By Sandy Stevens

Like the lead character in a drama, Henry Priest declares, “Wrestling saved my life.”

The camera then pans a series of scenes: the premiere at the May 2007 Cannes Film Festival of a Priest-produced film, “American Identity,” a story of two soldiers affected by Sept. 11; the 37-year-old Californian developing sports-related films as executive producer of productions for the National High School Coaches Association; audiences intent on Priest’s inspiring tale at leadership and motivational workshops.

Turn your attention now to the flashback.

Along with an older sister and two younger brothers, Priest was born and reared in East Los Angeles, an area, he says, “pretty much known to have a large population of gang members.” In fact, for three generations, his family members and friends had succumbed to the pressure to join local gangs.

Though Priest resisted, he recalls, “I had all this negative energy piled up. I was this angry kid.”

Then during Priest’s junior year at Schurr High School in Montebello, the wrestling coach sought him out. “I was recruited because I was this tiny, tough kid,” Priest says. “I competed at 98 pounds my senior year.”

[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania] The highly anticipated wrestling movie “VERITAS” will screen during the South Side Film Festival at the Lehigh University Campus in the Packard Lab Auditorium on Thursday, June 21st, at 7pm and on Saturday, June 23rd at 2pm. (200 W. Packer Ave. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)

VERITAS means Righteousness, Truth and Integrity… For three time NCAA All American Wrestler, Jon Trenge, it’s a reminder for him to do the right thing. Veritas is a feature-length film documenting Lehigh University’s 2004-2005 wrestling team and the story of Jon Trenge, who strives to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a National Wrestling Champion for his hometown school. Jon’s freshman season is cut short when doctors discover an eye condition so serious that he is told he should never wrestle again or risk losing his eyesight permanently. Jon refuses to accept his doctor’s warning and is determined to find a way to wrestle. After undergoing five eye surgeries, he wears homemade protective goggles designed by his father and nearly achieves his goal his sophomore and junior seasons losing in the National Finals.

Courtesy of Tom Fox
Sports Editor, Lock Haven Express

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Sitting in his office at Thomas Fieldhouse, head wrestling coach Rocky Bonomo talks about each one of the athletes in his current recruiting class.

As he describes each young man, he talks with pride about what each person could mean to the Lock Haven University wrestling program.

Not only does he talk about their high school accomplishments, but about the athlete as a person. He talks about the traits, maybe about their families.

When asked to sum up the Bald Eagles 2007 recruiting class, Bonomo doesn’t have to think twice.

“This is potential-wise, credential-wise, one of the best we’ve ever had,” said Bonomo. “Our staff worked hard on finding these kids. I honestly believe many of them will be impact athletes.”

“This class is deep and very talented. It’s going to be exciting.”

Bonomo released a list of 12 recruits which have committed to the university. Three separate states are represented in the class: Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan.

With each one comes something different.

Some bring a high national ranking, like Allegan High School’s Dan Craig or Southern Regional’s Luke Lanno.

Oklahoma State returns to schedule; Lions host seven duals against nation’s best

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; — The Penn State wrestling team is celebrating 100 years of wrestling this season and once again faces one of the nation’s toughest schedules. Head coach Troy Sunderland has announced the 2007-08 Nittany Lion wrestling schedule and Penn State will host seven outstanding duals. The Nittany Lions also meet Oklahoma State for the first time since 1999-2000.

Penn State will take part in 14 regularly scheduled matches and once again take part in the National Duals in January. In addition to a stunning slate of dual match action, Penn State will once again host Wrestle-Offs and take part in the Nittany Lion Open. The schedule once again concludes with the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championships in March.

The season begins in earnest on Sunday, Nov. 4, when Penn State hosts Wrestle-Offs in Rec Hall at 1 p.m. The annual event then gives Penn State a week to get ready for the season opener as the Maryland Terrapins visit Penn State on Sunday, Nov. 11, in a 1 p.m. match-up. Less than a week later, national power and Eastern rival Hofstra comes to Penn State for a 1 p.m. dual on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Bring On the World

The son of former illegal immigrants, 20-year-old Henry Cejudo has
overcome hardship to become the youngest U.S. wrestling champion in
decades. Now he wants to be the best on the planet.

Cejudo, who won his first senior national title last year as a a high
schooler, beat Nick Simmons in April to repeat as champ.

By Mark Beech

The long, low-slung wrestling room at the U.S. Olympic Training
Center in Colorado Springs is not a welcoming space. There are no
windows or air conditioning. Sweat streaks not only the mats but also
the padding on the walls. During a typical two-hour practice session
for the men’s freestyle team, when the activity of roughly 30
wrestlers pushes the temperature well over 80°, the atmosphere gets
downright ripe. The only sounds, besides the commands of coaches, are
the grunts of combatants, the thuds of falling bodies and the
occasional yelps of pain. It is a room in which the weak don’t stand
a chance.

