SCHULTZ MEMORIAL NOTES: USOEC is loaded at 74 kg; Davis seeks to make impact with the Army
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by Gary Abbott
The wrestling room at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan Univ. is stacked with talented athletes at 74 kg/163 lbs. It is just the way that USOEC assistant coach Jim Gruenwald likes it.
"I am from the school of thought that if you want to be the best in the world, you need the best guys in the world to train with you," said Gruenwald, who is coaching the USOEC Greco-Roman athletes at the Dave Schultz Memorial International this weekend
You start with two-time World bronze medalist Harry Lester, who is returning to the mats this weekend. He announced his retirement after taking third at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., losing his semifinal bout to 18-year-old sensation Jake Deitchler. Lester has moved up in weight and seeks to return to the top on the international level at a new weight division.
Add in U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up Cheney Haight, and U.S. Nationals runner-up Andy Bisek. You can't overlook Jake Fisher, who has won the last two New York AC International Opens and has wins over some of his USOEC teammates. Gruenwald also puts Kevin Lozano in that group, who has also beaten some talented 74 kg wrestlers in past events.
"It is an ideal environment for a guy to win internationally. And they are not hiding from each other. They always wrestle against each other," said Gruenwald.
Gruenwald has personal experience as an athlete having to face his top rivals in the same wrestling room. When he was a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete, the top wrestlers in his weight were also training there.
"Ivan (Ivanov) and I are trying to recreate the environment that made Greco-Roman so successful in this nation from the early 1990's to present," said Gruenwald. "People say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. This can be adopted for wrestling. They are not enemies. But you can say you should keep your friends close and your opponents closer."
It puts Gruenwald and Ivanov in some interesting situations, as their athletes often have to compete against each other at major national and international events.
In the morning session at the Schultz Memorial, two of the USOEC wrestlers qualified for the finals, Lester and Haight. Lester defeated his USOEC teammate Fisher, 1-1, 2-1 in the semifinals. Haight defeated 2008 Olympian Jake Deitchler of the Minnesota Storm 1-1, 4-0, 5-1. Because of a back injury, Haight will not wrestle Lester this evening, dropping the match by injury default.
"You have the best in the nation, training year round, sharpening each other. It is the recipe for success. That is how the foreign teams do it. They are training together and getting better every day. It is proven to work," said Gruenwald.
The athletes are also pleased with the situation. They know it will make them better. Haight notes that six of the eight placewinners at 74 kg at last year's U.S. Nationals trained with the USOEC program.
"It is great," said Haight. "I don't have to worry about training partners. I can go with a different guy in my weight whenever we go live. There are many different styles in the room. I also can go with guys down a weight class and up a weight. I get a lot of help."
The friendly rivalry in the room helps each of the athletes set high goals for themselves and the team in competition.
"I tell these guys they have to think big. I said to them that I am not sure which of the guys will win the U.S. Nationals or the World Team Trials, but I want them to own the weight class. I want you to be ranked 1-5, and send a message to the world and this country," said Gruenwald.
Davis seeking to climb to top at 60 kg with U.S. Army
Jeremiah Davis made a fast impact on the national Greco-Roman scene, when he won a U.S. National title and placed second at the World Team Trials at 60 kg/132 lbs. at the age of 22.
A California native, Davis started his career at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan, where he competed for more than two seasons. He next trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado for a year. In 2007, he made the decision to join the U.S. Army as a member of its World Class Athlete Program.
"It is a real good fit for him," said U.S. Army coach Shon Lewis. "He has been an independent person for a long time. Now he has a team, a family, an organization that cares for him. He is buying into the Army philosophy. You can see him growing."
Now 24, Davis feels confident that his decision to join the Army can help him take the next step in his career.
"The only thing I regret is not joining sooner," said Davis. "It is obviously the best deal for me. The coaches there are great. There is team spirit with the Army. It's a family, more than any other team I have been with."
Davis feels like he needed to change his training and learn new things in order to be a champion. He credits Lewis and the other Army coaches with helping him master the basics of Greco-Roman
"I have never really known technique. I wrestled with my natural ability. I had to get worse to get better. I needed to learn everything from ground zero," said Davis.
National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser saw Davis on a recent tour to Turkey, and was impressed with his progress.
"Jeremiah is very talented and very fast. He looked good in Turkey, beating two tough guys and losing two close matches. He proved in Turkey that he is outstanding coming up from the bottom and escaping. He has a pretty good lift, too. What he needs is more match experience against foreign and U.S. opponents, so he can hone all of his areas," said Fraser.
Lewis has been working on areas that Davis needs to improve to become more of a consistent winner.
"His power is in his legs. We are working on him opening up on his feet and relaxing a bit out there. Sometimes, he lets the opponents bring the fight to him, rather than bringing the fight to them," said Lewis.
Davis won three matches in the morning session, including a win over Ravinder Singh of India, 3-0, 3-1. His weight class is a five-athlete roundrobin, and his final match will be against 2007 World Team member Joe Betterman, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the weight class.
A win over Betterman tonight would be a big step in the progress that Davis seeks. Lewis believes that Davis is very capable of winning that match.
