FARGO JOURNAL: The Predicament's tag team of Matt and Wyatt are fixtures at this event

FARGO, N.D. - We usually arrive here at the arena about an hour before each session to set up, plan our day and make sure we are there to handle any needs the media covering our event might have.

Two of the media members who are typically here when I arrive each day in the FargoDome are Matt Pfiffner and G. Wyatt Schultz of the Iowa-based magazine, The Predicament.

My brothers and I subscribed to The Predicament when we were kids and we were always fighting for who got to look at it first.

Matt and Wyatt do a great job with the publication and are two of the hardest-working and best journalists we have covering our event.

You can check out their work on thepredicament.com

Wyatt loves his coffee, and he's treated me more than a few times on these trips. I always get a kick out of the assortment of cookies and crackers he brings on these trips.

These guys are running all over the arena, snapping photos and taking notes on all the kids from Iowa who are competing here.

After the tournament ends around noon today, they will both hop in their cars and make the long drive back to Iowa.

We appreciate the professionalism Matt and Wyatt bring to this event.

July 24

FARGO, N.D. - Six of the most rewarding years of my professional career were spent at the Omaha World-Herald newspaper from 2000-06.

I covered college and high school wrestling in Nebraska and Iowa, and I ran into two guys on Thursday who gave me plenty to write about during that time.

University of Nebraska at Omaha coach Mike Denney and Omaha Skutt Catholic coach Brad Hildebrandt are in Fargo for the Junior and Cadet Nationals. Coach Denney is here recruiting and Brad is here coaching top young prospect Thomas Gilman in Cadet freestyle.

It's always a "pleasure and an honor" to see Coach Denney.

Coach Denney's teams have now won five NCAA Division II titles. I covered three of those teams from 2004-06. Coach Denney is not only a Hall of Fame coach, but a Hall of Fame person. He's the best coach I've dealt with in 20 years in this business. He is a total class act all the way. He treated me like a king when I covered his teams.

Brad has built Skutt into a state and national power at the high school level. Skutt has now won an amazing 12 straight state titles. A number of his kids have gone on to great careers in college, including three-time UNO national champion Todd Meneely and two-time UNO All-American Mitch Waite.

Brad, along with the late R.J. Nebe, did a phenomenal job taking Skutt to an unprecedented level of success in Nebraska.

Coach Denney's right-hand man, UNO assistant coach Ronnie Higdon, also made the trip to Fargo as did long-time UNO administrative assistant Jim "Bongo" Bayly. Bongo was sitting up in the Bob Uecker seats way up in the top of the arena. It is Bongo's first trip to Fargo and he's enjoying the tournament.

July 23

FARGO, N.D. - Dan Gable gets it.

Nobody gives back more to his sport than the legendary Olympic gold medalist and 15-time NCAA championship coach.

Gable bleeds black and gold from his time with the Iowa Hawkeyes, but this guy will do virtually anything for this sport. He's the best ambassador we have in wrestling.

Gable is in Fargo today to sign autographs at the ASICS booth during the Junior and Cadet Nationals.

If a college program is in trouble, Gable typically is one of the first people to offer whatever assistance he can. He travels the country making appearances at camps and clinics, and giving back to the sport whenever he can.

I've gotten to know him a little bit over the past few years and he truly is one of the greatest people I've ever met.

For all of his great accomplishments, he's also one of the most selfless and generous people I know.

I grew up in awe of the guy and I still have a great respect for Gable.

Gable is 60 years old and has had his hips replaced, but he's still in great shape. He will still throw his sweats on and get in his workouts in the wrestling room at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

He has a unique perspective on things and it's always interesting hearing what he has to say.

July 22

FARGO, N.D. - We're at the halfway mark of the ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet Nationals and it's been a great tournament so far.

Here are a few random observations as we head into Wednesday's competition:

- Kendrick Sanders of Florida is a stud. He dominated Wisconsin's Kalvin York in the 152-pound Junior Nationals finals in a matchup of returning champs from 2008. Sanders is headed to Purdue, but it looks like his future is definitely in Greco. His spectacular five-point throw in the finals was the move of the tournament so far.

