Rick's Rant: A Salute to our Military

Randi Miller of the U.S. Army WCAP  after winning the 2014 CISM Military Worlds.

This weekend was a special weekend for me. I soared past the quarter century mark of my life and am blessed to be in the position I am at such a young age, employed by a company that affords me a platform to express my thoughts.

A certain topic tugged on my heartstrings over the weekend and hopefully I can share that feeling with you, my readers.

Saturday evening I was able to go see American Sniper on the big screen. For those who are unaware, the movie follows the life story of Iraqi War veteran Chris Kyle. Kyle is proclaimed the most lethal sniper in American history having accumulated over 160 confirmed kills, saving countless American soldiers lives. This man is the definition of a hero.

I won’t spoil the movie plotline for you, but I will say that I have never heard a theater more quiet and somber when the credits rolled. Many were in tears, many were in shock and many, like myself, were filled with a sense of pride for living in the greatest country on earth, the United States.

Specifically, this topic touches my heart because I have two grandfathers who have served our nation. One saw battle in World War II with the U.S. Army, while the other has been recognized for countless achievements for his tenure in the Air Force. The stories I have heard from them alone give me great pride in being an American.

After seeing this film I wanted to take a moment to recognize the men and women who serve in the U.S. military while also pursuing their dreams as wrestlers.

Many of you might be unaware but there are many men and women competing at the highest level of our sport that are members of the military. The U.S. Army and U.S. Marines support many of our Greco-Roman and freestyle athletes currently on the U.S. National Team. There were six members of the U.S. military on the 2014 World Team that competed at the World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last September.

I have the pleasure to work with these senior-level military athletes regularly, with most of them living and training in Colorado Springs, specifically those wrestling for the U.S. Army WCAP program. Names like Spenser Mango, Justin Lester and Randi Miller are among a few of the WCAP wrestlers I get to interact with.

Last September the U.S. hosted the CISM Military World Championships featuring the top military wrestlers in all three styles from a multitude of countries. I was lucky enough to produce the broadcast for that event at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

This was one of the most unique experiences I have had here in my time at USA Wrestling. All the athletes wore their respective countries military dress uniforms and it seemed like we were all one, rather than separate countries. The unity on display was unreal, not to mention the competition level was extremely high with multiple World and Olympic medalists competing.

I even got to meet living legend Randy Couture while at the event. He was a member of the U.S. Army and won a gold medal at the Military Worlds in 1988 in Palermo, Italy.

I hope everyone can have an experience like that at some point in his or her life. Just being around so many devoted people is inspiring.

We also have excellent programs at the prestigious military academies of Air Force, Army and Navy that support wrestling at the Division I level.

With Air Force being located ten minutes from my home I am afforded the opportunity to check out a couple of their duals a year. I am always impressed with the work ethic and drive of these young men. It is not easy to balance wrestling and academics, but throw in a rigorous military framework and that makes life extremely tough. I have no idea how they balance everything, but man do I respect their efforts.

To all our serving military member and veterans, thank you for your service to our country and risking everything to protect it. You are the real heroes of America.

Now to your questions.

Question 1
What are your thoughts on the experimental Greco-Roman rules that will be used at the Dave Schultz tournament?

I have to admit I am a little surprised that United World Wrestling is looking at changing the Greco-Roman rules this year after such a drastic improvement last season.

To me last year’s World Championships in Greco were awesome. The amount of high scoring and exciting bouts compared to previous years was largely increased.

Let me give you an outline of the rules that will be used at the Schultz.

There will be no stoppage for passivity, a point will be awarded on the second verbal warning, no forced par-terre, no consecutive gut wrenches, all exposures are worth two points, and wrestles will not be allowed to simply push his opponent off the mat to earn a point.

I have also heard rumblings of wrestling one five-minute period as opposed to two three-minute periods. However I have not seen official conformation on this from United World Wrestling.

To me the focus UWW is trying to emphasize is wrestling from the neutral position. They want to see more high amplitude throws and fewer points scored from the mat.

Will these rules make Greco more exciting for the casual fan? Perhaps. I still am not a fan of constantly changing the rules in a drastic manner. Let’s find a set of rules and stick by them.

Question 2
Can you give a breakdown of Metcalf and Pico wrestling at the Yarygin tournament this week?

Considered by many the toughest wrestling tournament in the world, the Ivan Yarygin International will see some of America’s best take on countless top Russians, in addition to many other top tier competitors from various countries.

At 65 kg for the U.S., 2014 World Team members Brent Metcalf and Jimmy Kennedy will compete, as will 2014 Junior World silver medalist Aaron Pico.

I will not give a prediction on who I think will win between the U.S. competitors, but I will say all three have very different styles, and all three have the skill set to be successful in this tournament.

Metcalf has made the finals of this tournament before which lends me to believe he will have the best shot at winning the whole thing. Experience goes a long way at the top-level tournaments. His conditioning and grinding style bodes ill for the Russian style of laid back, slick wrestling. If Metcalf finds his rhythm, watch out.

Kennedy has the most prototypical American style in my opinion. He has savvy leg attacks and an aggressive style. My concern with him will be adjusting to a higher weight class. This will be his first go at 65 kg since competing at 61 kg at the World Championships. If he can stay strong with the competitors at 65 kg he can have a stellar performance in Krasnoyarsk.

As for Pico, it is hard to gauge. On the one hand he just defeated the 2013 World Champion, but on the other he has very little experience at the senior level. He has a more European style, utilizing heavy hands to get to his offense. Will I be surprised if he walks out of Krasnoyarsk with a gold medal? No. But will I be surprised if he doesn’t have great success? Again my answer would be no. Time will tell for him, but I am hoping he continues to improve and see success on the senior level.

Question 3
Have you heard anything about the status of Jesse Delgado and will he compete again this year?

Per my sources near the Illinois program, yes, we will see Delgado compete for his third NCAA title this year.

As far as a time table for his return, that I cannot give.

My thought is he is just waiting till he is one hundred percent confident he can compete at the highest level before making a return.

With the Big Ten slate heating up I would expect to see him return in the next few weeks just to get his bearings again. It will be important to be in some big matches before the Big Ten and NCAA Championships in two months.

Question 4
What Division I wrestler have you been most impressed with so far this year?

There are a handful of guys I have been impressed with but I will stick with the Illinois theme and go with Zane Richards.

After missing All-American status last year as a freshman, Richards has come out strong in 2014. He boasts wins over the likes of top ranked wrestlers Cory Clark of Iowa and Jimmy Gulibon of Penn State.

Last weekend he took top-ranked Chris Dardanes to overtime dropping a close one 12-10.

Not to mention the kid puts points on the board, which is always exciting for those of us watching.

To me he is smack dab in the conversation of who will win the 133-pound NCAA title this year along with Dardanes, Schopp, Beckman, Clark and others.

Tweet of the Week

Google "Cirque du Soleil Parody by Olympic Wrestlers" and you'll get to see @jdbergmanusa and I being… http://t.co/2Y8yu8XvIG

— Reece Humphrey (@ReeceHump60kg) January 19, 2015

The athleticism of wrestlers is undeniable. Go check out the entire video!

To submit your questions to Rick’s Rant tweet them to @USA Wrestling or @Richard_Immel. You can also submit via email to rimmel@usawrestling.org.