Final In the House Feature: Add Olympians Bisek, Chandler, plus Olympic referees and PA announcers to list
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Olympian and two-time World medalist Andy Bisek in Fargo. Photo by John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com
With the start of the Greco-Roman competition yesterday, there were some other big-name wrestling people who are involved with the classic style who may not have been around during the leg-grabber competition.
One of the popular and prominent people on the Fargodome floor is two-time World bronze medalist and 2016 Olympian Andy Bisek, who coaches the U.S. Olympic Training Site – Northern Michigan University Greco-Roman team. Bisek is not here to coach, per se, but is looking for the kind of talented athletes who are willing to commit to a full-time Greco-Roman focus while getting their college education. Well-known for his “stache,” Bisek is helping build the next generation of Greco Team USA stars.
Three-time Olympian and multiple-time Olympic and World Team coach Dan Chandler is one of those leaders who have been responsible for building our Greco-Roman program for decades. Chandler works with Minnesota USA Wrestling, coaches the Minnesota Storm and has been involved with U.S. teams competing at the Olympic, World and international level for generations.
Speaking of Olympians, there were a number of referees here in Fargo who have worked the Olympic Games: Rick Tucci, Dave Errett, Bill Stecklein, Sammy Julian and Stacey Davis.
There were three Olympic PA announcers in the Fargodome this week, Jason Bryant, Sandy Stevens and Ken Berger. Of the three, Sandy was the only on the mike, as Jason was working as a journalist and Ken was on the mats as a referee.
Over the last few days, we are still running into college coaches, both on the men’s side and the women’s side. The head coach of host North Dakota State, Roger Kish, said hello today. While he has been here all week, we hadn’t posted about him.
Women’s college head coaches Lee Miracle of Campbellsville and Kevin Corbett of Lyon also came up to visit. We also noted head coach Cory Ruff of NAIA power Lindsay Wilson who is with Team Tennessee, and also Oklahoma Wesleyan head coach R.J. Sweatt.
Assistant men’s college coaches Adam Hall of NC State, who is helping Team New York, Lindsey Wilson assistant coach Myron Bradbury of Lindsay Wilson, who is training wrestlers from Team Tennessee, plus Ethen Lofthouse of Utah Valley are some more assistants to recognize.
Added to the U.S. military wrestler list is U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lieutenant Stephanie Simon, who gave an inspiring speech prior to the Junior Women’s Nationals finals. Simon was a wrestler, and had competed in Fargo a number of years ago as a member of Team Washington. She talked about how her wrestler’s mentality made a big difference in her military career as well as in her approach to life.
Another U.S. Marine Corps wrestler, Sterling Reynolds, was one of today’s award presenters.
The coaching staffs are loaded with current Senior level athletes, to mention a few: Zane Richards (freestyle), Travis Rice (Greco-Roman), Alisha Howk (women) and more. Add a past National team member, Koral Sugiyama, who was working here as a journalist and Dom Bradley, who was here as a coach.
Young women wrestlers serving as coaches, including multiple age-group World team member Vayle Baker, one of the women’s coaches for Team Pennsylvania. Baker has been exposed to great coaching, both as a member of U.S. World Teams, but also as a student-athlete at Wyoming Seminary, a USA Wrestling elite developmental program, where she trains under Erin Tomeo and Adeline Gray. Baker, who wrestled in this tournament a year ago, was out there giving back to the next generation.
We also saw a bunch of USA Masters/Veterans wrestlers, who not only compete, but also serve as coaches and leaders. The list includes Chris Brown of Maryland, Steve Barkman of New Jersey, Rudy James of Minnesota, Bruce Moe of North Dakota and James Medieros of California.
The true heroes, the celebrities from Fargo, are the hundreds of volunteers who made this happen, including referees, pairing officials, table workers, security, state chairpersons, state leaders, team coaches and other team officials.
Of course, this is all about the wrestlers and families. We thank them for being part of USA Wrestling and this amazing event.
IN THE HOUSE SCOREBOARD (through Thursday)
Olympic champions: Cael Sanderson, Ben Peterson
Olympic medalists: Sammie Henson, Barry Davis, Brandon Paulson
World champions: Kristie Davis (2x), Sammie Henson, Les Gutches
Olympians: Andy Bisek, Dan Chandler, Eric Guerrero, Ike Anderson, Les Gutches, Eric Guerrero, Dan Dennis, Shawn Sheldon, Ben Askren, Tervel Dlagnev
World medalists: Andy Bisek, Donny Pritzlaff, Brandon Eggum, Leigh Jaynes, Tervel Dlagnev, Shawn Sheldon
World Team members: Dan Chandler, Diana Wesendunk Betanzo, Nick Simmons, Chris Bono, Michael Lightner, Brent Metcalf, John Oostendorp, Tony Ramos, Obe Blanc, Danny Felix, Nick Simmons, Shawn Bunch, Tom Erikson, Veronica Carlson, Shawn Sheldon
Olympic referees: Rick Tucci, Dave Errett, Bill Stecklein, Sammy Julian and Stacey Davis.
