NOTES FROM PRESS ROW IN FARGO, Monday, July 21
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by various journalists
Illinois "ragtags" do it again
By Rob Sherrill, Center Mat Press
They've been doing this for years.
We talked about it in our Fargo preview.
The resumes of the wrestlers Illinois brings to the Cadet and Junior Nationals often pale in comparison to those of wrestlers from other states.
Of the four Illinois wrestlers who reached the Cadet National Greco-Roman finals Monday, only one - 215-pound national champion Michael Sojka - had placed in the state tournament. And the freshman finished fourth in the state's small class, Class A.
The other national champion, 160-pounder Jahwon Akui, wasn't even in the lineup his school, Chicago St. Rita High, put on the mat in the Class AA regional last winter.
Two other freshmen also reached the finals - Bo Schlosser (130) of Mount Zion High, the only other finalist with state tournament experience, and Joey Moorhouse (140) of Marengo High.
Sojka was the only state placewinner, in fact, among Illinois' eight All-Americans, which helped them to a third-place team finish behind Pennsylvania and Minnesita. Four haven't yet reached the state tournament.
The breakdown of the rest of the 30 finalists: six state champions, 11 state finalists, and 23 placewinners. Of the seven who don't have state tournament experience, two were the 84-pound finalists and another three haven't yet set foot on a high school campus.
Why doesn't it seem to matter what's on an Illinois wrestler's resume?
"Illinois is definitely the best wrestling state," Akui said. "We have the best wrestlers and we have the best coaching. That's why we do so well here (at Fargo). It's the competition. I don't care whether it's wrestling, swimming, whatever…I want to win every time."
USOEC program passing Greco-Roman knowledge on to youth
By Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling is very proud of the success of the U.S. Olympic Education Program at Northern Michigan Univ., where college students train full-time in Greco-Roman wrestling. This has become a foundation of the U.S. Greco-Roman system
USOEC assistant coach Jim Gruenwald is in Fargo, recruiting the next generation of star wrestlers for the USOEC program. However, he is also watching with pride as his current crop of USOEC athletes are making a difference by serving as state-level Greco-Roman coaches.
Numerous USOEC student-athletes have been in Fargo this weekend, coaching a variety of state-level teams. Among the USOEC wrestlers who can be found in the corners of young athletes are Andy Bisek, Chas Betts and Paul Tellegrin with Minnesota, Nate Engel and Jake Fisher with Missouri, Harry Lester with Ohio, Aaron Briggs with Arizona and Jon Drendel with Illinois.
All of these wrestlers are at the cutting edge of Greco-Roman wrestling, and they are passing their experience and knowledge on to others.
"This is a building process," said Gruenwald. "Each level has a responsibility to the level beneath it. It is our program building itself. This event, and these athletes, are the future of Greco-Roman wrestling."
The USOEC wrestlers are also serving as role models for the young people that they are coaching.
"The more they get involved at the state level, the more kids will get interested in the USOEC and want to do what they are doing," said Gruenwald.
There is no doubt that there could be wrestlers in the field this weekend who choose to go on to the USOEC program in Northern Michigan in the future. Perhaps a spot on the Olympic Team is on their horizon, just like past USOEC Olympians Spenser Mango and Adam Wheeler.
"It has got to be passed along. We can't horde it for ourselves. We must pass it to the next generation. We have to do this so we can become the dominant Greco-Roman nation in the world," said Gruenwald.
High School Team mates make the Finals in Cadet Greco
By Randy Hinderliter, USAW-Kansas
http://www.usawks.com
This evening will have two friends and classmates in the Cadet finals in Greco. Both hail from Wichita, Kansas and attended school at Wichita Heights HS. They will be two of the six All-Americans for Kansas.
Daniel DeShazer, a 119-pounder, will be entering his sophomore campaign and Chase Nelson, at 145, will be a senior. Yes, that's right, not often does a Cadet enter his senior year in high school but Chase Nelson is also a bright young man.
At Wichita Height they are coached by Mike Church, Jr. who is also a coach for Team Kansas.
DeShazer has drawn Aaron Runzo of Virginia Beach, VA. Nelson, who also has six falls in the past two days, has earned the right to face Wally Figaro of Brandon, FL.
DeShazer in the final has a tough time waiting for the whistle. DeShazer lost 4-points on cautions and loses the match … 0-3, 4-0,
0-3.
Nelson looks to be in a tough battle as he loses the first period as Figaro lifted him for a five. In the second frame, Figaro tried the head-and-arm but slipped off. Nelson spun out front, lifted Figaro's head, and put in a snake … about 10 seconds later, Nelson earned his seventh fall of these Championships, to become Cadet National champion.
