paths – but we all had the opportunity to learn the values of wrestling. I’m not sure that enough of today’s youth gets that opportunity.

What’s the answer? I don’t know – but here’s what I’m trying. I must begin by saying that I love NCAA Division III wrestling. Those guys really “get after it”. I’ve attended a few NCAA Division III Championships and the Saturday morning session might be my favorite part of that event. Everyone wrestling then is already an All-American and is battling to determine his spot on the podium. I’ll see more throws, reversals to pins – in general more excitement – in that one session than I might see in a whole season of Hawkeye dual meets. I know that the skill levels are different – but boy do I love watching DIII wrestlers.

What if kids who are new to wrestling got to see all of that fun and action? Would a few of them step on the mat for the first time? Would some of them get motivated enough to stick with the sport when it gets tough? I don’t know – but I’m hoping to find out. I’m raising enough money ($10,000) to buy 1,000 tickets to the Saturday, March 6, 2010 morning session of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, IA and giving them away to kids.

The tickets will go to a variety of kids. Many will be reserved for students at flood impacted elementary and middle schools in Cedar Rapids. Local youth organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs will also get some. Most will probably go to youth wrestling clubs. There is no geographical preference for the wrestling clubs – if you want to bring a group to Cedar Rapids, just let me know.
So far, support has been encouraging. Corporate pledges have reached over $4,000, including an extremely generous gift of $2,000 from the Cedar Rapids Marriott. When wrestling writer KJ Pilcher published an article about the project in the Cedar Rapids Gazette just before Christmas, I got another $600 in pledges in three days. Cornell College has allowed me to raise money on-site at wrestling events. To date a total of about $5,600 has come in.

Some folks have suggested that I should be happy with what has already been accomplished. That’s like suggesting that Gable should have been satisfied with two NCAA titles after the loss to Owings or telling John Smith that a couple of international championships are enough for any man. I won’t stop until we get 1,000 kids in that arena – and I may not stop then.

So, dear readers, I am asking you to help. Several of you already have and to those I offer my heartfelt thanks. But – there’s still work to be done. Will you who haven’t yet contributed join this elite group of fans?

If you want to make a pledge today email me at jim@dmsolutions4u.com. I’ll collect on your pledge in a couple of weeks when tickets actually go on sale. If you want to just write a check now, please make it to, “Tickets for Kids” and send it to:

“Tickets for Kids”
c/o Jim Brown
130 24th St NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-4936.

Your donation may just be the one that puts the next Gable or Smith or Borlaug on the mat.

Thank you,

Jim

PS If you have a group of kids that would like tickets, please email me.

http://gg121and2.blogspot.com/

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Davis, who signed with UFC just last month, will be facing former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Brian Stann, who played football at the US Naval Academy.

A four-time NCAA All-American wrestler, Davis built a 116-20 collegiate career with the Nittany Lions. The 25-year-old Harrisburg, Pennsylvania native owns a 4-0 professional MMA record, having competed inside the Palace Fighting Championship, Ultimate Warrior Challenge and Ultimate Cage Fighting Challenge promotions. In Davis’ most recent MMA event in June, he submitted David Baggett with a rear-naked choke in 3:37.

To read the rest of the story…

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7334-College-Wrestling-Examiner~y2010m1d8-2009-NCAA-champ-Phil-Davis-to-make-UFC-debut-February-6

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Dillon Hill, a 9-year-old with Down syndrome, started wrestling at St. Croix Valley Athletic Association a year ago.

Hill started working with the Coach Chris Bahl’s to learn the ins and outs of the sport.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

The University of Minnesota received initial notice in September and appealed the ruling hoping for a review of the situation. Deitchler has not competed for the Gophers this season, while awaiting the results of the final appeal. Deitchler’s eligibility will be reinstated under the conditions that he is withheld from competition for the 2009-10 academic year, forfeit a year of eligibility and repay the $4,000 prize money he received.

