Q and A with 2008 Olympian Jake Deitchler

FARGO, N.D. - The last 13 months have been a whirlwind for Jake Deitchler.

He became the youngest U.S. Olympian in wrestling in 32 years.

He competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

He moved to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

And then he moved back to his native Minnesota because he wants to wrestle collegiately for the University of Minnesota.

Deitchler, 19, a past Junior Nationals champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, is back at the FargoDome this week working as a Greco-Roman coach for Team Minnesota.

Deitchler, battling an injury at the time, fell short of placing at the 2009 U.S. World Team Trials in late May. He moved up a weight class this year in Greco-Roman from 66 kg/145.5 lbs. to 74 kg/163 lbs.

Two of the wrestlers Deitchler beat at the 2008 Olympic Trials - Harry Lester and Faruk Sahin - made the 2009 U.S. World Team in Greco-Roman.

Deitchler sat down Monday morning for a short interview with USA Wrestling's Craig Sesker.

You're back in Minnesota now. When did you move back there and what have you been up to?

I moved back to Minnesota at the beginning of May. I've been training at the University of Minnesota and I'm only living about a half an hour away from my family. I'm focused on my college career now, as well as wrestling Greco. I'm enrolled in school and I will start classes in the fall. I'm kind of nervous, but excited at the same time. It's been a year and a half since I've been in school, so I will have to work at it a little bit.

What was your reasoning for deciding to come back to Minnesota?

There were a lot of factors. I was a little homesick. School, college wrestling, I definitely wanted to do those things. I missed being in Minnesota. Looking back on my time in Colorado, it made me a better person and a stronger person. It made me a lot better wrestler as well. It helped me a lot and they have great coaches at the Olympic Training Center. Minnesota, the biggest thing, is my heart really seems to really be in wrestling when I'm close to home. My coach, Brandon Paulson, is in Minnesota and my family is close to me. That's what I need right now.

You committed to the University of Minnesota as a high school senior before deciding to wrestle Greco full-time after the Olympics. What led you back to wanting to wrestle collegiately?

I've always followed the Gophers and followed the NCAA tournament. I love college wrestling and I realized I was missing out on that opportunity. And then all of a sudden I decided I wasn't going to get that chance because I was just wrestling Greco. It was hard for me during the college season to not be out there competing. I actually went to the NCAA tournament this year in St. Louis to watch and it was so exciting for me. I can't explain why. I still love Greco as well. And it's exciting for me to still be able to compete in that style.

Will you jump right into Minnesota's lineup this year?

Yes, that's the plan. I'm going to wrestle 157 with (past NCAA champion) Dustin Schlatter moving up to 165. We will have Mario Mason at 149. Being in the room with those guys will be awesome. We will be pushing each other, that's for sure. Dustin being on the World Team in freestyle, he can show me a lot of what he's learned and that will help me as well. It's going to be an adjustment at first, but wrestling's wrestling.

You were not 100 percent physically at the 2009 World Team Trials. What was your injury?

That Monday, before the Trials, I had a high ankle sprain. It was a little frustrating, but injuries are part of sports and I just have to move on. I'm healed up now and I feel great. I'm excited and looking forward to my first college season. I'm loving wrestling again.

You moved up almost 20 pounds to the next highest weight class in Greco. How difficult was that?

It was a little frustrating. I lost a few matches this year, and you get a little impatient. I know it's going to take some time for me to grow into the new weight class. I'm getting bigger. I've been lifting a lot. I'm only weighing about 165 right now, so I'm smaller than everybody I'm wrestling at 74 kilos. I just have to keep working and I will be fine.

How crazy has this past year been since you won the Olympic Trials in June of 2008?

The Olympics was fun, and that whole experience was amazing. But that's over now and I won't let the Olympics define my whole career. I'm looking forward to doing a lot of big things in my career at the college level and internationally. I just need to stick with who I am and keep wrestling hard. I want to win a World and Olympic title, and I want to win an NCAA title now too.

How strong will the Minnesota Gophers be next season?

Very strong. We have some great wrestlers, and we have a great group of guys who are really tight. I can't wait to see what we can do. Up and down our lineup, we are very tough. We know we can contend for a national title this year. It's going to be awesome.

What's it like being back home?

I love it, I really do. Being close to my family is really important to me - I'm really close to them and it makes a big difference for me to be around them. Being around Brandon Paulson obviously helps a lot. The environment in Minnesota and the support system I have there is very important to me being successful with everything I do.

How strange is it having wrestlers attack your legs now after spending all that time just wrestling Greco?

There was a while there where I got yelled at because I was just letting guys shoot in on my legs. I haven't been in a folkstyle stance for a year and a half, so it's been a little bit of a change for me. I'm working on my defense. It's a great challenge going in the room every day. Even when I'm getting my butt kicked, I'm trying to learn from it and get better. It's been fun wrestling folkstyle again. I'm enjoying it.