SESKER COLUMN: A busy day of covering wrestling at the Junior and Cadet Nationals
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
FARGO, N.D. - The loud beeping of my alarm clock starts my day at 7:21 a.m.
It is Day 3 of the ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet Nationals in Fargo, N.D.
The seven-day tournament - featuring thousands of the top high-school Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestlers from all over the United States - is in full swing.
It's the biggest tournament in the World with participant numbers into the thousands.
It is a massive undertaking.
I am staying on the third floor of Pavek Hall, one of the dormitories on the campus of North Dakota State University.
I meet colleague Jason Bryant in the lobby just before 8 a.m., and I catch a ride over with him to the FargoDome.
It's another big day in Fargo. I walk onto the artificial turf football playing field of the North Dakota State Bison and look around at the awesome site that is this event.
There are 23 mats filling every corner of the massive dome. A large elevated mat sits on a platform in the center. That's where the finalists in the Junior Nationals Greco-Roman competition will face off at 3 p.m. Central Time.
There are people everywhere. Wrestlers, coaches, team leaders, fans, parents, match officials, pairings officials, trainers, security people, the USA Wrestling National Staff, and the large group of volunteers who make this event a huge success.
The first session starts at 9 a.m., and I arrive about an hour early to oversee the media operations as the communications manager for USA Wrestling.
Our 30-seat media area is jammed to capacity each day with national journalists, in addition to a large throng of credentialed media from the state associations.
The state people are busy sending updates back to the people who can't make it here. They are taking photos and updating results. Kansas is even doing its own Webcast of its wrestlers' matches, providing an opportunity for the people back home to watch this event. They had 600 people watching the first day.
I arrive in the media area and am greeted by the smiling face of Mariah, one of the workers who hands me a stack of updated brackets for the media on press row.
I fill up five bowls of various snacks for the media to munch on during the day. Photographer G. Wyatt Schultz of the Predicament in Iowa brings his share of junk food, including Double Stuff Oreos.
John Sachs, an outstanding wrestling photographer from California who works for Tech-Fall.com, is a lifesaver as he brings me a large cup of coffee from the concession stand.
John has had some great shots from this tournament already.
The wrestling gets underway at 9 p.m. as the wrestlers battle for spots in Tuesday afternoon's finals.
My big task for the day is putting together finalist biographies prior to the final round. Copies go to Jason Bryant for his Webcast on TheMat.com, to announcers Sandy Stevens and A.L. Haizlip, and to Shane Sparks for his interviews on the public-address system with all the champions.
The bios also go to the media covering the event, in addition to the officials who are doing evaluations. I also post them on our Website, TheMat.com.
I hate building him up too much, but Jason had been an outstanding addition to USA Wrestling with his broadcasting and with the videos he puts together. It has really enhanced our coverage of this tournament.
I type up our weekly Wrestler of the Week feature for TheMat.com. Our choice is Washington's Tyler Coates, who pinned every opponent in the first period en route to winning a Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman title on Monday.
There is a short window before the end of the first session and the start of the finals, so I am in full scramble mode.
I start typing biographies, with information and accomplishments on each of the 30 finalists. Thankfully, Rob Sherrill of WIN Magazine is at my side helping me piece together the information.
Rob is a virtual encyclopedia of information on high school wrestling. He's covered this event for years, and is a valuable contributor to USA Wrestling for this event.
I look at my watch and it is 2:59 p.m., and Rob and I are finishing the last few bios. I print out the bios and have 35 copies made before I hustle to distribute them.
The finals are set to begin. The championship mat is spotlighted and provides an excellent atmosphere. One side of the stands is filled with enthusiastic fans, particularly the loud and boisterous group from Illinois.
I change hats once again, and work the floor during the finals. I will grab each of the 15 champions as they walk off the stage and escort them to the interview area.
I walk them over to an area where they are greeted by Shane Sparks, who then interviews them. The interviews are shown on the big screens in the corners of the arena. Shane may be the most enthusiastic man I know, and it comes across as he does a fantastic job with the interviews.
The champions then talk to the media. Two of the top wrestling writers in the country, Mike Finn of WIN Magazine and Andrew Hipps of InterMat, interview all of the winners on Tuesday. The local paper, the Fargo Forum, also provides in-depth coverage of the big event.
As the finals conclude, and all the lights come back on, I swing back over to my computer on press row. I will write a wrap-up story of the finals, listing the finals results on the bottom of the story.
I write about Minnesota's Dylan Ness being named Outstanding Wrestler, and about Missouri's Colton Howell, Michigan's Freddie Rodriguez and Nebraska's RaVaughn Perkins moving two-thirds of the way to winning Junior Triple Crowns.
It's great to see Ness rewarded for his commitment to the sport. He's come up through the ranks in USA Wrestling and it is paying off for him as he prepares to wrestle collegiately at Minnesota. He even wrestled in the U.S. Senior World Team Trials last month in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
As I finish my story, Jeff Beshey of The Guillotine in Minnesota is the last of the 30 media members to depart from press row.
I glance at my watch, and it's 8 p.m. I've been inside the FargoDome for the past 12 hours.
I catch a ride with Jason, and we head to dinner at the Green Mill in Fargo. Their lasagna is outstanding.
I come back to the dorms, and the weather is unseasonably cool in Fargo. I venture across the street and walk two miles on the running track at North Dakota State.
It's been another hectic, busy and action-packed day in Fargo. This is my fourth year covering this event, and it can be grueling and draining at times.