Olympic PA announcers: Jason Bryant, Sandy Stevens and Ken Berger.
NCAA Div. I head coaches: Roger Kish of North Dakota State, Cael Sanderson of Penn State, Neil Erisman of Little Rock, Roger Reina of Penn, Tony Ersland of Purdue, Tim Flynn of West Virginia, Angel Escobedo of Indiana, Roger Chandler of Michigan State, Brandon Eggum of Minnesota, Sean Bormet of Michigan, Sam Barber of U.S. Air Force Academy, Matt Storniolo of Northwestern, Alex Clemsen of Maryland, Chris Bono of Wisconsin, Damion Hahn of South Dakota State, Troy Steiner of Fresno State, Zach Tanelli of Columbia, Steve Martin of Old Dominion, Jeremy Spates of SIU-Edwardsville, Chris Ayres of Princeton.
Other division college men’s head coaches: Cory Ruff of Lindsey Wilson, R.J. Sweatt of Oklahoma Wesleyan, Tom Carr of Central Christian College, Kenny Kepley of Pratt Community College, Mike Denny of Maryville, Dalton Jensen of Nebraska-Kearney, John Oostendorp of Coe, Leo Kocher of the University of Chicago, Jim Moulsoff of Augsburg, Bruce Haberli of NYU, Link Davis of Emmanuel, Chuck Kearney of St. Mary, Tom Erikson of Lyon, Alex Radsky of Washington and Lee.
Women’s college head coaches: Lee Miracle of Campbellsville, Kevin Corbett of Lyon, Jason Moorman of King, Nick Goebel of Tiffin, Kristie Davis of Emmanuel, Cliff Cushard of Adrian, Brandy Green of Limestone, Carlene Sluberski of the University of Providence, Sam Schmitz of McKendree, Donnie Stephens of the University of the Cumberlands
Men’s college assistant coaches – Adam Hall of NC State, Myron Bradbury of Lindsey Wilson, Casey Cunningham of Penn State, Donny Pritzlaff of Rutgers, John Hughes of Lehigh, Trevor Brandvold of Minnesota, John Leonardis of Rutgers, Matt McDonough of Wisconsin, Chris Williams of Michigan State, Mike Dixon of Indiana, Kevin Beazley of Old Dominion, Luke Becker of Minnesota, Brent Metcalf of Iowa State, Chris Perry of Oklahoma State, Jon Reader of Wisconsin, Drew Headlee of Pitt, Josh Churella of Michigan, Cam Simaz of South Dakota State, Mason Beckman of George Mason, Bryan Pearsall of Penn, Cody Caldwell of South Dakota State, Cody Cleveland of the Citadel, Andrew Sorenson of Nebraska-Kearney, Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma State, Tervel Dlagnev of Ohio State, Obe Blanc of North Dakota State, Tony Ramos of North Carolina, Randy Pugh of Northern Iowa, Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, Derek St. John of Iowa State, Gabe Dean of Cornell, Mike Evans of Campbell, Derek Moore of California Baptist, Brad Dillon of Lehigh, Erkin Tadzhimetov of Utah Valley, Israel Silva of Fresno State.
Women’s college assistant coaches – Julia Salata of King, Dominic Adams of Adrian
RTC coaches – Nick Simmons, Eric Guerrero, Bryan Medlin, Ben Askren
NCAA champions, all divisions: Cael Sanderson, Casey Cunningham, Donny Pritzlaff, Barry Davis, Sammie Henson, Luke Becker, Matt McDonough Pat Smith, Chris Perry, Michael Lightner, Damion Hahn, Jared Lawrence, Chris Bono, Jon Reader, Brent Metcalf, Mark Munoz, Tony Ramos, Derek Moore, Joe Dubuque, Troy Steiner, Derek Moore, Jayson Ness, Ben Askren, Max Askren, Tervel Dlagnev,
WCWA champions – Kristie Davis, Natalia Hinojo,
Current or past National Team members – Koral Sugiyama, Dom Bradley, Richard Perry, Michaela Hutchison Schmitz, Na’Tasha Umemoto,
Past and current women’s college athletes: Natalia Hinojo, Megan Black, McKayla Campbell
MMA athletes – Kyle Crutchmer, Mark Munoz, Ben Askren, Shawn Bunch
Past and present U.S. Military wrestlers – Stephanie Simon, Sterling Reynolds, Chris Brown, Cohlton Rasche, Aaron Sieracki, Terrence Zaleski, Vaughan Monreal-Berner, Derek Moore
USA Masters/Veterans wrestlers - Chris Brown of Maryland, Steve Barkman of New Jersey, Rudy James of Minnesota, Bruce Moe of North Dakota, James Medieros of California
With the start of the Greco-Roman competition yesterday, there were some other big-name wrestling people who are involved with the classic style who may not have been around during the leg-grabber competition.
