Wrestler Abas eager to get back
Olympic silver medalist looks to reboot career after major knee injury
By Jeff Faraudo, STAFF WRITER

On the heels of winning an Olympic silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Athens Games, former Bay Area resident Stephen Abas had another big year in 2005.

The James Logan High graduate, now 28, was named to the NCAA’s 75-year anniversary team, one of just 15 wrestlers in collegiate history to make the cut. He also moved up a weight class and defeated world champion Yandro Quintana of Cuba at a tournament on Quintana’s home turf.

Then came 2006, with lows to match the highs of the previous two years.

First, Abas tore ligaments in his right knee, requiring major surgery for the first time in his 20-year wrestling career. That wiped out his competition schedule for the entire year.

Then, in June, his alma mater Fresno State stunned the local community by terminating a wrestling program that was as successful as any on the West Coast. Abas became an elite-level wrestler at Fresno State, compiling a record of 144-4 and winning three NCAA titles.

Sussex Central standout wrestler Connor McDonald can go about this season with a little less to think about, as the two-time state champion made his college commitment on Monday night.

McDonald, of Rehoboth Beach, committed to Lehigh University, where he will be a member of the Mountain Hawks wrestling team.

Lehigh, located in Bethlehem, Pa., has a great wrestling tradition, and McDonald will follow in the footsteps of former Sussex Central alumnus Steve Bastianelli.

McDonald narrowed his offers down to Illinois, Stanford, Maryland, Penn, Indiana and Virginia Tech before selecting Lehigh.

McDonald began wrestling at five years old with the Rehoboth Beach Wrestling Club.

I remember his first tournament, when McDonald strolled into the lobby of Laurel High School tipping the scales at a mere 35 pounds soaking wet.

He blew through the competition that day winning the 8 and under 40-pound class.

McDonald has prepared his entire career, and by all means, deserves to be on his way to the Lehigh Valley.

With only two high school losses in his career, both during his freshman season, McDonald is eyeing his third state title.

Last summer he nailed down his second Junior National Championship.

The Batter’s Box and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans have teamed up for a second straight year to raise money for a local high school athletic program.

The Pelicans and Batter’s Box presented the Georgetown Athletic Booster Club with a check in the amount of $1,480 at halftime of the Georgetown-Carolina Forest football game earlier this month.

Last year the Batter’s Box and Pelicans made a donation to the Socastee athletic program.

They have also teamed to create the Pelicans High School Baseball Showcase at Coastal Federal Field, which is held each March.

The two-day, 14-team event allows area players the opportunity to play at Coastal Federal Field.

The Batter’s Box, located in Surfside Beach, is a locally owned sporting goods store that specializes in baseball and softball equipment.

The business can also be found online at www.aluminumbats.com.

Wrestling clinic

The AAU-North Myrtle Beach Wrestling Club will begin practice at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at the North Myrtle Beach High wrestling room.

Kids ages 4 and up are invited to join. If you are interested or have questions, call Mike LaPresto 215-3344 or Charlie Clay 399-9138.

I’m creating an amateur wrestling search engine and I need sites to add. They could be your site, your schools or your one favorite sites. Topics include amateur wrestling, martial arts, boxing and related topics.

Post your favorite site’s below or you can contribute here (Google Account Required)

Check out this intense training video from the U.S. Olympic Education Center. It’s just amazing what these wrestlers go though.

USOEC Intense Training Highlight video Greco Roman

Wrestling Footage from YouTube.

By DAN McCOOL
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

Ames, Ia. — Cael Sanderson won every time he wore an Iowa State singlet.

He won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at his only trip to the Summer Olympics, in 2004 in Athens, Greece.

So what can he do in his first season as the Cyclones’ coach?

No Iowa State wrestling coach has won an NCAA team title in his first season. Then again, no Cyclone freshman had won an NCAA championship until Sanderson won at 184 pounds in 1999.

The man who finished with an unprecedented 159-0 college record over four years, grabbed Olympic gold and ended up with his face on a Wheaties cereal box now is charged with returning Iowa State to the top of the NCAA Division I wrestling world - a place the Cyclones haven’t reached since coach Jim Gibbons led them there in 1987.