- The FargoDome crowd has been the most vocal during the two women's finals that were held. The California and Texas fans were very loud and supportive of their teams during the Junior Nationals individual and dual meet finals. That was great to see.

- I'm happy to see Shane Sparks working with us again. He's been interviewing each of the champions over the public address system. Shane, who also announced at our U.S. Nationals this year, does an excellent job for us. He has an unbelievable attitude and is a very likeable guy. He's one of the best young announcers I've seen.

- The weather here continues to be unseasonably cool for this time of year. It has been a fantastic, and very comfortable, week to be outside in Fargo. Of course, I spend most of my day indoors at the FargoDome.

- It's been nice having a baseball stadium right next to our dorms. Most of the USA Wrestling staff, and a majority of the wrestlers, coaches and officials, stay in the dorms at North Dakota State University. Jim Shipman and I wandered over and caught the last four innings of the game between the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and the Joliet Jackhammers last night. Fargo pulled out a 10-9 win. It was a perfect night to be sitting outside. I also saw a game there the first night we got here.

- I made it four days without hitting the Buffalo Wild Wings that is located right across the street from the dome. I've been over there the last two nights. I love their wings, but my insides need a break from there today.

- We're now in freestyle mode with the Cadet Nationals kicking off the freestyle portion of the tournament on Wednesday morning.

July 21

FARGO, N.D. - One of my favorite people in the sport stopped by to say hello during the Junior Nationals women's freestyle finals Monday afternoon.

2008 Olympian and World champion Clarissa Chun was in town for an appearance and autograph session with ASICS.

Clarissa is one of the sweetest people I know. She always seems to come armed with some sort of gift when I see her. This time it was a tasty bag of almonds.

It's nice to see her having some success now after years of knocking on the door to make World-level teams for the U.S.

She is preparing to make a run at another World title when the World Championships are held in late September in Denmark. Everybody has been giving her a hard time about being the oldest member of the U.S. women's team. She turns 28 a few weeks before the Worlds.

Clarissa had the lead late in her Olympic semifinal match before dropping a heartbreaker to Chiharu Icho of Japan. She stormed back in October to turn in a phenomenal performance in winning the Worlds.

She wrestles an entertaining style with a big arsenal of moves. She has a Judo background and can catch opponents with throws. She also is explosive when attacking the legs.

I think she has an excellent chance to do very well again this year. I know her coach, Keith Wilson, will do his part to make sure she is ready for another big season.

Clarissa got a kick out of watching the women's finals on Monday in Fargo. She was impressed by how vocal the fans from Texas and California were during the finals. It created an exciting atmosphere for the girls to compete in during the matches on the elevated platform at the FargoDome.

She was happy to see fans so excited during the women's matches.

July 20

FARGO, N.D. - Rulon Gardner arrived in town late Sunday morning for an autograph session with ASICS.

I first met Rulon shortly before he made the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team in Greco-Roman wrestling. I was working for the Omaha World-Herald newspaper and he was a past University of Nebraska wrestler, so I've followed his career closely for a number of years.

I remember when we finished a phone interview in early 2000. He wanted to make sure and give me his address so I could mail him the newspaper clip. He thanked me over and over for doing the story. Nobody knew who he was back then.

As we know, that all changed when he upset legendary Alexander Karelin of Russia in the 2000 Olympic finals. He followed with a World title in 2001 and an Olympic bronze medal in 2004.

There's never a dull moment with Rulon. He always has something interesting to say and he has had his share of mishaps off the mat. I worked with him this past summer in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics. He was a color commentator for NBC while I worked as a press officer for the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Wrestling.

One of my favorite parts of my trip to Beijing was when the American Greco-Roman team took a bus trip to the Great Wall of China. Rulon, who has packed on a few pounds since his competitive days, brought a duffel bag with him on the trip.

