By Heidi Pederson

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Florida native Chris Bono has long been one of the country’s top wrestlers. He was a 1996 NCAA champion for Iowa State University and has won two U.S. national freestyle titles, including the 2005 crown at 145.5 pounds. He will represent the U.S. in the 2005 World Championships, which start Monday in Budapest, Hungary.
The 31-year-old Bono has been an assistant wrestling coach at Iowa State University since 1997. Fans can follow his career through his website, www.chrisbono.com. He talked with the Star-Telegram two days before his departure for Hungary.

The last time you made a world championship squad, in 2002, the U.S. later pulled out of the meet (which was held in Iran) because of threats made to the U.S. team. How did you feel about missing out on that chance?

“It was crushing. We were ready to go, and we pulled out only two days before we were supposed to leave for it. As a competitor, I would have rather gone and taken my chances. But as an organization, USA Wrestling absolutely made the right decision. They have to look out for our best interests.”

Pat Galbincea
Plain Dealer Reporter

A lack of adequate space for weigh-ins and media seating were the main reasons Cleveland failed to attract the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships for the years 2008-2011.

The NCAA announced Wednesday that St. Louis will host the championships two years (2008-09) and that Omaha, Neb., (2010) and Philadelphia (2011) will be host cities for the first time in NCAA wrestling history.

Cleveland hosted the 1998 Division I Championships at the Cleveland State Convocation Center, when tickets were sold out in half an hour. The fact the city was not named left Dave Gilbert, director of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, crushed.

“I am very, very disappointed with their decision,” Gilbert said. “I’m going to talk to [NCAA Wrestling Committee chairman] Tom Bold this week because I felt we more than met all their criteria. Meanwhile, we’ll keep trying to get this tournament back here after 2011.”

Bold said he would encourage Cleveland officials to submit another bid when the committee entertains nominations for the years 2012-15.

Three Members of Wrestling Staff to Participate in 2005 World Championships

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The World Wrestling Championships, which begin Monday in Budapest, Hungary, will have a distinctive UTC flavor.

Three members of the UTC coaching staff are members of the USA Wrestling National Team, including Mocs’ Head Coach Joe Seay, who is one of two U.S. Freestyle coaches.

Two new UTC assistant coaches, Chris Bono and Sammie Henson, are competing next week as members of the U.S. National Team in the freestyle tournament.

Bono is the top-ranked U.S. wrestler at 66 kilograms (145.5 pounds) while Henson ranks first at 55 kilograms (121 pounds).

Bono, an NCAA Champion from Iowa State, is a three-time U.S. World Team member, a two-time U.S. Nationals Champion and a 2003 World Cup Gold Medalist.

Henson is a graduate of Missouri who won two NCAA titles while competing for the Tigers. He is a 1998 World Champion, a 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist and a three-time U.S. Nationals Champion.

If you’re a person who likes to plan for the future, this item is for you. Philadelphia will host the 2011 Division I wrestling championships at the Wachovia Center, from March 17 to 19, the NCAA announced yesterday.

This marks the 10th time the NCAA wrestling championships will be in Pennsylvania and the first time in Philadelphia.

“We think the Wachovia Center is a great facility and we think it will be great for the fans,” said Tom Bold, of the NCAA Wrestling Committee. “Floorwise, the Wachovia Center is the biggest facility [that made a bid] for getting media down on the floor close to the action.”

The Philadelphia Local Organizing Committee consists of Comcast-Spectacor, owner and operator of Wachovia Center, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Rider University and the Philadelphia Sports Congress.

Pennsylvania produced 53 of the 330 wrestlers who competed in the 2004 NCAA Division I championship

By Andy Elder
For the CDT

When St. Vincent St. Mary High School plays Walsh Jesuit High School tonight in an Ohio high school football game, Penn State assistant wrestling coach Matt Dernlan will be focused on No. 22.

Both of them.

That’s because No. 22 for St. Vincent St. Mary, senior Josh Rohler, is a future Penn State 157-pound wrestler and No. 22 for Walsh Jesuit, senior David Rella, is a future Penn State 165-pounder.

Rella then Rohler gave verbal commitments to coach Troy Sunderland’s team on successive nights this week.

The two Ohio standouts, who live just 10 minutes apart in the Akron suburbs, have known each other since seventh grade and competed together on a traveling team in eighth grade.

Rella and Rohler are nationally ranked Nos. 6 and 7, respectively, on InterMat’s Top 100 2005-2006 recruits list. Both possess an impressive wrestling resumé.

Rella is the top-ranked senior in the country by Wrestling USA Magazine. He was a FILA Junior National Freestyle runner-up and has twice been named an Asics Junior National Freestyle All-American.