Highland Park wrestlers face one-year suspension because Washington
was at an outstate meet.

Terry Foster / The Detroit News

HIGHLAND PARK — There’s a showdown brewing in Michigan high school
sports this week — and it has nothing to do with the baseball,
softball and soccer tournaments.

On Wednesday morning, representatives of Highland Park High School
square off against the Executive Committee of the Michigan High
School Athletic Association.

The MHSAA has demanded Highland Park suspend wrestling coaches Glen
Washington and Jamar Whitfield for one year because of their
participation in a non-sanctioned meet in Virginia. If not, the MHSAA
has threatened, Highland Park wrestlers will be banned from next
season’s team and individual state tournaments. Furthermore, Highland
Park’s membership in the MHSAA could be suspended, effectively
shutting all teams out of postseason play.

Highland Park officials, in turn, are seeking a change to MHSAA rules
and threatening legal action.

“If they want a fight, they got one,” Highland Park school board
president Robert Davis said.

MHSAA communications director John Johnson said Highland Park still
would be eligible to participate in regular-season competition. He
said other schools have been banned from tournaments, but could not
provide documentation.

Proposal Would Cut 2 H.S. Wrestling Weight Classes

(AP) Minneapolis In a desperate move to save some high school wrestling teams, the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association has proposed cutting the number of weight classes from 14 to 12.

The proposed change, brought up by coaches, would help smaller schools that don’t have enough wrestlers to fill all the weight classes.

“It seems strange to think of coaches, who are the custodians of the sport, wanting to cut back,” said Elk River coach John Peterson, a past president of the coaches association. “In a way, it almost seems like the contraction deal that the Twins went through several years ago. But this is coming from the guys in the trenches who don’t have the numbers, who say, ‘Help me, please.”‘

Forfeits can be a normal part of matches if teams don’t have enough wrestlers. Those in favor of the plan would rather see each team in the state lose two weights, rather than entire teams disappear as they form cooperative agreements with neighboring schools.

Patrick McNamara, who has been connected to several top NCAA Division I programs, has been named the new head coach for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville wrestling.
McNamara joins a wrestling program about to take the next step. SIUE will be in its final year of NCAA Division II wrestling in the 2007-08 season and will begin competing at the NCAA Division I level in the 2008-09 season.

“I am honored and excited to be the next head coach at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. This program has a tremendous amount of support from the community and alumni. SIUE has a tradition of outstanding wrestling, and I look forward to continuing the tradition as we make the transition to Division I,” said McNamara.

The new Cougar head coach has been at the University of Missouri since 2005. He was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Missouri, which placed third at the 2007 NCAA Division I Championships. McNamara held a similar position at the University of Virginia from 2003-05.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., — Imperia Entertainment, Inc. (Pink Sheets: IPEI) announced today that Judge David O. Carter has denied James Hergott’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction against the company and Never Submit, LLC. “In order for an injunction to issue, Hergott has to show there is a reasonable likelihood he would prevail on the merits of his case and that he would suffer irreparable injury if the production were not stopped. The fact that the order has been denied says that he has failed to make these showings,” said Kenneth Eade, company Chairman. This means that production on “Never Submit” is full speed ahead,” he added.

In its opposition, the company pointed out the fact that Hergott cannot claim a copyright infringement for the story and script of “Never Submit,” because, in return for Imperia producing the picture, Hergott, in writing, assigned all of his right, title and interest to the story and the script in exchange for 15% of the adjusted gross proceeds of the picture as well as 15% of any merchandising revenues received. Hergott submitted his first draft of the script to Imperia while President of the company, and Imperia developed the script and covered all the costs of development, pre production, auditions and travel, that Imperia’s Chairman and Creative Director rewrote virtually all of the dialogue in the script, and that Don Dunn, the current director, and Imperia’s production team have since made extensive revisions to it.

With his family looking on, teacher Vance Reid thanks Mason High students and school staff for the gift of a wheelchair-accessible van.

MASON – More than 2,100 Mason High School students and staff gave teacher Vance Reid and his family a standing ovation this morning as the family’s new, wheelchair-accessible van rolled into Dwire Stadium.

Reid, whose 9-year-old daughter suffers birth defects and is wheelchair bound, was surprised earlier this week when he learned that a secret school fund-raising campaign started just last week had raised more than $51,000 to buy the new van.

“I had no idea and I don’t know what to say,” said the tearful history teacher as he thanked the cheering crowd. “What you people have done … our family is so grateful and we’ll never be able to repay you.”

Reid, who is also Mason’s wrestling coach, had mentioned in what he thought was a private conversation with a fellow staffer two weeks ago that his family was having problems paying for a van renovation that would allow them to transport his daughter Jordan. That staffer started the fund-raising campaign, which generated more than $51,000.