A 2008 graduate of Anoka High School and an Anoka, Minn. native, Deitchler represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Following the Olympics, Deitchler spent the 2008-09 academic year training and competing full-time with USA Wrestling at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“In the NCAA’s ongoing effort to promote student-athlete welfare I do not think the NCAA is following or supporting their own ideology. The NCAA has handed a very young student athlete an overly harsh penalty,” head wrestling coach J Robinson said. “The punishment is quite severe and is a three part penalty. First; Deitchler must sit out a year, second he will lose one of his four years of eligibility, and third he must repay the money he received.

I understand that there needs to be a penalty, Robinson said but to deny a season of competition, take away an entire year of eligibility plus repay the money is excessive. People make mistakes, and as an 18 year-old kid who just represented his country in the Olympic Games and got lost in the moment I don’t think this decision is in the best interest of the athlete, the NCAA, or the Olympic movement.”

Robinson went on to add, “We had a very similar situation at Minnesota a few years ago where an athlete took money after the Olympics, in this case more money $6,000. The penalty the NCAA imposed was that the student athlete had to sit out two weeks and repay the money. That same year, this student athlete was eligible to compete in the NCAA Championships and became an NCAA All-American.”

Deitchler will remain on the team and participate in all team practices, but cannot compete in 2009-10 for the University of Minnesota in any NCAA sanctioned events.

This is bigger than Jake Deitchler and I think it hurts our Olympic movement by setting a bad precedence. Robinson hopes that the NCAA will review and reverse their decision in the spirit of student athlete welfare and what best for a young student athlete that got caught up in the excitement of the Olympic Games while representing his country.

Robinson also said that Mario Mason has been reinstated and will resume competition with the team. Mason had been suspended indefinitely for violation of team rules, causing him to miss the Southern Scuffle and the Iowa State Dual.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

On Thursday, a small group of teens who call themselves the “Winton Woods Weather Warriors” wrestled the elements to say thank you.

“This is just going to be a workout day,” said Winton Woods High School senior Pryde Geh. His classmate, Lonzi Murphy, agreed. “You gotta work hard if you want to get better.”

Both are members of the Winton Woods wrestling team. Their coach, Chris Willertz, said it’s about discipline and hard work. “They can burn some calories and make weight and do something for the community,” said Willertz.

Willertz explained the service project is directly about giving thanks. The Winton Woods City School District tried to pass a levy for years. Yet, election after election, they failed. This August, the district adopted a “pay to play” policy and the wrestling team had to fend for itself.

The team tried to earn money through a fundraiser by selling cookie dough. “We tried our best to sell the cookie dough, but we didn’t sell a lot,” explained Murphy. “We sold as much as we could.”

The goal was lofty. Each boy needed to earn $240 from the sale. Coach Willertz went directly to the residents and business owners. “I wrote letters to people in the community and said, ‘Is there a way you could adopt a wrestler and pay some of the money?” asked Willertz.

In return, the squad performs community service by shoveling snow for free in their neighborhoods. In all, the team received $1,700 for the program. The team made its first installment before noon on Thursday. Later in the day several of them went to a voluntary practice. Afterwards, they were back out in the snow. Geh said he had a goal. “I’m trying to get at least 10 houses on my street.”

Murphy was grateful for the opportunity to wrestle and to give back. “I like being out here in the snow. It gives us a little work out too. Like for our arms and stuff and just to help out. Makes me feel good.”

Do you know of a team that has accomplished a similar feat? Let us know in the comment section below or email me at tmirones@wcpo.com – http://www.wcpo.com

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

It is often said that one of the best bases to have as a mixed martial artist is wresting. Wrestling, in all of its forms, is a sport that is all about leverage and control.

Many fighters who have come from a strong wrestling background have found great success. Just look across the MMA landscape today as it is littered with champion wrestlers making the transition to the sport.

The reason wrestlers have excelled in MMA is not due solely to wrestling itself. Wrestlers are successful because of the drive, determination, and work ethic that they bring with them.

If there is one man who epitomizes wrestling, drive, determination, and work ethic, it is Dan Gable.