It was a good thing he brought the bag. On a hot, steamy August day, Rulon sweated through five different shirts. The picture of him wrestling fellow World champion and good friend Dremiel Byers on top of the Great Wall was one of the great photos from the 2008 Olympics. It ran in Sports Illustrated and in the New York Times.

Long lines were already forming Sunday about a half hour before Rulon starting signing autographs on the concourse at the FargoDome. He spent a full three hours signing for many of the kids who are competing in Fargo.

I am pleased to report that Rulon actually showed up a few minutes early for his appearance, and I gave him a hard time for being on time for a change. He's notorious for rolling into events at the last minute.

Rulon not only was a great wrestler, but he is one of the best we've ever had at dealing with the media. He's a great storyteller and he's very passionate about what he does.

He's excited about starting his new club and will continue to be a big part of the sport he loves.

Rulon continues to be a great ambassador for the sport of wrestling. It's always good to see him show up at our events.

July 19

FARGO, N.D. - When I walked into the FargoDome about an hour before the first session early Sunday morning, I spotted a few familiar faces rolling around near the press area on Mat 10.

It was 2009 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team members Harry Lester and Spenser Mango. They were training with some of their past and present teammates from the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan.

Running the session was Ivan Ivanov, who recently resigned from his post at the USOEC after a remarkable run of success there. Ivan may be the nicest guy in the sport. He's a phenomenal coach. I always enjoy chatting with Ivan. I'm glad he's staying involved with Greco.

Harry and Spenser, I believe, are both legitimate contenders to win World titles this fall in Denmark. Harry is a two-time World bronze medalist who should've been a World champion in 2007 if not for some very questionable calls by an official in the semifinals.

Harry looks as motivated as I've ever seen him after he fell short of making the Olympic team last year. He's moved up a weight, and now he can focus more on wrestling. Keeping his weight down is no longer a major issue.

Spenser gained valuable experience as an Olympian in 2008. He's a past World University champion and like Harry is a tremendous talent.

Harry and Spenser were just in Colorado Springs earlier this month for the World Team's first training camp.

Harry and Spenser are guys that make my job easy and a pleasure to do. They are great with the media and are fun to work with. I can't wait to see how they do at the World Championships.

Spenser is in Fargo doing some coaching with the team from Missouri. Spenser's younger brother, Ryan, will be competing in Junior Nationals. He won this event last year. The Mangos are from St. Louis.

Harry also has been a coach at this event, working with the team from his native Ohio. Harry is from Akron. It's interesting watching Harry coach. He's a pretty laid back guy, but he can get a little fired up when he's in the corner coaching.

July 19

FARGO, N.D. - I arrived in Fargo less than 24 hours ago, and it already has been a wild and wacky trip to eastern North Dakota for the annual Junior and Cadet Nationals.

First, it was the weather. It was unseasonably cool here yesterday afternoon when I got off the plane. I don't mind it a bit after some of these years where the temperatures soared into triple digits.

I'm just glad I didn't forget to pack my jacket when I went with my friends, Jim and Gina, to watch the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks battle Winnipeg in independent league baseball.

It was freezing by the end of a long and crazy game. Fargo blew a 7-0 lead before rallying from an 11-7 deficit to win 12-11. Or at least that's what I heard.

After Winnipeg took a 11-7 eighth-inning lead a mere three-and-a-half hours into the game, we couldn't stand the cold any longer and headed off for a late dinner. Gina looked like she had a block of ice about to form around her.

Jim is from Pittsburgh, so he got a kick out of seeing former Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Randall Simon playing for Fargo. Simon had at least three hits, but he also dropped an infield popup that helped Winnipeg take the lead.

Simon played almost a decade in the big leagues, but he is probably best known for playfully whacking one of the mascots with his bat during the sausage race in Milwaukee a few years back.

At least I didn't have to worry about whether the air conditioning was working in the dorms.

I'm sitting in the FargoDome right now and we're just about ready to kick off the wrestling action on the 23 mats.

This is the largest wrestling tournament in the World and it is quite the event to witness.

We will be providing plenty of coverage for this on TheMat.com with stories, photos, videos, brackets, etc.