Q and A with Tervel Dlagnev: U.S. heavyweight set to make huge splash at World Championships

Tervel Dlagnev celebrates his win over Steve Mocco in the finals of the U.S. World Team Trials. Larry Slater photo.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - It was just over four years ago that Tervel Dlagnev placed sixth in the 2005 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships for the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

The gifted young heavyweight has come a long way since then. A long, long way.

Second, first and first in the NCAA Division II tournament his final three seasons at Kearney, Dlagnev also jumped into freestyle wrestling during his final two years of college.

He worked out with World bronze medalist Tolly Thompson at the 2006 World Freestyle Camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Dlagnev then placed fourth at the 2007 U.S. Nationals in freestyle before winning the Sunkist Kids International Open later that year.

He continued to make progress in 2008. He won a World University title in 2008 and beat 2008 Olympian Steve Mocco in the finals of the New York AC International last November. After losing to Mocco in the 2009 U.S. Nationals, Dlagnev won a tough finals series over Mocco in the U.S. World Team Trials.

Dlagnev has fared very well overseas this season. He's won tournaments in Ukraine and Azerbaijan, placed second in an event in Bulgaria and was third in the Takhti Cup in Iran.

Dlagnev recently won the rugged Heydar Aliyev Golden Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan. He pocketed $10,000 for his victory.

The athletic, 6-foot-2 Dlagnev has packed on more than 30 pounds in the last year to be able to hold his own against bigger heavyweights in the 120 kg/264.5 lbs. division in freestyle.

Born in Bulgaria and raised in Texas, Dlagnev trained at the University of Northern Iowa last season and will move to the regional training center in Columbus, Ohio, as he continues his international career.

The 23-year-old Dlagnev has been in Colorado Springs the past two weeks at the team's third World Team Camp of the summer.

Dlagnev took time out of his busy schedule to sit down with USA Wrestling's Craig Sesker on Wednesday afternoon to discuss his rise to the top of the U.S. ladder and his goals for the upcoming World Championships on Sept. 21-27 in Herning, Denmark.

How far have you come from this point last year until now?

I've come pretty far. I try to look at it in the big scheme of things. I know I still have a long way to go. I just made a World Team, but to me it's like I just made the Varsity. Now I'm going to the World Championships to wrestle there. I try not to look at how far I've come. I try to look at how far I need to go. Obviously, I do feel like I've improved a lot and I'm improving every day at these World Team Camps.

You are much bigger now than you were last year. How much of a difference has that made for you?

I was about 235 to 240 last year, and now I'm around 265 to 270. It's made a big difference for me, especially with the pushout rule. In the past, I was getting pushed out of bounds all the time by bigger heavyweights. That's not happening as much now. Guys can't push me around now and get me physically exhausted anymore. Size helps.

You just won a big tournament in Baku. How much of a boost does that give you?

A big boost. I wrestled some tough guys. I wrestled the Egyptian (Ismail Abdelraouf Eldossuki), who was African champ, I wrestled the European champ from Azerbaijan (Ali Isayev) twice and I wrestled the Iranian national champ (Hadi Parviz). I wrestled some quality opponents. It was nice to get those wins, but it was also nice to get the feel of wrestling each of those guys. They all have different styles. The Azerbaijan guy won the World Cup, and it was real good to beat him. I wanted to wrestle the Iranian (Fardin Masoumi), who wrestled in the Olympics last year. I lost to him in the Takhti Cup earlier this year. I haven't wrestled the Russian yet, so I just have to study tape of him. The Russian (Beylal Makhov) won the World title in 2007. He's a big, tall dude and I'll have to come up with a plan for how I need to wrestle him.

Your U.S. National Team teammate and friend, Andy Hrovat, said you watch a lot of video of matches. How much video do you watch and how does it help you?

I watch my weight class, obviously, to scout my opponents. I watch a lot of the lighter weight classes for entertainment. I also try to pick up moves from the lighter weights. I kind of get on these kicks where I sit down and I just keep clicking on these wrestling videos. I finish one and then there's another one to click, so I watch the next one. I will spend a lot of time on one video if I see a move I want to learn.

You are a very quick and agile heavyweight who has a lethal low single. How tough are you to match up against?

Hopefully, really tough. I've been watching a lot of John Smith videos. I've been watching John's matches and some guys were stopping his shots. But John kept shooting and shooting and maybe by the fourth or fifth shot he would get a takedown. Then he would keep shooting and keep getting takedown after takedown and he would just pour it on the guy. I have to go to my offense more, and hit four or five attacks a period. I've been working with (U.S. Assistant Coach) Brandon Slay on increasing my rate of attacks.

When did you think reaching this level internationally was a realistic goal?