After an undefeated prep wrestling career, the three-time Iowa state wrestling champion chose to attend Iowa State University. While at Iowa State, Gable continued his winning ways by capturing three Big Eight Championships, earning All-American honors all three years.

The only defeat that Gable suffered during his collegiate career came at the hands of Larry Owings. That loss came during the NCAA finals his senior year. That loss helped to fuel a fire inside Gable, a fire that would lead him to greatness.

While attending college and after his collegiate career Gable competed in Olympic freestyle wrestling. Gable was a six-time midlands champion and a three-time USA Freestyle National Champion. In 1971 Gable became World Champion, winning the 68kg division in Sofia, Bulgaria.

In 1972, when the Olympics invaded Munich, the goal was simple; bring home the gold. During these historic Olympics Gable would not only win the gold but he did so without surrendering a single point to his opposition.

In Gable’s final 21 Olympic qualification and Olympic matches, he scored 12 falls and outscored his nine other opponents, 130-1; the lone point being scored by Larry Owings.

It is not difficult to imagine that had MMA been an avenue available to the Olympic champion, it would have been something to consider. For many college wrestlers MMA has become the most suitable path to follow the dream of professional athletics.

Gable could have been a force inside the octagon, and would have likely competed at lightweight. The lightweight division has truly become a fan favorite, due to the incredible pace at which the athletes fight. Gable would have surely been at home in that atmosphere.

With an unstoppable shot and flawless transitions, Dan Gable would have ruled the lightweight land. The ability that he possessed to throw and control another human was unreal.

We will never know if Gable could learn to strike, or if he could even take a punch, but we do know that he could wrestle. With his caliber of wrestling, and his work ethic, he would have become a champion.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Iowa’s Brent Metcalf shoots in on North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell during the 2009 NCAA finals in St. Louis. Photo by Larry Slater.

IOWA CITY – Brent Metcalf took the college wrestling world by storm during the 2007-08 season.

Metcalf’s first season as an Iowa Hawkeye was a memorable one as he won his first NCAA title, led Iowa to the national team title and won the Hodge Trophy as the best college wrestler in the country.

He came back strong again last season, extending his winning streak to 69 matches before he was upset by North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell in the 2009 NCAA finals. Metcalf helped the Hawkeyes edge Ohio State for the team title last March. Iowa won the title without crowning an individual champion.

Metcalf jumped right into freestyle competition after the NCAAs and placed second at the 2009 U.S. Nationals. He fell short of placing at the U.S. World Team Trials.

He just started his senior season as the nation’s top-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds for the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes.

Metcalf took time out of his busy schedule to grant an interview with USA Wrestling’s Craig Sesker following a workout last week at the wrestling room in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

You and your Iowa Hawkeye team are favored to win NCAAs this year. How eager were you for this season to start?

We have a great group of veterans in this room, and we have a great group of young guys who are in here fighting hard every day. It’s great to see, that’s for sure. The young guys are really pushing the older guys and keeping them honest. The way last year ended, we are not in here feeling like we are the national champions and feeling like we are on top of the world. It was disappointing how we finished. We feel like we are still fighting for something because we really didn’t get what we wanted. There are a lot of guys in here who are really motivated.

You are a senior now, how different is that for you?

It shouldn’t be any different. You live and train the same way. The philosophy is the same whether you are a freshman or a senior, so for me it’s not any different. You can’t go into panic mode or think this is all or nothing because it’s my last shot as a senior. For me, I have a job to do and I do it at the highest level that I possibly can. The biggest thing for us again is we’re a little bit ornery and a little bit unsatisfied because we didn’t get what we wanted last season.

What did you learn from finishing second at the NCAA tournament last season?

