The Three-Time NCAA Champion From West Virginia University Impresses, Will Work Out Again May 8

By Matt Krumrie – Senior Editor
Please send comments, questions or replies to: info@thewrestlingmall.com

On Saturday Adam “Pacman” Jones of West Virginia University was chosen with the sixth overall pick by the Tennessee Titans in the 2005 NFL Draft. The 5-9, 188-pound cornerback was the first defensive player taken and is expected be a cornerstone for a Titans secondary for years to come.

Jones represents West Virginia’s highest draft choice since running back Dick Leftridge was selected third overall by the Steelers in the 1966 draft, and he is only the sixth top-10 pick in West Virginia history and the eighth first-round selection.

Friday, another West Virginia University athlete named Jones took the first step towards a possible career in pro football. Greg Jones, a three-time NCAA wrestling champion for the Mountaineers, took part in a private workout with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jones said he worked out for about an hour and did a series of strength, speed and agility tests. Jones said he is not allowed to discuss specifics of the workout, such as his 40-yard dash time, but he came away feeling confident he performed well. The Steelers must have liked what they saw because Jones was invited back for another workout May 8th.

With A Number Of Elite Wrestlers Retired or Not Competing, Opportunity For Many New Faces to Emerge

By Andrew Hipps – Staff Writer
Please send comments, questions or replies to: info@thewrestlingmall.com

The 2005 Las Vegas/ASICS United States National Wrestling Championships will get underway Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The top seven place winners at this event qualify for the 2005 World Team Trials in Ames, Iowa, June 17-19.

Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown of the freestyle portion of the event. Check back for a preview of the Greco-Roman tournament and more event information tomorrow.

55 kg:

With 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist Stephen Abas expected to move up to 60 kg, and Teague Moore retired from international wrestling, it appears that Sammie Henson of the Sunkist Kids will be the overwhelming favorite to capture the title in this weight class. He finished runner-up at both the U.S. Nationals and U.S. Olympic Team Trials last year.

Emily Gatewood/Missouri Sports Information

Columbia, Mo. – Missouri wrestling Head Coach Brian Smith announced today that Pat McNamara has been hired as the newest Tiger assistant wrestling coach. McNamara enters the rising MU wrestling program after spending two years with the University of Virginia staff.

“Pat comes to Missouri with a lot of proven experience. He was a successful competitor in the Big 10 Conference and over the past four years he has combined his abilities on the mat with the knowledge he gained through working with the successful programs of Central Michigan and UVA.”

A 2001 graduate of Michigan State, McNamara was a three-time All-America wrestler at 133-pounds (1998, 2000, 2001) and compiled a 108-28 overall record. While competing in the Big 10 Conference, McNamara notched a 49-16 record and won the league title as a sophomore in 1999. McNamara was a four-time NCAA qualifier and ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation at 133-pounds during his junior season (1999-2000).

Upon graduation from Michigan State, McNamara spent two years at Central Michigan University working towards his master’s degree in sports administration and serving as a graduate assistant for CMU wrestling Head Coach Tom Borrelli. With his assistance, the Chippewas finished first in the MAC Championships (2003) and qualified seven NCAA grapplers for the 2003 NCAA Championships.

Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

Note: To nominate a wrestler for TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week, send the athlete’s name, accomplishments for the week and career accomplishments to John Fuller at jfuller@usawrestling.org

Adam Frey (Blairstown, N.J.) has been named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for the week of April 19-25.

Each week, TheMat.com will select an Athlete of the Week, based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling, from youth programs through the Senior level. The announcement will be made each week on Wednesday.

Frey was a double champion, winner of both the freestyle and Greco-Roman competition, at the Northeast Junior Regional Championships in Brockport, N.Y., April 22-24. Frey won the 140-pound division in both styles.

In freestyle, he was named Outstanding Wrestler in the tournament, after defeating Ryan Cubberly of Ohio in the gold-medal finals, 13-6. He also received the Most Falls award in the meet, with three falls in 4:28.

He was also the Greco-Roman champion, defeating Carl Breitenstein of New York in the finals by technical fall, 13-3.

Rulon Gardner named 2004 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

Rulon Gardner(Wellsville, Utah/Sunkist Kids) has been named the 2004 Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling. This is the fourth time Gardner has won this award (1997, 2000, 2001, 2004).

Gardner won a bronze medal at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. It was his second career Olympic medal, to go along with a gold medal won at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He became only the second American to win two career Olympic Greco-Roman medals, along with Dennis Koslowski (1988, 1992).

Gardner retired from wrestling after his 3-0 bronze-medal victory over Sajad Barzi of Iran, leaving his ASICS wrestling shoes on the center mat in a traditional wrestling retirement gesture. He left his shoes behind on the mat, tearfully waving to the applause of the crowd. The retirement tradition was captured on international television and by photographers and displayed to the delight of the world.

His quest for a second Olympic gold medal was shattered when he was upset by Georgi Tsurtsumia of Kazakhstan, 4-1 in overtime in the semifinals.

U.S. sets lineup for Pan Am Championships in Guatemala City, April 28-30
John Fuller/USA Wrestling

USA Wrestling has finalized its lineup for a men’s freestyle team at the 2005 Pan Am Championships set to be held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, April 28-30.