Even Though He Planned to Redshirt During the 2005-06 Season, Buckeyes 197-Pounder Now Faces Uphill Battle Back From Injury Suffered This Summer

By Tim Goodenow – TWM Staff Writer
Please send comments, questions or replies to: info@thewrestlingmall.com

J.D. Bergman was poised to make another run at All-America status during the 2005 NCAA wrestling championships. His goal, like many others, fell short with an early exit following a 1-2 mark after day one.

It had undoubtedly been a long and tiring season for the Ohio State sophomore and Oak Harbor, Ohio native. He competed in 45 matches against the toughest wresters in the country and posted a 36-9 record.

Athletes’ bodies – no matter how powerful, fast and strong – do have its limitations. But for Bergman, he was mentally drained.

“The sport of wrestling is just as much mentally demanding as it is physically,” explained the 2004 NCAA All-American. “I was disappointed in how I finished the season because I hold high standards for my wresting. I put a lot of pressure on myself and my friends and family could see that. A few weeks after the season was over, I realized how much I could improve as a wrestler and even a person.”

STILLWATER, Okla. – Former Oklahoma State Wrestlers Muhammed Lawal and Daniel Cormier will compete for a world championship at the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, beginning Mon., Sept. 26.
Lawal took the title at the U.S. Senior Nationals and then won the finals at the World Team Trials to earn this opportunity. He does not have much international experience, but part of that is due to wrestling at the same weight class (84 kg/185 lbs.) as Cael Sanderson. Sanderson has not competed since he won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics. Lawal is a medal threat despite being a new face on the international scene.

At Oklahoma State, Lawal wrestled one season and finished third at the NCAA Championships in 2003. He began his collegiate career at Central Oklahoma before transferring to OSU.

Cormier has improved each year he has wrestled at the international level. He will be considered one of the favorites at 96 kg (211.5 lbs.). Cormier is coming off of a World Cup title in March, and he finished a disappointing fourth-place at the 2004 Olympic Games. The Russians have been a force at this weight class for the last few years.

Jeff Murphy/Cyclone Wrestling Club

Ames, Iowa – Steve Knight has recently been named Executive Director and Club Coach of the Cyclone Wrestling Club, the support arm for the Iowa State University wrestling program.

Knight’s duties as Executive Director will include building membership, sponsorship and coordinating special events for the Cyclone Wrestling Club. Knight will also work with wrestlers to continue their careers beyond college while training for international competition and expand the regional training site concept. Iowa State wrestling has been designated as an official USAW Regional Training Site.

“I’m excited to be back in Cyclone country and I’m honored and proud to be a part of this program again. I have great memories here. My wife and I are also pleased to be back around family,” said Knight this past week from the Iowa State campus.

“We feel fortunate to have the opportunity to hire someone with Steve’s experience and background, “ stated Jeff Murphy, Cyclone Wrestling Club president. “Coach Douglas and his staff are doing a great job of bringing the best wrestlers in the nation to Iowa State. Our top mission at the Cyclone Wrestling Club is to provide those wrestlers with the opportunity to pursue their post collegiate wrestling goals, and the addition of Steve Knight will help us to achieve that mission.

By KEILA SZPALLER
Tribune Staff Writer

Wyoming farm boy turned Olympic wrestler Rulon Gardner will be in Great Falls next month giving a talk for the Montana Farmers Union’s 90th annual convention.

“Because it’s our 90th, we really wanted to make it special,” said Executive Director Tracy Houck.

A MFU board member suggested bringing Rulon to the convention after listening to him give a rousing motivational talk.

Houck remembered watching Rulon beat the previously undefeated Russian wrestler Alexander Karelin for the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 in what is called one of the greatest upsets in wrestling history.

“They call it the miracle on the mat and that’s exactly what it was,” she said. “He went out on the mat and dominated from the minute he was there.”

When she found out he had a farm background to boot, she thought he would be a perfect fit for the farmers union — “Wow, hey, he’s our guy.”

The convention is one of the many ways Farmers Union reaches out to youth, and the athlete can relate to some. When he was young, he read slowly and had a hard time completing his homework, Houck said.

The bid to host the NCAA wrestling championships in Des Moines has been rejected, NCAA officials announced Thursday.

Instead, the three-day championship event will be held in St. Louis in 2008 and ’09, in Omaha in 2010, and in Philadelphia in 2011.

Officials said the Des Moines bid to host the event at the Wells Fargo Arena failed to meet the NCAA’s preference to have a minimum capacity of 16,000 seats. In addition, officials said construction of the arena hadn’t been completed at the time of the site visit by the NCAA wrestling committee.

“This was a very difficult decision for us among all five of the finalists,” Tom Bold, former chairman of the NCAA wrestling committee and an associate athletic director at Brown University. “Because the building was still under construction, it was difficult for us to envision how the building would look when completed.”

Iowa State University officials offered a $1.1 million guarantee, based on projected ticket revenues of $1.9 million or an average of more than 14,000 fans per session.

In July, NCAA officials named Des Moines as a host site for the first and second rounds of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in 2008. Eight teams will play in Des Moines from March 22-25.