My philosophy on wrestling is the guy who wants it the most is going to win. If I’m going to answer the question – why did I lose the match? – because I didn’t want it the most. Do I feel like I didn’t want it the most? No, probably not, but that’s got to be my answer because that’s my philosophy. What I have to take away from that is I have to make sure I’m going out there to take a championship away from my opponent. You don’t step out there to just continue what you’re doing. It’s not another match. You can’t be complacent. You’ve got to get yourself amped up and get your mind and body ready to win a championship every single time. Especially in those big matches. I need to go out there and win and take what I want. I have to have extremely high motivation to win every time I go out there. I need to have a high sense of need and want and desire. If that’s what was lacking last year, then that’s what has to change this year. I felt good going into that match. I just have to work toward that perfect preparation to get ready for a big match.

Did you take a break after the World Team Trials?

After the World Team Trials, I took a pretty good break and spent time with my family and my fiancée. I’m not a big break guy. It’s harder to take a break when you’re not happy about how you’ve wrestled. I was still thinking about those losses. When you don’t perform the way you wanted to it’s hard to take your mind away from wrestling because you’re constantly thinking about it.

You lost close matches at the 2009 World Team Trials to Olympian Doug Schwab and eventual Trials runner-up Jared Frayer. Does that just add more fuel to the fire when you compete internationally?

I don’t know if losing is motivation. I think the fact that I didn’t perform the way I performed against those guys in this practice room is what motivates me the most. I wrestled both those guys a lot in the room. I felt like I took a step back when I lost to them at the Trials. You can’t concede anything to them, even if they are your coaches. I just need to learn from that and keep improving.

What kind of advice has Iowa head coach Tom Brands given you entering this season?

Just keep doing what I’m doing – continue to have that same drive and motivation. Once you get to being the best, you still have to find what pushed you to get to that level. You have to go back to your younger days and think about what you did when you were scrapping and trying to prove yourself.

What is it like being around twins Tom and Terry Brands on a daily basis?

It’s an honor, and a dream come true. It’s awesome. These guys were my idols when I was growing up. It’s more than just wrestling when you talk about Tom and Terry Brands. They care about you personally and they take the time to get involved with your life and what you’re doing off the mat. They are special people who live the right way. I’ve become a better person by being around them. They teach you how to lead a championship lifestyle – from the way you treat your girlfriend, to the way you treat your neighbor, to the way you treat your teammates, to the way you take care of yourself. They live by very high standards on and off the mat.

How excited are you about competing internationally in freestyle wrestling once you are done with your college career?

My goal is to win multiple World and Olympic championships. I have very high standards for what I want to do internationally. Last year, there was maybe too much focus on freestyle where I maybe looked past the NCAA Championships to the World Championships. Right now, the focus is on this season and Omaha 2010 for the NCAA Championships. I want to win the NCAA title and then worry about everything that comes after that.

Jake Herbert came right out of Northwestern earlier this year and won a silver medal in his first trip to the World Championships. Did you watch any of his matches at the World Championships in September?

It doesn’t surprise me, what Jake Herbert did at the Worlds. He’s a competitor. He wrestles offensively and he doesn’t hold back out there. He goes to his offense and he works really hard out there to win. His style is similar to mine in that respect. I hope he’s not happy with the silver and I know that he isn’t. Hopefully, he will continue to work hard and he will get where he needs to be. It doesn’t matter where you come from as long as you have that drive and focus to be the best. Like I said, I want to be the best wrestler in the World. I know I have to keep working hard to get there.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

What was the next step after the University of Oregon announced its plans to drop its Div. I wrestling team in July 2007?

There was no debate for retired University of Oregon head wrestling coach Ron Finley. Something needed to be done, and quick.

“Within four days (of being informed of the decision to end the wrestling program), we had the site, SaveOregonWrestling.org, up and running,” said Finley, who continues to serve as the director of Save Oregon Wrestling.

After all, without a website or some other way to inform the wrestling community, how were they going to get their message out?

“From the very start we knew we needed to do something, we needed a way to easily communicate throughout the entire country,” said Finley, adding, “We needed to get our message out.”

Oregon competed one final wrestling season, running out the string during the 2007-08 year. In spite of strong public support for retaining the program, the university and its athletic director at the time, Pat Kilkenny, allowed the Duck wrestling program to join the list of programs which have been dropped.