The next session is set for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the FargoDome, and my alarm is set.
Time to get some sleep.
I have to do it all over again tomorrow.
It is Day 3 of the ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet Nationals in Fargo, N.D.
The seven-day tournament - featuring thousands of the top high-school Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestlers from all over the United States - is in full swing.
It's the biggest tournament in the World with participant numbers into the thousands.
It is a massive undertaking.
I am staying on the third floor of Pavek Hall, one of the dormitories on the campus of North Dakota State University.
I meet colleague Jason Bryant in the lobby just before 8 a.m., and I catch a ride over with him to the FargoDome.
It's another big day in Fargo. I walk onto the artificial turf football playing field of the North Dakota State Bison and look around at the awesome site that is this event.
There are 23 mats filling every corner of the massive dome. A large elevated mat sits on a platform in the center. That's where the finalists in the Junior Nationals Greco-Roman competition will face off at 3 p.m. Central Time.
There are people everywhere. Wrestlers, coaches, team leaders, fans, parents, match officials, pairings officials, trainers, security people, the USA Wrestling National Staff, and the large group of volunteers who make this event a huge success.
The first session starts at 9 a.m., and I arrive about an hour early to oversee the media operations as the communications manager for USA Wrestling.
Our 30-seat media area is jammed to capacity each day with national journalists, in addition to a large throng of credentialed media from the state associations.
The state people are busy sending updates back to the people who can't make it here. They are taking photos and updating results. Kansas is even doing its own Webcast of its wrestlers' matches, providing an opportunity for the people back home to watch this event. They had 600 people watching the first day.
I arrive in the media area and am greeted by the smiling face of Mariah, one of the workers who hands me a stack of updated brackets for the media on press row.
I fill up five bowls of various snacks for the media to munch on during the day. Photographer G. Wyatt Schultz of the Predicament in Iowa brings his share of junk food, including Double Stuff Oreos.
John Sachs, an outstanding wrestling photographer from California who works for Tech-Fall.com, is a lifesaver as he brings me a large cup of coffee from the concession stand.
John has had some great shots from this tournament already.
The wrestling gets underway at 9 p.m. as the wrestlers battle for spots in Tuesday afternoon's finals.
My big task for the day is putting together finalist biographies prior to the final round. Copies go to Jason Bryant for his Webcast on TheMat.com, to announcers Sandy Stevens and A.L. Haizlip, and to Shane Sparks for his interviews on the public-address system with all the champions.
The bios also go to the media covering the event, in addition to the officials who are doing evaluations. I also post them on our Website, TheMat.com.
I hate building him up too much, but Jason had been an outstanding addition to USA Wrestling with his broadcasting and with the videos he puts together. It has really enhanced our coverage of this tournament.
I type up our weekly Wrestler of the Week feature for TheMat.com. Our choice is Washington's Tyler Coates, who pinned every opponent in the first period en route to winning a Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman title on Monday.
There is a short window before the end of the first session and the start of the finals, so I am in full scramble mode.
I start typing biographies, with information and accomplishments on each of the 30 finalists. Thankfully, Rob Sherrill of WIN Magazine is at my side helping me piece together the information.
Rob is a virtual encyclopedia of information on high school wrestling. He's covered this event for years, and is a valuable contributor to USA Wrestling for this event.
I look at my watch and it is 2:59 p.m., and Rob and I are finishing the last few bios. I print out the bios and have 35 copies made before I hustle to distribute them.
The finals are set to begin. The championship mat is spotlighted and provides an excellent atmosphere. One side of the stands is filled with enthusiastic fans, particularly the loud and boisterous group from Illinois.
I change hats once again, and work the floor during the finals. I will grab each of the 15 champions as they walk off the stage and escort them to the interview area.
I walk them over to an area where they are greeted by Shane Sparks, who then interviews them. The interviews are shown on the big screens in the corners of the arena. Shane may be the most enthusiastic man I know, and it comes across as he does a fantastic job with the interviews.
The champions then talk to the media. Two of the top wrestling writers in the country, Mike Finn of WIN Magazine and Andrew Hipps of InterMat, interview all of the winners on Tuesday. The local paper, the Fargo Forum, also provides in-depth coverage of the big event.
As the finals conclude, and all the lights come back on, I swing back over to my computer on press row. I will write a wrap-up story of the finals, listing the finals results on the bottom of the story.
I write about Minnesota's Dylan Ness being named Outstanding Wrestler, and about Missouri's Colton Howell, Michigan's Freddie Rodriguez and Nebraska's RaVaughn Perkins moving two-thirds of the way to winning Junior Triple Crowns.
It's great to see Ness rewarded for his commitment to the sport. He's come up through the ranks in USA Wrestling and it is paying off for him as he prepares to wrestle collegiately at Minnesota. He even wrestled in the U.S. Senior World Team Trials last month in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
As I finish my story, Jeff Beshey of The Guillotine in Minnesota is the last of the 30 media members to depart from press row.
I glance at my watch, and it's 8 p.m. I've been inside the FargoDome for the past 12 hours.
I catch a ride with Jason, and we head to dinner at the Green Mill in Fargo. Their lasagna is outstanding.
I come back to the dorms, and the weather is unseasonably cool in Fargo. I venture across the street and walk two miles on the running track at North Dakota State.
It's been another hectic, busy and action-packed day in Fargo. This is my fourth year covering this event, and it can be grueling and draining at times.
The next session is set for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the FargoDome, and my alarm is set.
Time to get some sleep.
I have to do it all over again tomorrow.
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