Schultz Memorial Rewind: Greco star Dremiel Byers dominates event history with six golds and 11 medals
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Dremiel Byers of the U.S. Army lifts Nico Schmidt of Germany in the finals of the 2012 Dave Schultz Memorial International, on the way to his record sixth DSMI gold medal. Photo by Larry Slater.
Over the first 19 years of the Dave Schultz Memorial International, there have been numerous World and Olympic champions who have come from all over the globe to compete. Teams from Europe, Asia and South America have travelled thousands of miles to Colorado Springs, Colo. for high-level wrestling action, and helped celebrate the legacy of the late, great Dave Schultz.
The most successful athlete in the history of the Dave Schultz Memorial International only had to travel a few miles to compete in the tournament.
The athlete with the most success at the Dave Schultz Memorial was the U.S. Greco-Roman heavyweight legend Dremiel Byers of the U.S. Army WCAP program, stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., on the southern edge of Colorado Springs.
Byers won six Dave Schultz gold medals, the most of any athlete, regardless of style. In a span of 14 years, he claimed a total of 11 different Schultz Memorial medals, with four silver medals and one bronze medal added to the collection. Nobody else has been anywhere near that level of success at the Dave Schultz Memorial. That success does not surprise the coaches who have worked with him.
“Coaching would be a lot easier if Dremiels were a dime a dozen. He really became a student of the game and really utilized what he could do well at the heavyweight division. Once he really found out how to wrestle as a heavyweight, he started producing medals, one right after the other, almost every tournament he went to. I don’t think there is a tournament, outside the Olympic Games, that he has gone to that he hasn’t medalled at,” said U.S. Army WCAP coach Shon Lewis.
The first Dave Schultz Memorial International was held in Byers’ home gym, at the U.S. Army Post Field House at Fort Carson, where he made his first appearance in the finals. All of the rest of the Schultz tournaments were held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, where Byers turned Sports Center I into his own home field advantage.
“Byers did well competing at home, because, first of all, he was good. He was a very talented wrestler, very tough. For quite a few years, he dominated the heavyweight class for us. He was very talented in his style of wrestling,” said Steve Fraser, National Greco-Roman coach for most of Byers’ career.
Byers entered the Dave Schultz International often, because he and his Army teammates wanted to take advantage of having a quality international tournament on U.S. soil.
“With the tournament located in the United States, and away from Europe, we couldn’t let that tournament pass us by and not get in an international tournament in our own back yard. It was really a must-do tournament, not just for the international matches. We really looked forward to the Dave Schultz because we knew we didn’t have to get on the plane and have 16-17 hours travelling just to get a couple matches in. That was a highlight of our journey, wrestling in the Dave Schultz Tournament,” said Lewis.
In his gold-medal matches, he defeated four different American opponents Cory Farkas, Russ Davie (2x), David Arendt and Brandon Rupp and a tough German opponent Nico Schmidt.
His losses in the championship finals came only to wrestlers who were Olympic champions during their careers, 2000 Olympic champion Rulon Gardner of the USA (3x) and three-time Olympic champion Mijian Lopez of Cuba.
Byers is clearly one of the best Greco-Roman wrestlers in American history, a 2002 World champion, 2009 World silver medalist and 2007 World bronze medalist, in addition to a two-time Olympian. He wrestled at a very high level for a very long time.
“I was very fortunate to be his coach. He had a great run. Byers got a World medal in three different quads. He got one in 2002. He got one in 2007. He got one in 2009. Just to be relevant for that long is one thing. To be in medal contention, and getting medals, in three straight quads is Wow! Some of those things are overlooked. He went to a ton of international events. He did not shy away from competition,” said Lewis.
Byers also competed regularly in a dual meet tournament which was held a week prior to Dave Schultz on the U.S. soil. The event was initially called the Kit Carson Cup, where international teams came to the USA to wrestle in duals. First founded by the U.S. Army, the event developed into the Kiki Cup and later the Jack Pinto Cup, also held in Colorado Springs. With the dual event on the first weekend, followed by the Dave Schultz Memorial the next week, Byers and his American teammates got a bunch of quality matches in a short time frame.
“The Dave Schultz Memorial was one of the biggest things that helped us win in Greco. Not only did the Dave Schultz Cup bring in the foreign wrestlers, but also the Kiki Cup brought in four full foreign teams. Four of our top Americans got to wrestle the four foreigners in each weight. There were tons of matches there. Then other international people plus a big group of Americans came in four days later for the Dave Schultz. The main focus for me as National Coaches was getting the wrestlers all those matches for development. Then we trained with the foreigners for the week before the Kiki Cup and the week between the tournaments,” said Fraser.
Although he was big and he was quick, Byers was known for his ability to score points from the mat, something that is not common at the heavyweight class.
“He had a great lift. Heavyweights typically don’t deal with defending the straight lift much. He had a great gut wrench, the slam gut wrench that he perfected for quite a few years. He was a tough competitor,” said Fraser.