The battle to reinstate the Oregon program has continued, and with it, the efficient use of the Save Oregon Wrestling website.

Since the start of the site, there has been constant traffic and massive amounts of support across the nation. The response was more than Finley and the Oregon supporters could have hoped for.

The website offers a chance for wrestling fans from Oregon and across the nation to show their support of wrestling at the University of Oregon by signing an on-line petition. The petition states one goal, the reinstatement of varsity wrestling at Oregon.

As of November 10, the petition had over 7,000 signatures. 7,451 signatures, to be exact.

“The site has kept the country informed of what is going on. Takedown Radio has helped, along with other media outlets. People we don’t even know have either donated or signed the on-line petition,” said Finley. “It really shows people care about wrestling.”

Finley said that hopes remain high since the University has hired a new Athletic Director, Mike Belotti.

The website continues to encourage people to contact Belotti, Univ. of Oregon President Richard Lariviere and Senior Associate Women’s Athletic Director Rene Baumgartner to encourage them to bring back wrestling.

The Save Oregon Wrestling website says: “Make the decision makers devote time to the problem that they have created each and every day. This cannot be a two-day or week deal. We need to stay on them until they reverse their decision! Wrestling is that important to all of us and America.”

With the funds currently pledged and a solid plan to address the team’s budget issues, Finley cannot help but have faith that the dedicated efforts of the wrestling community over the last few years could lead to a reinstatement.

“We will just have to wait and see how the new AD, Mike Belotti, feels about our efforts and proposed budget,” said Finley.

Finley is quick to praise the efforts of cross-state rival Oregon State, which held an endowment dual meet this past weekend, when they faced nationally ranked Boise State and Wisconsin. A crowd of 3,018 attended the competition, and the meet raised $30,000 which went into the Oregon State wrestling endowment fund.

“Every penny spent on admission to the Oregon State dual meet went to a wrestling endowment fund,” said Finley. “If every program could do that, it would be a step in the right direction.”

While reinstating dropped programs has been a challenge on the Div. I level in the past, Finley and all those involved with the effort believe that there might be light at the end of the tunnel at Oregon.

When asked how long he thought it would take to get Oregon wrestling back on the mat, Finley showed no hesitation.

“A couple of years is all it could take, but we are going to have to keep fund raising and fund raising and fund raising,” said Finley.

Oh, and just in case anyone was curious, the petition just received one additional signature. With support from this writer, the total is now up to 7,452.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team did enough Friday to beat up on two more opponents and set another school record for dual dominance.

But the Hawkeyes didn’t do enough to appease coach Tom Brands during wins against Bucknell and Rutgers in Lewisburg, Pa.

“There is seven minutes to wrestle and much, much more has to happen in those seven minutes,” Brands said. “I’m not sure we understand that right now. We could understand it, but then what’s the hesitancy? That’s the disconnect. We’ve got to figure it out. There’s got to be more happening in seven minutes.”

The Hawkeyes (7-0) won 16 matches while beating Bucknell 29-7 and handling Rutgers 33-9 to extend their school record of consecutive dual wins to 45 and match the program record for most wins on the road with 31.

Freshman Matt McDonough registered a pin and a technical fall in a pair of victories at 125, Daniel Dennis posted a technical fall and a major decision at 133 against No. 13 David Marble of Bucknell, and Jay Borschel notched two majors at 174, including a 10-1 demolition of Bucknell’s ninth-ranked Shane Riccio.

McDonough, Dennis and Borschel have scored bonus points for the Hawkeyes in all seven of their matches this season.

Top-ranked Brent Metcalf had his string of five straight pins snapped when he went down to the wire before pulling out a 3-2 win against No. 13 Kevin LeValley of Bucknell at 149.

“(LeValley) had a game plan and the game plan worked,” Brands said. “We get sharper finishing and we can widen the gap that way. If we do finish, the gap is probably wider there, but there’s not enough attempts. There has to be more attempts.”