Though the answer won’t come for five months, Sanderson is excited for the chance to find out.

Sanderson was introduced by Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard the same day last spring that Bobby Douglas announced his resignation after 14 seasons. Joining Sanderson are his older brother Cody as associate head coach and Tim Hartung, who was an assistant at Iowa last season.

Michael Irving gave up a full-time teaching job to pursue his Olympic dream in wrestling.

The 1998 Boyd Anderson state champion was teaching at Clewiston High School and driving five days a week to coach and train with the Calvary Wrestling Club at Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale.

It wasn’t so much the driving or sleep deprivation. At 26, Irving wanted to devote full time to training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. He made the decision last year to quit his job, and on Christmas Day, packed up his Geo Prizm and drove to Colorado.

“The first month out there I am thinking, `What am I doing,’ and then the longer I was there I knew it was the right decision,” said Irving, who arrived home Thursday for a week to visit family and friends and raise money for training and travel expenses. He gave a clinic Saturday at Douglas. His younger brother Matthew wrestles for Plantation.

“I taught for three years while driving to practice back and forth for two hours,” said Irving, one of six kids. “I love and miss my students. I made a page of my former students on Myspace.com.

By: Dick Kelly

The Cael Sanderson era of Iowa State wrestling has officially begun.

Sanderson, who was named the Cyclones’ head coach last spring after Bobby Douglas stepped down, introduced his team Tuesday at wrestling media day and said the Cyclones have the potential to win the school’s first NCAA championship since 1987.

“This team is going to be real competitive with everybody,” Sanderson said. “We’ve got big plans, and we expect to win; we expect to win everything.”

Sanderson has reason to be optimistic. ISU returns three All-Americans in Trent Paulson at 157 pounds, Travis Paulson at 165 and Kurt Backes at 197. They could be joined in the starting lineup at 174 by either junior David Bertolino or senior Grant Turner and as many as six redshirt freshmen.”

“It’s going to be a good year,” Sanderson said. “The freshmen have been tested and are used to having pressure on them. The college season is different with tough competition week in and week out, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys and they’re ability and their excitement.

“They’re everything everyone has said they are. It’s going to be a great class.”

A new den
Wrestling complex helps PSU keep up with opposition
By Guy Cipriano

The Penn State Lorenzo wrestling complex practice facility. October 11, 2006.

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State junior 197-pounder Phil Davis has tried to put himself into the position of a 17- or 18-year-old recruit stepping into the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex for the first time.

Naturally, Davis sees banners of senior 174-pounder James Yonushonis, sophomore 133-pounder Jake Strayer and himself.

Yet there are many things that distract Davis from the images.

Like four flat-screen televisions inside the practice room. Like a lounge with plush navy carpet and leather furniture. Like bright lights, something few wrestling rooms feature.

“I can’t see a recruit coming in here and saying no,” said Davis, an NCAA finalist last season. “This pretty much forces you to say yes and want to come to Penn State. It’s just too overwhelming for a recruit.”

It might also be too overwhelming where recruiting and training needs are taking the sport.

Competition for recruits who have the potential to become the next Davis has convinced programs to construct gaudy facilities.

Another Take
Wrestling coaches go to the mat for one of their own

By Joe Cliffe

As the president of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA), I would like to submit this letter in support of Dennis Hastert, Illinois’ own and speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The IWCOA is the state organization that is comprised of over 1,000 wrestling coaches and officials in Illinois.

Denny Hastert has stepped up time and time again for wrestling. Now wrestling and Illinois needs to step up for Denny Hastert. The wrestling community, Illinois and the country must show it support for one of its biggest champions.

Denny Hastert is one of the finest people to ever hold membership in the wrestling community. He was a coach of the 1976 state high school championship Team at Yorkville in Illinois and helped to found the IWCOA. Denny is also a member of the IWCOA Hall of Fame. The United States Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum has recognized Speaker Hastert as a Distinguished Citizen. He has been directly involved in saving or reinstating nearly a dozen college wrestling programs. In spite of responsibilities of unimaginable number and scope as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, he has always found a way to come through for our sport.