By Rob Sherrill, Center Mat Press
They've been doing this for years.
We talked about it in our Fargo preview.
The resumes of the wrestlers Illinois brings to the Cadet and Junior Nationals often pale in comparison to those of wrestlers from other states.
Of the four Illinois wrestlers who reached the Cadet National Greco-Roman finals Monday, only one - 215-pound national champion Michael Sojka - had placed in the state tournament. And the freshman finished fourth in the state's small class, Class A.
The other national champion, 160-pounder Jahwon Akui, wasn't even in the lineup his school, Chicago St. Rita High, put on the mat in the Class AA regional last winter.
Two other freshmen also reached the finals - Bo Schlosser (130) of Mount Zion High, the only other finalist with state tournament experience, and Joey Moorhouse (140) of Marengo High.
Sojka was the only state placewinner, in fact, among Illinois' eight All-Americans, which helped them to a third-place team finish behind Pennsylvania and Minnesita. Four haven't yet reached the state tournament.
The breakdown of the rest of the 30 finalists: six state champions, 11 state finalists, and 23 placewinners. Of the seven who don't have state tournament experience, two were the 84-pound finalists and another three haven't yet set foot on a high school campus.
Why doesn't it seem to matter what's on an Illinois wrestler's resume?
"Illinois is definitely the best wrestling state," Akui said. "We have the best wrestlers and we have the best coaching. That's why we do so well here (at Fargo). It's the competition. I don't care whether it's wrestling, swimming, whatever…I want to win every time."
USOEC program passing Greco-Roman knowledge on to youth
By Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling is very proud of the success of the U.S. Olympic Education Program at Northern Michigan Univ., where college students train full-time in Greco-Roman wrestling. This has become a foundation of the U.S. Greco-Roman system
USOEC assistant coach Jim Gruenwald is in Fargo, recruiting the next generation of star wrestlers for the USOEC program. However, he is also watching with pride as his current crop of USOEC athletes are making a difference by serving as state-level Greco-Roman coaches.
Numerous USOEC student-athletes have been in Fargo this weekend, coaching a variety of state-level teams. Among the USOEC wrestlers who can be found in the corners of young athletes are Andy Bisek, Chas Betts and Paul Tellegrin with Minnesota, Nate Engel and Jake Fisher with Missouri, Harry Lester with Ohio, Aaron Briggs with Arizona and Jon Drendel with Illinois.
All of these wrestlers are at the cutting edge of Greco-Roman wrestling, and they are passing their experience and knowledge on to others.
"This is a building process," said Gruenwald. "Each level has a responsibility to the level beneath it. It is our program building itself. This event, and these athletes, are the future of Greco-Roman wrestling."
The USOEC wrestlers are also serving as role models for the young people that they are coaching.
"The more they get involved at the state level, the more kids will get interested in the USOEC and want to do what they are doing," said Gruenwald.
There is no doubt that there could be wrestlers in the field this weekend who choose to go on to the USOEC program in Northern Michigan in the future. Perhaps a spot on the Olympic Team is on their horizon, just like past USOEC Olympians Spenser Mango and Adam Wheeler.
"It has got to be passed along. We can't horde it for ourselves. We must pass it to the next generation. We have to do this so we can become the dominant Greco-Roman nation in the world," said Gruenwald.
High School Team mates make the Finals in Cadet Greco
By Randy Hinderliter, USAW-Kansas
http://www.usawks.com
This evening will have two friends and classmates in the Cadet finals in Greco. Both hail from Wichita, Kansas and attended school at Wichita Heights HS. They will be two of the six All-Americans for Kansas.
Daniel DeShazer, a 119-pounder, will be entering his sophomore campaign and Chase Nelson, at 145, will be a senior. Yes, that's right, not often does a Cadet enter his senior year in high school but Chase Nelson is also a bright young man.
At Wichita Height they are coached by Mike Church, Jr. who is also a coach for Team Kansas.
DeShazer has drawn Aaron Runzo of Virginia Beach, VA. Nelson, who also has six falls in the past two days, has earned the right to face Wally Figaro of Brandon, FL.
DeShazer in the final has a tough time waiting for the whistle. DeShazer lost 4-points on cautions and loses the match … 0-3, 4-0,
0-3.
Nelson looks to be in a tough battle as he loses the first period as Figaro lifted him for a five. In the second frame, Figaro tried the head-and-arm but slipped off. Nelson spun out front, lifted Figaro's head, and put in a snake … about 10 seconds later, Nelson earned his seventh fall of these Championships, to become Cadet National champion.
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