One of the popular and prominent people on the Fargodome floor is two-time World bronze medalist and 2016 Olympian Andy Bisek, who coaches the U.S. Olympic Training Site – Northern Michigan University Greco-Roman team. Bisek is not here to coach, per se, but is looking for the kind of talented athletes who are willing to commit to a full-time Greco-Roman focus while getting their college education. Well-known for his “stache,” Bisek is helping build the next generation of Greco Team USA stars.
Three-time Olympian and multiple-time Olympic and World Team coach Dan Chandler is one of those leaders who have been responsible for building our Greco-Roman program for decades. Chandler works with Minnesota USA Wrestling, coaches the Minnesota Storm and has been involved with U.S. teams competing at the Olympic, World and international level for generations.
Speaking of Olympians, there were a number of referees here in Fargo who have worked the Olympic Games: Rick Tucci, Dave Errett, Bill Stecklein, Sammy Julian and Stacey Davis.
There were three Olympic PA announcers in the Fargodome this week, Jason Bryant, Sandy Stevens and Ken Berger. Of the three, Sandy was the only on the mike, as Jason was working as a journalist and Ken was on the mats as a referee.
Over the last few days, we are still running into college coaches, both on the men’s side and the women’s side. The head coach of host North Dakota State, Roger Kish, said hello today. While he has been here all week, we hadn’t posted about him.
Women’s college head coaches Lee Miracle of Campbellsville and Kevin Corbett of Lyon also came up to visit. We also noted head coach Cory Ruff of NAIA power Lindsay Wilson who is with Team Tennessee, and also Oklahoma Wesleyan head coach R.J. Sweatt.
Assistant men’s college coaches Adam Hall of NC State, who is helping Team New York, Lindsey Wilson assistant coach Myron Bradbury of Lindsay Wilson, who is training wrestlers from Team Tennessee, plus Ethen Lofthouse of Utah Valley are some more assistants to recognize.
Added to the U.S. military wrestler list is U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lieutenant Stephanie Simon, who gave an inspiring speech prior to the Junior Women’s Nationals finals. Simon was a wrestler, and had competed in Fargo a number of years ago as a member of Team Washington. She talked about how her wrestler’s mentality made a big difference in her military career as well as in her approach to life.
Another U.S. Marine Corps wrestler, Sterling Reynolds, was one of today’s award presenters.
The coaching staffs are loaded with current Senior level athletes, to mention a few: Zane Richards (freestyle), Travis Rice (Greco-Roman), Alisha Howk (women) and more. Add a past National team member, Koral Sugiyama, who was working here as a journalist and Dom Bradley, who was here as a coach.
Young women wrestlers serving as coaches, including multiple age-group World team member Vayle Baker, one of the women’s coaches for Team Pennsylvania. Baker has been exposed to great coaching, both as a member of U.S. World Teams, but also as a student-athlete at Wyoming Seminary, a USA Wrestling elite developmental program, where she trains under Erin Tomeo and Adeline Gray. Baker, who wrestled in this tournament a year ago, was out there giving back to the next generation.
We also saw a bunch of USA Masters/Veterans wrestlers, who not only compete, but also serve as coaches and leaders. The list includes Chris Brown of Maryland, Steve Barkman of New Jersey, Rudy James of Minnesota, Bruce Moe of North Dakota and James Medieros of California.
The true heroes, the celebrities from Fargo, are the hundreds of volunteers who made this happen, including referees, pairing officials, table workers, security, state chairpersons, state leaders, team coaches and other team officials.
Of course, this is all about the wrestlers and families. We thank them for being part of USA Wrestling and this amazing event.
IN THE HOUSE SCOREBOARD (through Thursday)
Olympic champions: Cael Sanderson, Ben Peterson
Olympic medalists: Sammie Henson, Barry Davis, Brandon Paulson
World champions: Kristie Davis (2x), Sammie Henson, Les Gutches
Olympians: Andy Bisek, Dan Chandler, Eric Guerrero, Ike Anderson, Les Gutches, Eric Guerrero, Dan Dennis, Shawn Sheldon, Ben Askren, Tervel Dlagnev
World medalists: Andy Bisek, Donny Pritzlaff, Brandon Eggum, Leigh Jaynes, Tervel Dlagnev, Shawn Sheldon
World Team members: Dan Chandler, Diana Wesendunk Betanzo, Nick Simmons, Chris Bono, Michael Lightner, Brent Metcalf, John Oostendorp, Tony Ramos, Obe Blanc, Danny Felix, Nick Simmons, Shawn Bunch, Tom Erikson, Veronica Carlson, Shawn Sheldon
Olympic referees: Rick Tucci, Dave Errett, Bill Stecklein, Sammy Julian and Stacey Davis.