“His par terre was excellent. To get a guy who is upwards of 290 pounds lifting another human being that weighs that same amount, it is pretty amazing. And his par terre defense was outstanding. That was his go-to position. At the same time, Dremiel Byers could body lock. When he beat Lopez in the finals at the Pan Am Championships, he body locked him and pinned him. He can do a lot of things,” said Lewis.
When Byers would compete in the Dave Schultz finals, there would be a loud and active group of U.S. Army teammates cheering him on. Likewise, when another Army athlete was competing for a medal, Byers was one of the most vocal supporters in the arena. When Dremiel Byers was cheering for a teammate, his voice could be heard by everyone.
“That’s what the Black and Gold live by. We are a team. We are going to be a team if we get a loss; we are going to be a team when we get a win; we’re going to be a team if we get a split-decision. It doesn’t matter. We support each other in the wrestling room, at the tournament, during our down time. We are going to be a team and a family. They were happy to be there. They wanted to be there. If I said it was optional, the same amount of people would show up,” said Lewis.
Although his competitive career is over and Byers has retired from active duty, he has been hired as one of the coaches for the U.S. Army WCAP wrestling team, passing on his knowledge to a new generation of soldier-wrestlers.
“He is in charge of my upper weights. Pretty much from 85 kg to heavyweight, he is the go-to guy for that. That is somebody I have to have in the room. I want him in the room. He is good for the room. I would like to get Dremiel involved even more. That will help Greco-Roman,” said Lewis.
As USA Wrestling celebrates two decades of Dave Schultz Memorial International events this year, Greco-Roman heavyweight Dremiel Byers stands as the winningest wrestler in event history.
DREMIEL BYERS MEDAL MATCHES AT DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
2012 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S Army) dec. Nico Schmidt (Germany), 1-0, 1-0
2010 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. Brandon Rupp (New York AC), 1-0, 1-0
2009 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. David Arendt Jr. (U.S. Marines), 6-0, 1-1
2008 Gold Medal Match – Mijain Lopez (Cuba) dec. Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army), 1-1, 2-0
2007 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. Russ Davie (New York AC) 6-0, 1-1
2006 Bronze Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. Frank Workman (USMC), 4-0, 3-1
2005 Gold Medal Match – Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. Russ Davie (New York AC), 1-0, 1-0
2004 Gold Medal Match - Rulon Gardner (Sunkist Kids) ref. dec. over Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army), 2-1, ot, 9:00
2002 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) pin Corey Farkas (U.S. Air Force), 1:39
2000 Gold Medal Match - Rulon Gardner (Sunkist Kids) inj dft Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army)
1999 Gold Medal Match - Rulon Gardner (Sunkist Kids) dec. Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army), 4-0
Over the first 19 years of the Dave Schultz Memorial International, there have been numerous World and Olympic champions who have come from all over the globe to compete. Teams from Europe, Asia and South America have travelled thousands of miles to Colorado Springs, Colo. for high-level wrestling action, and helped celebrate the legacy of the late, great Dave Schultz.
The most successful athlete in the history of the Dave Schultz Memorial International only had to travel a few miles to compete in the tournament.
The athlete with the most success at the Dave Schultz Memorial was the U.S. Greco-Roman heavyweight legend Dremiel Byers of the U.S. Army WCAP program, stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., on the southern edge of Colorado Springs.
Byers won six Dave Schultz gold medals, the most of any athlete, regardless of style. In a span of 14 years, he claimed a total of 11 different Schultz Memorial medals, with four silver medals and one bronze medal added to the collection. Nobody else has been anywhere near that level of success at the Dave Schultz Memorial. That success does not surprise the coaches who have worked with him.
“Coaching would be a lot easier if Dremiels were a dime a dozen. He really became a student of the game and really utilized what he could do well at the heavyweight division. Once he really found out how to wrestle as a heavyweight, he started producing medals, one right after the other, almost every tournament he went to. I don’t think there is a tournament, outside the Olympic Games, that he has gone to that he hasn’t medalled at,” said U.S. Army WCAP coach Shon Lewis.
The first Dave Schultz Memorial International was held in Byers’ home gym, at the U.S. Army Post Field House at Fort Carson, where he made his first appearance in the finals. All of the rest of the Schultz tournaments were held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, where Byers turned Sports Center I into his own home field advantage.
“Byers did well competing at home, because, first of all, he was good. He was a very talented wrestler, very tough. For quite a few years, he dominated the heavyweight class for us. He was very talented in his style of wrestling,” said Steve Fraser, National Greco-Roman coach for most of Byers’ career.
Byers entered the Dave Schultz International often, because he and his Army teammates wanted to take advantage of having a quality international tournament on U.S. soil.
“With the tournament located in the United States, and away from Europe, we couldn’t let that tournament pass us by and not get in an international tournament in our own back yard. It was really a must-do tournament, not just for the international matches. We really looked forward to the Dave Schultz because we knew we didn’t have to get on the plane and have 16-17 hours travelling just to get a couple matches in. That was a highlight of our journey, wrestling in the Dave Schultz Tournament,” said Lewis.
