AWL I preview at 61 kg: Tony Ramos (Team Dake) vs. Cory Clark (Team Taylor)
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by Andy Hamilton, TrackWrestling
Tony Ramos is fairly certain there’s an Xbox video game console packed away somewhere in his garage that belongs to Cory Clark.
It might be the one that Ramos took a few years back when he was policing Clark’s video game habits after they’d been roommates and teammates at Iowa. Then it again, it might be the one Clark purchased after Ramos confiscated the first Xbox.
“He went out and bought another one, so I had to go over and take that one and I had two of them at my house,” Ramos said with a laugh Wednesday while reflecting on his relationship with Clark. “After the season when it came time to give it back to him, I said ‘What do you want me to do with the other one.’ He said, ‘You can keep it and give it to A.J,’ (Ramos’ oldest son). I probably still have one of his Xboxes in my garage somewhere.”
Clark’s video game prowess became a subplot to his pursuit of a national title during his career with the Hawkeyes.
At one time, he was one of the highest-ranked Halo players in the world, but there were some inside the Iowa camp who wondered if that was hindering his quest to win an NCAA title.
“It was getting to be a distraction for him, sleeping wise, getting the right rest and doing some of the right things outside the room,” Ramos said. “Cory, when he does something, he goes all in. When he was playing his Xbox and it was Halo, he was all in and he wanted to be the best in the world. I remember when I took his Xbox I would come up, he’d be watching YouTube videos and just have his remote, he’d be practicing the moves they’d be doing to stay sharp with his skills.
“He wasn’t happy about (me taking the Xbox) at first. There were some conversations. I think he started to understand those conversations. I remember after he lost his junior year when he took second again (at the NCAA Championships), he told me I needed to take it all year long right from the beginning the year after that to make sure he was focused.”
Clark and Ramos are set to battle next week in the 61-kilogram bout at the inaugural American Wrestling League event at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. There’s much more than an Xbox at stake this time around.
Both wrestlers will receive $2,500 for wrestling on Nov. 30 in AWL I: The Beginning. The winner will pick up an additional $5,000.
The Clark-Ramos match is one of the most intriguing bouts on the card. They were teammates for two seasons at Iowa and key figures in the Iowa lineup in 2014 when Clark placed fifth at the NCAA Championships at 125 pounds and Ramos won an NCAA title at 133.
Ramos hung his national title bracket up in the hallway outside Clark’s room that spring. Three years later, Clark won a championship bracket of his own when he captured the 133-pound NCAA title.
“We were about the same things,” Ramos said. “We both wanted to win. We both wanted to be national champs and go out and dominate. We had the same mindset and I think it was good for both of us.”
Ramos said he would prefer to wrestle someone else next week, but this is the opponent in front of him.
“There’s a lot of different emotions when you go into it,” he said. “I’m excited about it. It’s another opportunity to compete. But at the same time, Cory is a guy I really like, a guy I helped mold, I guess I would say. We lived together, we broke bread together, we were brothers with each other, we still have a good relationship to this day.
“I’ve told a lot of people: If you’re looking for us to trash talk each other or get the normal how I would be before a match with the words out of my mouth, you’re not going to get that with Cory. That comes from not just I respect him, but I like him a lot. When it comes time to wrestle those six minutes, though, I’m going to have to give myself the same advice I gave our heavyweight (Cory Gilliland-Daniel) last week (when he wrestled his brother Brady): That’s not your brother out there. It’s not your best friend. It’s an opportunity to compete and I’m going to go out there and compete to the best of my abilities.”
Tickets for AWL I: THE BEGINNING can be purchased at www.americanwrestling.org
The event will be broadcast live by TrackWrestling
TEAM DAKE – 61 kg
Tony Ramos, Chapel Hill, N.C. (Sunkist Kids/Tar Heel WC)
College: Iowa
High School: Glenbard North (Ill.)
Born: Feb. 12, 1991
• Two-time U.S. World Team member (2014, 2015)
• Three-time U.S. Open champion (2015, 2017, 2018)
• Second in 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials
• Second in 2017 U.S. World Team Trials
• Second in 2018 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament
• Second in 2016 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier
• 2015 Grand Prix of Paris champion (2015)
• 2014 Canada Cup champion
• Fifth in 2009 Junior World Championships
• 2014 NCAA champion for Iowa and three-time All-American
• Three-time Illinois state champion
TEAM TAYLOR – 61 kg
Cory Clark, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC)
College: Iowa
High School: Pleasant Hill, Iowa (Southeast Polk)
Born: May 26, 1993
• Third in 2018 Ziolkowski Memorial International (Poland)
• Second in 2018 Grand Prix of Spain
• Second in 2017 SFU International (Canada)
• Fourth in 2013 University Nationals
• 2012 Junior Nationals champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman champion
• 2017 NCAA champion for Iowa and four-time All-American
• Four-time Iowa state champion
It might be the one that Ramos took a few years back when he was policing Clark’s video game habits after they’d been roommates and teammates at Iowa. Then it again, it might be the one Clark purchased after Ramos confiscated the first Xbox.