The summer after my sophomore year in college. I came out here with Tolly Thompson for a camp. It was the first time I had ever been out here. It was this same camp in 2006. It was interesting. I held my own and I took some guys down. I remember taking (past National Team member) Damion Hahn down a couple of times, and I felt like I could wrestle with these top guys. They would beat me up in a lot of freestyle positions where I was inexperienced. It was a humbling, yet encouraging, training camp for me. I learned a lot.

The coaches have praised your work ethic and willingness to learn. How has that helped you?

I'm a very visual learner. When I was in college, if a teacher would tell me something in a class I could remember it and learn it. I could learn better that way than reading it in a book. It's the same way with wrestling. If someone shows me something, I can learn it and retain it. I really try to pick every coach's brain and learn from them. Then I pick and choose what techniques work best for me.

You had a great cheering section at the World Team Trials with people who came over to the event from Kearney, Neb. What did that mean and how much of a boost did they give you?

It was really cool. They were really loud. And my girlfriend and her family got to see me wrestle for the first time. My mom and my sister drove up from Texas. A lot of my college teammates from Kearney were there. It meant a lot to me to have all those people there supporting me.

You took your lumps early in your college career while battling four-time NCAA Division II champion Les Sigman of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. How much did those battles help you?

I never beat him in college. Sigman beat all the best Division I guys, and he won the Midlands. To have a guy like that as an in-state rival, who I wrestled a bunch of times each year, was huge for me. I really pushed myself to try and beat him. Even though I never beat him in college, those battles made me a lot better wrestler.

You defeated Sigman for the first time at the 2007 Sunkist Kids tournament. How big of a turning point was that for you?

It was a huge match for me. I felt like I had been closing the gap on him. He was always so good in the top position in college. Wrestling him in freestyle, I felt like I had an edge because he couldn't get me on the mat like he did in folkstyle. Beating him that day, it was huge for me.

What do you need to do to win a World title next month?

I need to know all of my opponents and study what each one of them does. I know who is in the tournament now, and I need to study what they do in their wins and losses. I feel like physically I am getting there. I am really pushing myself to build my conditioning. I feel like I have a good game plan for what I want to do against all these guys. I feel real confident right now. Physically and mentally, I will be ready to go.

What did you do with the 10 grand you earned for winning the tournament in Baku?

I actually took all of that and gave it to the student loans lady. So it was a little anti-climatic. It was nice, because my student loans from college should be paid off by December now.

What would you do with the $50,000 if you won a World title this year?

Oh man. I would probably pay off all my debt. I might buy a couple of new video games and I will maybe treat myself to a couple of expensive Sushi dinners. I will probably save most of it and put most of it in the bank.

This World Team seems to have excellent chemistry and camaraderie. What is it you like about this group?

Obviously, I take wrestling very seriously and I love the sport. We have some great guys on this team to hang out with. A lot of these guys are funny and like to joke around off the mat. It's a great group to hang out with. We enjoy being around each other and I think that makes a big difference while we're going through all this tough training. We can just sit around playing cards and joke around and keep each other entertained.

All seven U.S. World Team freestyle members are competing in their first World Championships. How well can this team do at the Worlds?

Look at what Brandon Slay did when he won the Olympics (in 2000). Look at what Bill Zadick did when he won the Worlds (in 2006). Look at what Henry Cejudo did when he won the Olympics (in 2008). I don't think any of those guys were considered among the favorites in the years they won. I know it's a tough tournament, but I know I can beat all the guys in my weight class. All the other guys on our team have a chance to do real well at the Worlds. Trent Paulson and Shawn Bunch looked really good in Baku. Jake Herbert has beaten some of the best guys in the World. Everyone on our team believes they can do real well over there.

What do you think of the new Living the Dream fund that will pay wrestlers significantly more for winning medals at the Olympic and World level?

I think it's sweet, I really like it. No one really thinks about the money when they're training. I'm not in the wrestling room shooting high crotches repeating "quarter of a million dollars" in my head. I'm trying to be the best in the World. At the same time, it's nice to get a reward for excelling in this sport. It's super cool to see these boosters of USA Wrestling stepping up and putting up some big money for the wrestlers to shoot for. It's encouraging to have that kind of support, that's for sure.

You were watching on your computer when Henry Cejudo won the 2008 Olympics. What was your feeling when you watched him win a gold medal?

I was really pumped. I watched all of Henry's matches. I was staying up until 6 in the morning to watch as much of the Olympics as I possibly could. It was a true testament that anyone can win it on any given day. The way Henry won the Olympic gold medal is the exact way you want to win it. He beat the Bulgarian (Radoslav Velikov), who was a World champion. Henry beat the toughest guys, except for the World champion from Russia (Besik Kudukhov). And Henry beat the Japanese kid (Tomohiro Matsunaga), who beat the Russian pretty handily in the semis. The three guys Henry beat to make the finals were all really tough. That was really cool to see Henry win the Olympics. It was inspiring to watch him do it. It definitely motivates me to want to do the same thing.