In his gold-medal matches, he defeated four different American opponents Cory Farkas, Russ Davie (2x), David Arendt and Brandon Rupp and a tough German opponent Nico Schmidt.
His losses in the championship finals came only to wrestlers who were Olympic champions during their careers, 2000 Olympic champion Rulon Gardner of the USA (3x) and three-time Olympic champion Mijian Lopez of Cuba.
Byers is clearly one of the best Greco-Roman wrestlers in American history, a 2002 World champion, 2009 World silver medalist and 2007 World bronze medalist, in addition to a two-time Olympian. He wrestled at a very high level for a very long time.
“I was very fortunate to be his coach. He had a great run. Byers got a World medal in three different quads. He got one in 2002. He got one in 2007. He got one in 2009. Just to be relevant for that long is one thing. To be in medal contention, and getting medals, in three straight quads is Wow! Some of those things are overlooked. He went to a ton of international events. He did not shy away from competition,” said Lewis.
Byers also competed regularly in a dual meet tournament which was held a week prior to Dave Schultz on the U.S. soil. The event was initially called the Kit Carson Cup, where international teams came to the USA to wrestle in duals. First founded by the U.S. Army, the event developed into the Kiki Cup and later the Jack Pinto Cup, also held in Colorado Springs. With the dual event on the first weekend, followed by the Dave Schultz Memorial the next week, Byers and his American teammates got a bunch of quality matches in a short time frame.
“The Dave Schultz Memorial was one of the biggest things that helped us win in Greco. Not only did the Dave Schultz Cup bring in the foreign wrestlers, but also the Kiki Cup brought in four full foreign teams. Four of our top Americans got to wrestle the four foreigners in each weight. There were tons of matches there. Then other international people plus a big group of Americans came in four days later for the Dave Schultz. The main focus for me as National Coaches was getting the wrestlers all those matches for development. Then we trained with the foreigners for the week before the Kiki Cup and the week between the tournaments,” said Fraser.
Although he was big and he was quick, Byers was known for his ability to score points from the mat, something that is not common at the heavyweight class.
“He had a great lift. Heavyweights typically don’t deal with defending the straight lift much. He had a great gut wrench, the slam gut wrench that he perfected for quite a few years. He was a tough competitor,” said Fraser.
“His par terre was excellent. To get a guy who is upwards of 290 pounds lifting another human being that weighs that same amount, it is pretty amazing. And his par terre defense was outstanding. That was his go-to position. At the same time, Dremiel Byers could body lock. When he beat Lopez in the finals at the Pan Am Championships, he body locked him and pinned him. He can do a lot of things,” said Lewis.
When Byers would compete in the Dave Schultz finals, there would be a loud and active group of U.S. Army teammates cheering him on. Likewise, when another Army athlete was competing for a medal, Byers was one of the most vocal supporters in the arena. When Dremiel Byers was cheering for a teammate, his voice could be heard by everyone.
“That’s what the Black and Gold live by. We are a team. We are going to be a team if we get a loss; we are going to be a team when we get a win; we’re going to be a team if we get a split-decision. It doesn’t matter. We support each other in the wrestling room, at the tournament, during our down time. We are going to be a team and a family. They were happy to be there. They wanted to be there. If I said it was optional, the same amount of people would show up,” said Lewis.
Although his competitive career is over and Byers has retired from active duty, he has been hired as one of the coaches for the U.S. Army WCAP wrestling team, passing on his knowledge to a new generation of soldier-wrestlers.
“He is in charge of my upper weights. Pretty much from 85 kg to heavyweight, he is the go-to guy for that. That is somebody I have to have in the room. I want him in the room. He is good for the room. I would like to get Dremiel involved even more. That will help Greco-Roman,” said Lewis.
As USA Wrestling celebrates two decades of Dave Schultz Memorial International events this year, Greco-Roman heavyweight Dremiel Byers stands as the winningest wrestler in event history.
DREMIEL BYERS MEDAL MATCHES AT DAVE SCHULTZ MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL
2012 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S Army) dec. Nico Schmidt (Germany), 1-0, 1-0
2010 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. Brandon Rupp (New York AC), 1-0, 1-0
2009 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. David Arendt Jr. (U.S. Marines), 6-0, 1-1
2008 Gold Medal Match – Mijain Lopez (Cuba) dec. Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army), 1-1, 2-0
2007 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. Russ Davie (New York AC) 6-0, 1-1
2006 Bronze Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. Frank Workman (USMC), 4-0, 3-1
2005 Gold Medal Match – Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) dec. Russ Davie (New York AC), 1-0, 1-0
2004 Gold Medal Match - Rulon Gardner (Sunkist Kids) ref. dec. over Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army), 2-1, ot, 9:00
2002 Gold Medal Match - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army) pin Corey Farkas (U.S. Air Force), 1:39
2000 Gold Medal Match - Rulon Gardner (Sunkist Kids) inj dft Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army)
1999 Gold Medal Match - Rulon Gardner (Sunkist Kids) dec. Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army), 4-0