The team will include four NCAA All-Americans from 2005, including NCAA finalists Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis./Missouri) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Cole Konrad (Freedom, Wis./Minnesota) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

Askren, a sophomore at Missouri, has placed second at the last two NCAA Championships. He placed sixth at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in men’s freestyle. He recently placed second at the University National Championships.

Konrad, a sophomore at Minnesota, placed second at the NCAA Championships this year. He placed fourth in the NCAA in 2004. Konrad also placed sixth at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, but in Greco-Roman.

Also competing for the U.S. will be NCAA All-Americans Tom Clum (Arvada, Colo./Wisconsin) at 60 kg/132 lbs. and Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis./Missouri) at 74 kg/163 lbs.

Clum, a junior at Wisconsin, was a Big Ten champion in 2004, and placed third at the NCAA Tournament in 2005. He has qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times. He won a silver medal at last year’s Pan Am Championships.

Mike Mena was recently talking to a group of about 60 kids at a clinic in Ohio when it finally hit him.

He wasn’t known for his international wrestling success, where he is currently a U.S. National Freestyle team member at 55 kilos. He also wasn’t known as an assistant coach at Indiana, where he played a role in helping IU 125-pounder Joe Dubuque win a national title in March. He wasn’t known for playing a key part of three NCAA championship teams while becoming a four-time All-American at the University of Iowa. And the Sterling Heights native wasn’t known as the only four-time undefeated state champion in the history of Illinois prep wrestling, where he finished his career with a 157-0-1 record

Instead he was known as a member of the Iowa Stalkers, one of eight Real Pro Wrestling teams in the newly formed professional league. At the age of 31 and after spending a lifetime giving his blood, sweat and tears to a sport he loves, Mena was recognized as something he never dreamed: a pro athlete.

“It was amazing,” Mena said. “Kids brought in copies of episodes to autograph, I signed posters, and gave away a lot of RPW paraphernalia. That’s when it hit me that, hey, this is a pretty big thing.”

Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

Sara McMann (Lock Haven, Pa./Sunkist Kids) has been named the 2004 Women’s Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling. It is the first time that McMann has won this prestigious award.

McMann won the Olympic silver gold medal in women’s freestyle wrestling at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. at the Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. She was one of two U.S. women wrestlers to claim a medal during the Athens Games, and the highest placement of the U.S. women wrestlers. It was a historic performance as women’s freestyle wrestling was contested at the Olympic Games for the first time.

McMann was impressive in reaching the gold-medal finals, scoring pins in two of her first three bouts. In her opening match, she pinned 2001 World champion Lili Meng of China in 2:01. Her second bout was a 5-2 loss to Canadian Viola Yanik, but McMann’s pin over Meng allowed her to win the pool and advance. In the semifinals, she pinned Stavroula Zygouri of Greece in just 50 seconds, silencing the pro-Greek crowd and guaranteeing McMann a medal at the Olympics.

In the gold medal finals, facing her archrival, McMann lost a very close 3-2 decision to two-time World champion Kaori Icho of Japan.

Submitted by: Kimberly Moran

DATE: Sunday, May 1, 2005 (PAX TV)
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 (Fox Sports Net)

TELEVISION: PAX TV
Sunday 4-5 PM (Check Local Listings)

Fox Sports Net
Wednesday 3-4 PM (Check Local Listings)

WHAT: RealProWrestling (RPW) is a new professional sports league showcasing real Olympic-style wrestling. Show debuts March 27 on PAX-TV (8 episodes with a two hour championship final) and re-airs March 30th on Fox Sport Net (9 episodes all one hour long).

RealProWrestling Season 1 features eight teams from across the country with America’s top Olympic and NCAA champion wrestlers. The television broadcasts are one-hour shows with a different weight class each week. The final show would be a National Championship featuring Olympic, National and Collegiate Champions.

The sixth week will be the 211 lbs weight class. Athletes include:

Daniel Cormier – Two-time U.S. National champion (Oklahoma Slam) vs. Nick Preston – Two-time NCAA All-American (Pennsylvania Hammer).

Damion Hahn – Two-time NCAA champion (Minnesota Freeze) vs. Chad Lamer – 2002 World Cup silver medalist (Iowa Stalkers).

Garrett Lowney – 2000 Olympic bronze medalist (California Claw) vs. Ryan Tobin – Three – time NCAA All-American (Texas Shooters).

A former college wrestler, Joe Michael Burke, has a guest role on EYES, the new series on ABC (usually airing at 10PM), playing the character “Scott Ward”

I haven’t a clue as to how large his role will be, but at least he can be added to the actor list!

Guest Appearances for “Eyes” (2005)
Episode Five: “Trial” Episode: #1.5 – 27 April 2005 (airing this Wednesday!)
Episode Eight: “Shots” Episode: #1.8

Here’s his mini-bio on imdb.com:

Joe Michael Burke, was born Joseph Gerard Burke, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. He received a scholarship to the Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, where he also became a NCAA National Qualifier in Wrestling. Joe is an award-winning fine artist with original work in several renown private collections. Musician & guitarist, played in three bands. He has an Australian Shepherd named Gehrig, after Lou Gehrig. Owned a company with his brother Jim in Tempe Arizona, and was Editor in Chief of his College newspaper.