Young G’Angelo Hancock reaches Schultz Greco finals as he makes a name for himself
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by Joe Mehling, USA Wrestling
G’Angelo Hancock spars with Jarod Trice on the way to a semifinal win at 98 kg in Greco-Roman at the Dave Schultz Memorial International. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors.
A year after losing two straight matches and being sent home after the morning session at the 2015 Dave Schultz Memorial, G’Angelo Hancock has advanced to the finals of the 18th Annual Dave Schultz Memorial on Thursday morning.
Hancock, a 2015 Junior World Team member, ousted veteran Jarod Trice in the semifinals, 5-0, to advance to his first ever Schultz Memorial final, held in his hometown of Colorado Springs, Colo. He will face 2015 Pan American Games silver medalist Kevin Mejia of Honduras in the finals at 4:00 p.m. MT.
“That match meant a lot to me personally after going out to the Bill Farrell in New York,” Hancock said. “I wrestled Trice and had a really close match with him in the semis but I lost by a point. I am impressed by myself that I could come out and get my revenge. I’m feeling good.”
Hancock, who went to high school in Colorado Springs, lives and trains fulltime at the Olympic Training Center, which has led to recent success as he placed third at the U.S. Open in December.
“At this point and time I feel my absolute strongest,” Hancock said. “I have been training with the best coaches I could ask for and they are getting me ready to be where I want to be. Last year, I came to this tournament and was out after my first two matches. This year it is a completely different atmosphere and I can tell the work is paying off.”
At the OTC, Hancock has the ability to train with the some of the best coaches in the world. One of those coaches, U.S. Greco-Roman National Coach Matt Lindland, has seen a vast improvement since his last showing at the Schultz.
“Well, he was a high school kid when he was here last year,” Lindland said. “He has had a year of training with elite athletes and traveling internationally. That’s what it takes. You have to put yourself in the right training environment, work hard there and then seek out the competition. G’Angelo loves competition and is a very coachable athlete. He just needs to continue to work on the discipline. He is getting better but the discipline in this sport reflects everything about your life onto the mat.
Lindland sees the stuff of a champion in this developing star.
“He is a young man with a huge potential and a lot of great attributes. I can see him improving very quickly and I am glad he is noticing his improvements already. He has a long way to go but he has a legitimate shot at a medal at the Junior World Championships this year. I am very confident about that,” said Lindland.
One of the best ways to improve discipline is battling top Senior athletes day-in and day-out and Hancock knows that it is necessary in order to reach his goals.
“It has been a grind,” Hancock said. “Everyone always talks about that college grind but we grind here too, just in a different way. Everyday it’s 9:00 a.m. practice then 4:00 p.m. practice then, on top of that, we are getting in our one-on-one with the coaches, working on specific moves. That grind with them forcing me and pushing me during that grind is allowing me to do well at these tournaments. Everyday I get the opportunity wrestle with Seniors and with that, you get tougher mentally. They are going to get you sometimes but you just have to accept that because working with these Seniors separates me from the Juniors and kids my age.”
“It has been kind of a rebirth,” Hancock said. “At first there I was Tracy Hancock in high school. I had other things going on. I wasn’t as focused and not even close to doing the things I am doing now. Then I met my coach T.C. Dantzler and he changed my life around. He asked me for my full name one day and I replied ‘Tracy G’Angelo Hancock’ and he kind of looked at me and said ‘G’Angelo’ huh? Let’s use that.’ From then on I have used G’Angelo and I love it.”
“It is G’Angelo,” Lindland said. “That’s our guy. That’s the competitor. Tracy is the young 17 year old that showed up last year. G’Angelo is the mature guy who is more disciplined with his body position and his lifestyle. When he’s on the mat, it’s G’Angelo and when we are training, it’s G’Angelo but I don’t have any problem with him being a kid and being Tracy outside of the room and off the mat. However, with being a kid, he still has to make the right decisions.”
Dantzler, an Olympian in Greco-Roman who competed on the international level for many years, remains one of his coaches and was there at the Schultz today in his corner.
A year after being sent home early from the Schultz memorial and lacking discipline, Hancock has reached the finals and formed a new identity that world better be ready for.