“He went out and bought another one, so I had to go over and take that one and I had two of them at my house,” Ramos said with a laugh Wednesday while reflecting on his relationship with Clark. “After the season when it came time to give it back to him, I said ‘What do you want me to do with the other one.’ He said, ‘You can keep it and give it to A.J,’ (Ramos’ oldest son). I probably still have one of his Xboxes in my garage somewhere.”
Clark’s video game prowess became a subplot to his pursuit of a national title during his career with the Hawkeyes.
At one time, he was one of the highest-ranked Halo players in the world, but there were some inside the Iowa camp who wondered if that was hindering his quest to win an NCAA title.
“It was getting to be a distraction for him, sleeping wise, getting the right rest and doing some of the right things outside the room,” Ramos said. “Cory, when he does something, he goes all in. When he was playing his Xbox and it was Halo, he was all in and he wanted to be the best in the world. I remember when I took his Xbox I would come up, he’d be watching YouTube videos and just have his remote, he’d be practicing the moves they’d be doing to stay sharp with his skills.
“He wasn’t happy about (me taking the Xbox) at first. There were some conversations. I think he started to understand those conversations. I remember after he lost his junior year when he took second again (at the NCAA Championships), he told me I needed to take it all year long right from the beginning the year after that to make sure he was focused.”
Clark and Ramos are set to battle next week in the 61-kilogram bout at the inaugural American Wrestling League event at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. There’s much more than an Xbox at stake this time around.
Both wrestlers will receive $2,500 for wrestling on Nov. 30 in AWL I: The Beginning. The winner will pick up an additional $5,000.
The Clark-Ramos match is one of the most intriguing bouts on the card. They were teammates for two seasons at Iowa and key figures in the Iowa lineup in 2014 when Clark placed fifth at the NCAA Championships at 125 pounds and Ramos won an NCAA title at 133.
Ramos hung his national title bracket up in the hallway outside Clark’s room that spring. Three years later, Clark won a championship bracket of his own when he captured the 133-pound NCAA title.
“We were about the same things,” Ramos said. “We both wanted to win. We both wanted to be national champs and go out and dominate. We had the same mindset and I think it was good for both of us.”
Ramos said he would prefer to wrestle someone else next week, but this is the opponent in front of him.
“There’s a lot of different emotions when you go into it,” he said. “I’m excited about it. It’s another opportunity to compete. But at the same time, Cory is a guy I really like, a guy I helped mold, I guess I would say. We lived together, we broke bread together, we were brothers with each other, we still have a good relationship to this day.
“I’ve told a lot of people: If you’re looking for us to trash talk each other or get the normal how I would be before a match with the words out of my mouth, you’re not going to get that with Cory. That comes from not just I respect him, but I like him a lot. When it comes time to wrestle those six minutes, though, I’m going to have to give myself the same advice I gave our heavyweight (Cory Gilliland-Daniel) last week (when he wrestled his brother Brady): That’s not your brother out there. It’s not your best friend. It’s an opportunity to compete and I’m going to go out there and compete to the best of my abilities.”
Tickets for AWL I: THE BEGINNING can be purchased at www.americanwrestling.org
The event will be broadcast live by TrackWrestling
TEAM DAKE – 61 kg
Tony Ramos, Chapel Hill, N.C. (Sunkist Kids/Tar Heel WC)
College: Iowa
High School: Glenbard North (Ill.)
Born: Feb. 12, 1991
• Two-time U.S. World Team member (2014, 2015)
• Three-time U.S. Open champion (2015, 2017, 2018)
• Second in 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials
• Second in 2017 U.S. World Team Trials
• Second in 2018 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament
• Second in 2016 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier
• 2015 Grand Prix of Paris champion (2015)
• 2014 Canada Cup champion
• Fifth in 2009 Junior World Championships
• 2014 NCAA champion for Iowa and three-time All-American
• Three-time Illinois state champion
TEAM TAYLOR – 61 kg
Cory Clark, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC)
College: Iowa
High School: Pleasant Hill, Iowa (Southeast Polk)
Born: May 26, 1993
• Third in 2018 Ziolkowski Memorial International (Poland)
• Second in 2018 Grand Prix of Spain
• Second in 2017 SFU International (Canada)
• Fourth in 2013 University Nationals
• 2012 Junior Nationals champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman champion
• 2017 NCAA champion for Iowa and four-time All-American
• Four-time Iowa state champion