Olympic PA announcers: Jason Bryant, Sandy Stevens and Ken Berger.
NCAA Div. I head coaches: Roger Kish of North Dakota State, Cael Sanderson of Penn State, Neil Erisman of Little Rock, Roger Reina of Penn, Tony Ersland of Purdue, Tim Flynn of West Virginia, Angel Escobedo of Indiana, Roger Chandler of Michigan State, Brandon Eggum of Minnesota, Sean Bormet of Michigan, Sam Barber of U.S. Air Force Academy, Matt Storniolo of Northwestern, Alex Clemsen of Maryland, Chris Bono of Wisconsin, Damion Hahn of South Dakota State, Troy Steiner of Fresno State, Zach Tanelli of Columbia, Steve Martin of Old Dominion, Jeremy Spates of SIU-Edwardsville, Chris Ayres of Princeton.
Other division college men’s head coaches: Cory Ruff of Lindsey Wilson, R.J. Sweatt of Oklahoma Wesleyan, Tom Carr of Central Christian College, Kenny Kepley of Pratt Community College, Mike Denny of Maryville, Dalton Jensen of Nebraska-Kearney, John Oostendorp of Coe, Leo Kocher of the University of Chicago, Jim Moulsoff of Augsburg, Bruce Haberli of NYU, Link Davis of Emmanuel, Chuck Kearney of St. Mary, Tom Erikson of Lyon, Alex Radsky of Washington and Lee.
Women’s college head coaches: Lee Miracle of Campbellsville, Kevin Corbett of Lyon, Jason Moorman of King, Nick Goebel of Tiffin, Kristie Davis of Emmanuel, Cliff Cushard of Adrian, Brandy Green of Limestone, Carlene Sluberski of the University of Providence, Sam Schmitz of McKendree, Donnie Stephens of the University of the Cumberlands
Men’s college assistant coaches – Adam Hall of NC State, Myron Bradbury of Lindsey Wilson, Casey Cunningham of Penn State, Donny Pritzlaff of Rutgers, John Hughes of Lehigh, Trevor Brandvold of Minnesota, John Leonardis of Rutgers, Matt McDonough of Wisconsin, Chris Williams of Michigan State, Mike Dixon of Indiana, Kevin Beazley of Old Dominion, Luke Becker of Minnesota, Brent Metcalf of Iowa State, Chris Perry of Oklahoma State, Jon Reader of Wisconsin, Drew Headlee of Pitt, Josh Churella of Michigan, Cam Simaz of South Dakota State, Mason Beckman of George Mason, Bryan Pearsall of Penn, Cody Caldwell of South Dakota State, Cody Cleveland of the Citadel, Andrew Sorenson of Nebraska-Kearney, Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma State, Tervel Dlagnev of Ohio State, Obe Blanc of North Dakota State, Tony Ramos of North Carolina, Randy Pugh of Northern Iowa, Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, Derek St. John of Iowa State, Gabe Dean of Cornell, Mike Evans of Campbell, Derek Moore of California Baptist, Brad Dillon of Lehigh, Erkin Tadzhimetov of Utah Valley, Israel Silva of Fresno State.
Women’s college assistant coaches – Julia Salata of King, Dominic Adams of Adrian
RTC coaches – Nick Simmons, Eric Guerrero, Bryan Medlin, Ben Askren
NCAA champions, all divisions: Cael Sanderson, Casey Cunningham, Donny Pritzlaff, Barry Davis, Sammie Henson, Luke Becker, Matt McDonough Pat Smith, Chris Perry, Michael Lightner, Damion Hahn, Jared Lawrence, Chris Bono, Jon Reader, Brent Metcalf, Mark Munoz, Tony Ramos, Derek Moore, Joe Dubuque, Troy Steiner, Derek Moore, Jayson Ness, Ben Askren, Max Askren, Tervel Dlagnev,
WCWA champions – Kristie Davis, Natalia Hinojo,
Current or past National Team members – Koral Sugiyama, Dom Bradley, Richard Perry, Michaela Hutchison Schmitz, Na’Tasha Umemoto,
Past and current women’s college athletes: Natalia Hinojo, Megan Black, McKayla Campbell
MMA athletes – Kyle Crutchmer, Mark Munoz, Ben Askren, Shawn Bunch
Past and present U.S. Military wrestlers – Stephanie Simon, Sterling Reynolds, Chris Brown, Cohlton Rasche, Aaron Sieracki, Terrence Zaleski, Vaughan Monreal-Berner, Derek Moore
USA Masters/Veterans wrestlers - Chris Brown of Maryland, Steve Barkman of New Jersey, Rudy James of Minnesota, Bruce Moe of North Dakota, James Medieros of California
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