"He is a young kid but he is getting better. He will be a force to be reckoned with. He will be a player in that weight class. He believes he is the best guy in the weight class. He has a way to go. It is a very tough weight class and he will have to earn it," said Lewis.
"I am from the school of thought that if you want to be the best in the world, you need the best guys in the world to train with you," said Gruenwald, who is coaching the USOEC Greco-Roman athletes at the Dave Schultz Memorial International this weekend
You start with two-time World bronze medalist Harry Lester, who is returning to the mats this weekend. He announced his retirement after taking third at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., losing his semifinal bout to 18-year-old sensation Jake Deitchler. Lester has moved up in weight and seeks to return to the top on the international level at a new weight division.
Add in U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up Cheney Haight, and U.S. Nationals runner-up Andy Bisek. You can't overlook Jake Fisher, who has won the last two New York AC International Opens and has wins over some of his USOEC teammates. Gruenwald also puts Kevin Lozano in that group, who has also beaten some talented 74 kg wrestlers in past events.
"It is an ideal environment for a guy to win internationally. And they are not hiding from each other. They always wrestle against each other," said Gruenwald.
Gruenwald has personal experience as an athlete having to face his top rivals in the same wrestling room. When he was a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete, the top wrestlers in his weight were also training there.
"Ivan (Ivanov) and I are trying to recreate the environment that made Greco-Roman so successful in this nation from the early 1990's to present," said Gruenwald. "People say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. This can be adopted for wrestling. They are not enemies. But you can say you should keep your friends close and your opponents closer."
It puts Gruenwald and Ivanov in some interesting situations, as their athletes often have to compete against each other at major national and international events.
In the morning session at the Schultz Memorial, two of the USOEC wrestlers qualified for the finals, Lester and Haight. Lester defeated his USOEC teammate Fisher, 1-1, 2-1 in the semifinals. Haight defeated 2008 Olympian Jake Deitchler of the Minnesota Storm 1-1, 4-0, 5-1. Because of a back injury, Haight will not wrestle Lester this evening, dropping the match by injury default.
"You have the best in the nation, training year round, sharpening each other. It is the recipe for success. That is how the foreign teams do it. They are training together and getting better every day. It is proven to work," said Gruenwald.
The athletes are also pleased with the situation. They know it will make them better. Haight notes that six of the eight placewinners at 74 kg at last year's U.S. Nationals trained with the USOEC program.
"It is great," said Haight. "I don't have to worry about training partners. I can go with a different guy in my weight whenever we go live. There are many different styles in the room. I also can go with guys down a weight class and up a weight. I get a lot of help."
The friendly rivalry in the room helps each of the athletes set high goals for themselves and the team in competition.
"I tell these guys they have to think big. I said to them that I am not sure which of the guys will win the U.S. Nationals or the World Team Trials, but I want them to own the weight class. I want you to be ranked 1-5, and send a message to the world and this country," said Gruenwald.
Davis seeking to climb to top at 60 kg with U.S. Army
Jeremiah Davis made a fast impact on the national Greco-Roman scene, when he won a U.S. National title and placed second at the World Team Trials at 60 kg/132 lbs. at the age of 22.
A California native, Davis started his career at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan, where he competed for more than two seasons. He next trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado for a year. In 2007, he made the decision to join the U.S. Army as a member of its World Class Athlete Program.
"It is a real good fit for him," said U.S. Army coach Shon Lewis. "He has been an independent person for a long time. Now he has a team, a family, an organization that cares for him. He is buying into the Army philosophy. You can see him growing."
Now 24, Davis feels confident that his decision to join the Army can help him take the next step in his career.
"The only thing I regret is not joining sooner," said Davis. "It is obviously the best deal for me. The coaches there are great. There is team spirit with the Army. It's a family, more than any other team I have been with."
Davis feels like he needed to change his training and learn new things in order to be a champion. He credits Lewis and the other Army coaches with helping him master the basics of Greco-Roman
"I have never really known technique. I wrestled with my natural ability. I had to get worse to get better. I needed to learn everything from ground zero," said Davis.
National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser saw Davis on a recent tour to Turkey, and was impressed with his progress.
"Jeremiah is very talented and very fast. He looked good in Turkey, beating two tough guys and losing two close matches. He proved in Turkey that he is outstanding coming up from the bottom and escaping. He has a pretty good lift, too. What he needs is more match experience against foreign and U.S. opponents, so he can hone all of his areas," said Fraser.
Lewis has been working on areas that Davis needs to improve to become more of a consistent winner.
"His power is in his legs. We are working on him opening up on his feet and relaxing a bit out there. Sometimes, he lets the opponents bring the fight to him, rather than bringing the fight to them," said Lewis.
Davis won three matches in the morning session, including a win over Ravinder Singh of India, 3-0, 3-1. His weight class is a five-athlete roundrobin, and his final match will be against 2007 World Team member Joe Betterman, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the weight class.
A win over Betterman tonight would be a big step in the progress that Davis seeks. Lewis believes that Davis is very capable of winning that match.
"He is a young kid but he is getting better. He will be a force to be reckoned with. He will be a player in that weight class. He believes he is the best guy in the weight class. He has a way to go. It is a very tough weight class and he will have to earn it," said Lewis.
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