“You don’t want to let G’Angelo out of the cage unless there is a mat nearby,” said Lindland.
A year after losing two straight matches and being sent home after the morning session at the 2015 Dave Schultz Memorial, G’Angelo Hancock has advanced to the finals of the 18th Annual Dave Schultz Memorial on Thursday morning.
Hancock, a 2015 Junior World Team member, ousted veteran Jarod Trice in the semifinals, 5-0, to advance to his first ever Schultz Memorial final, held in his hometown of Colorado Springs, Colo. He will face 2015 Pan American Games silver medalist Kevin Mejia of Honduras in the finals at 4:00 p.m. MT.
“That match meant a lot to me personally after going out to the Bill Farrell in New York,” Hancock said. “I wrestled Trice and had a really close match with him in the semis but I lost by a point. I am impressed by myself that I could come out and get my revenge. I’m feeling good.”
Hancock, who went to high school in Colorado Springs, lives and trains fulltime at the Olympic Training Center, which has led to recent success as he placed third at the U.S. Open in December.
“At this point and time I feel my absolute strongest,” Hancock said. “I have been training with the best coaches I could ask for and they are getting me ready to be where I want to be. Last year, I came to this tournament and was out after my first two matches. This year it is a completely different atmosphere and I can tell the work is paying off.”
At the OTC, Hancock has the ability to train with the some of the best coaches in the world. One of those coaches, U.S. Greco-Roman National Coach Matt Lindland, has seen a vast improvement since his last showing at the Schultz.
“Well, he was a high school kid when he was here last year,” Lindland said. “He has had a year of training with elite athletes and traveling internationally. That’s what it takes. You have to put yourself in the right training environment, work hard there and then seek out the competition. G’Angelo loves competition and is a very coachable athlete. He just needs to continue to work on the discipline. He is getting better but the discipline in this sport reflects everything about your life onto the mat.
Lindland sees the stuff of a champion in this developing star.
“He is a young man with a huge potential and a lot of great attributes. I can see him improving very quickly and I am glad he is noticing his improvements already. He has a long way to go but he has a legitimate shot at a medal at the Junior World Championships this year. I am very confident about that,” said Lindland.
One of the best ways to improve discipline is battling top Senior athletes day-in and day-out and Hancock knows that it is necessary in order to reach his goals.
“It has been a grind,” Hancock said. “Everyone always talks about that college grind but we grind here too, just in a different way. Everyday it’s 9:00 a.m. practice then 4:00 p.m. practice then, on top of that, we are getting in our one-on-one with the coaches, working on specific moves. That grind with them forcing me and pushing me during that grind is allowing me to do well at these tournaments. Everyday I get the opportunity wrestle with Seniors and with that, you get tougher mentally. They are going to get you sometimes but you just have to accept that because working with these Seniors separates me from the Juniors and kids my age.”
Despite his youthfulness, Hancock has made incredible strides in his mental toughness and maturity this past year including recreating his own identity on the mat.
“It has been kind of a rebirth,” Hancock said. “At first there I was Tracy Hancock in high school. I had other things going on. I wasn’t as focused and not even close to doing the things I am doing now. Then I met my coach T.C. Dantzler and he changed my life around. He asked me for my full name one day and I replied ‘Tracy G’Angelo Hancock’ and he kind of looked at me and said ‘G’Angelo’ huh? Let’s use that.’ From then on I have used G’Angelo and I love it.”
“It is G’Angelo,” Lindland said. “That’s our guy. That’s the competitor. Tracy is the young 17 year old that showed up last year. G’Angelo is the mature guy who is more disciplined with his body position and his lifestyle. When he’s on the mat, it’s G’Angelo and when we are training, it’s G’Angelo but I don’t have any problem with him being a kid and being Tracy outside of the room and off the mat. However, with being a kid, he still has to make the right decisions.”
Dantzler, an Olympian in Greco-Roman who competed on the international level for many years, remains one of his coaches and was there at the Schultz today in his corner.
A year after being sent home early from the Schultz memorial and lacking discipline, Hancock has reached the finals and formed a new identity that world better be ready for.
“You don’t want to let G’Angelo out of the cage unless there is a mat nearby,” said Lindland.
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