The Hawkeyes are off until the Dec. 6 showdown with No. 2 Iowa State in Ames.

“That’s what we live for,” Brands said. “We better get sharper quick.”

Iowa 29, Bucknell 7

125 — Matt McDonough (UI) tech. fall Derrik Russell 19-4, 7:00.

133 — Daniel Dennis (UI) maj. dec. David Marble 14-5.

141 — Dan LeClere (UI) dec. Zac Hancock 9-5.

149 — Brent Metcalf (UI) dec. Kevin LeValley 3-2.

157 — Brantley Hooks (B) dec. Matt Ballweg 6-1 .

165 — Andy Rendos (B) maj. dec. Aaron Janssen 10-2 .

174 — Jay Borschel (UI) maj. dec. Shane Riccio 10-1.

184 — Phillip Keddy (UI) maj. dec. Rob Waltko 12-4.

197 — Chad Beatty (UI) dec. Jay Hahn 11-5.

Hwt. — Jordan Johnson (UI) dec. Joe McMullan 7-3.

Iowa 33, Rutgers 9

125 — Matt McDonough (UI) pinned Vinny Dellafave 3:39.

133 — Daniel Dennis (UI) tech. fall Billy Ashnault 20-5, 7:00.

141 — Dan LeClere (UI) dec. Trevor Melde 7-3.

149 — Brent Metcalf (UI) tech. fall Kellen Bradley 20-5 in 6:27.

157 — Aaron Janssen (UI) dec. Braden Turner 2-0.

165 — Gregory Zanetti (R) dec. Jake Kerr 8-6 SV .

174 — Jay Borschel (UI) maj. dec. Daniel Rinaldi 16-3.

184 — Grant Gambrall (UI) maj. dec. Jesse Boyden 11-3.

197 — Chad Beatty (UI) dec. Lamar Brown 9-3.

Hwt. — Dominick Russo (R) pinned Jordan Johnson 1:24.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Republican Jim Gibbons of Des Moines, a former Iowa State University wrestling coach, will run for Congress in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.

The winner of the GOP primary will take on incumbent Democrat Leonard Boswell.

Gibbons, 50, said Thursday that he is leaving his job at Wells Fargo Advisors to pursue a full-time campaign. “I think anything that you do successfully, you can’t do that with one foot in and one foot out,” he said.

He said he began thinking seriously about running when he got a call from an old friend, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion from the University of Wisconsin.

“He called me up in the middle of the summer and he asked, ‘Jim have you ever considered running for Congress?’ And I said, ‘Every day.’ ”

Iowa has had a few wrestlers in top-level political positions, including former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa City, and former Iowa House Speaker Brent Siegrist of Council Bluffs. Republicans have tried, unsuccessfully so far, to recruit former Hawkeye wrestling coach Dan Gable to run for office.

“I think we’re used to being in the arena alone, and going up against your component. So I think that lends itself well to being competitive,” Gibbons said.

Gibbons, a national champion wrestler and All-American in his junior year at ISU, coached ISU’s wrestling team from 1986 to 1992. The team won the NCAA championship in 1987.

He said he’s applying his background in coaching to his campaign – focusing on fundamentals like raising money and building up his campaign team. He notes that his coaching background has taught him how to motivate people and his financial services experience means he knows how to reach and talk to donors and other supporters. He also has TV experience, as a commentator for ESPN, among others.

“Excessive government spending” is the issue he points to as a priority, although he’s not ready to talk about what federal programs he would cut. He’s a critic of the federal stimulus bill as failing to create or sustain jobs, and he opposes cap and trade.

Gibbons will face Dave Funk of Runnells, a retired pilot, in the GOP primary. Sen. Brad Zaun of Urbandale also has said he’s considering running. Gibbons starts with an advantage over the GOP field in terms of name identification, and he’ll likely be able to raise the money to mount a competitive challenge.

Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com | http://www.wrestlingpod.com | Follow on Twitter

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh