Boilermaker wrestlers lend hand with community projects
West Lafayette, IN
By Tanner Lipsett
Purdue University Sports Information

The Purdue University wrestling team did its part to make the world a better place this summer as they helped out with a variety of community service projects, both here in West Lafayette and in other venues of the country.

One project for nearly half of the team was the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon presented by Purdue Television and Multimedia Production Services, Purdue Broadcast Network Services and WLFI-TV 18. The telethon was especially successful this year, raising a record total of $290,000.
“It’s great for us to be able to give back some,” said sophomore Justin Fraga. “With all of the opportunities and resources that Purdue provides us, the wrestling team was excited about helping out with such a great cause. We’re just happy to be able to do our part.”

Assistant Coach Tom Erikson represented the Boilermaker wrestling program for the second straight year at the annual Catch-A-Dream outdoor recreational event, presented by the Colusa Indian Community’s Outdoor Adventures program in Colusa, Calif. The event was organized to provide a recreational weekend getaway for children and their families who are battling life threatening illnesses or disabilities. Erikson was one of many celebrity guests at the event along with former professional wrestler and movie actor Bill Goldberg, movie and television actor Jim Cody Williams and professional mixed martial arts fighters Gary Goodridge and Don Frye.

Winning conference championships, becoming an All-American and national champion can help determine what makes a college wrestler successful. However, is that the only true mark of what makes a wrestler good? A number of factors play into deciding what makes a wrestler good, and what makes one’s career better than another. What formula do you use to determine who had a good career or was a good collegiate wrestler? Read below – and then decide.

By Stephen Stonebraker – TWM Freelance Writer

A graduated wrestler who will remain unnamed looked back on his career as a NCAA Division I wrestler, and said, “I wasn’t any good.”

He feels that because of his lack of credential accomplishments he cannot consider himself a good wrestler. There was always someone better than him at his weight all four years he tried to make varsity, and he never got to compete.

As caring and understanding fans, we often try and sugarcoat issues, to try and avoid hurt feelings. We try and assure a wrestler who fell short of his lofty goals that he was indeed good, but for some reason things just weren’t meant to fall into place. Watching a young man with feelings of un-fulfillment, a subjective question, is left unanswered. If the wrestler truly wasn’t any good, as he told me, then what makes a good wrestler?

Johny Hendricks

By Jenni Carlson
Staff Writer
Willie Gunter wants to be a mixed martial arts fighter when he grows up.

He already has a nickname picked out — “The Beast.”

He has a way to reach his dream, too.

Wrestling.

Already a winner of two state wrestling titles at Midwest City High, Gunter would hardly be the first wrestler to transition into the combat sport that has taken the country by storm. Fact is, mixed martial arts and its major league, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, have former wrestlers to thank for the surge in popularity.

And with college greats like Johny Hendricks and Jake Rosholt joining the ranks, wrestling might just supply mixed martial arts’ next generation of stars.

Today’s NCAA champs could be tomorrow’s MMA celebrities.

“It’s like the NBA is to college basketball. It’s like the NFL is to college football,” said Ted Ehrhardt, who manages Hendricks and Rosholt, both multiple national champions at Oklahoma State. “This is going to be what it is for college wrestling.”

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC as it’s known by millions, is the pro league that wrestlers have never had.

Vering second at World Championships

Five victories on Tuesday propelled Howells, Neb., native Brad Vering into the championship finals at the 2007 World Wrestling Championships, but Russian Aleksey Mishin proved to be too much at 84kg. Vering picked up his first world medal and qualified the U.S. at the weight class for the 2008 Olympics. For more information, news, notes and photos from the worlds, click more.
More…

Minneapolis, MN – The School of Champions announces Cole Konrad as the Director for 2007. Konrad, the two-time NCAA National Champion and three-time Big Ten Champion for the University of Minnesota takes over the supplemental training program in its fifth year.

In addition, several University of Minnesota wrestlers will take part in the instruction of training sessions. The School of Champions begins September 16th with evening sessions available to ages 6-18 concluding November 22nd.

The School of Champions is prior to the regular wrestling season. Sessions will consist of intense pre-season training once or twice a week so you will be in shape and ready to go when your wrestling season begins. Training sessions consist of running, technique, hard wrestling and weight training. The School of Champions will increase your physical capabilities, develop your timing, teach you proper weight management techniques, video critiquing, mental training and goal setting for the upcoming season.

Youth
Dates: Thursday nights September 20th-November 15th
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm
Location: University of Minnesota Wrestling Room
Ages: 6-12 years of age
Cost: $100
Description: Structured for development of technical aspects of wrestling for elementary age athletes.

Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
ANTALYA, TURKEY – The United States had a dominant performance at the historic first World Grappling Championships, sweeping all nine gold medals in the final event of the World Wrestling Games in Antalya, Turkey, September 9.

Capturing gold medals in the women’s division were Lisa Ward (Lacey, Wash./United Fight Team) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., Felicia Oh (Tarzana, Calif./JJ Machado/BJMUTA) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Tara LaRosa (Woodstown, N.J./unattached) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. and Valerie Worthington (Whittier, Calif./New Breed/Hollywood Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.

Capturing gold medals in the men’s division were Darren Uyenoyama (South San Francisco, Calif./Fogtown Jiu Jitsu) at 62 kg/136.5 lbs., Ricky Lundell (Orem, Utah/Pedro Sauer Team) at 70 kg/154 lbs., Don Ortega (Albuquerque, N.M./No Limits) at 80 kg/176 lbs., Malcolm Havens (Parker, Colo./Grapplers Edge) at 92 kg/202.5 lbs. and Jeff Monson (Coconut Creek, Fla./Victory Athletics) at 125 kg/275 lbs.

All nine World champions captured gold medals at the USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials in Las Vegas, Nev. in June.

The USA won 21 medals out of a possible 35 medals in the event. Included was a sweep of all four medals at the men’s 92 kg/202.5 lbs. division. In convincing terms, the USA has set the bar for the rest of the world in international Grappling competition.

Mark Palmer, Staff Writer
mark@revwrestling.com
Wrestling, considered to be the oldest sport, has a new brother, the sport of Grappling.

Earlier this year, Grappling was officially sanctioned by FILA, the organizing body that oversees various forms of international wrestling competition. USA Wrestling quickly followed suit. The very first world championship in Grappling took place in early September in Turkey … with the US team sweeping all nine gold medals.

Grappling 101

Although a new sport, amateur grappling can trace its roots back to long-standing forms of martial arts.

Jason Townsend, one of the coaches for the US World Grappling team — and the one responsible for writing the official FILA World Grappling Committee rulebook for the amateur sport of Grappling — describes grappling as “a hybrid between various wrestling styles and jiu-jitsu — a blend of wrestling and other martial arts.”

“Grappling is a form of submission wrestling,” says Townsend. “There’s no fall. In that regard, Grappling is like jiu-jitsu. Points are scored for a side mount — putting your opponent on their back, similar to nearfall points in amateur wrestling.”

By Jeff Chaney

The Grand Rapids Press Jake Bohn said it was a trip to remember, and one that will help him in the future.

The East Kentwood senior wrestler recently returned from Antalya, Turkey, where he competed for Team USA in the World Tournament from Sept. 7-9.

Bohn wrestled in three submission styles at the tournament, Sombo, Beach Style and Grappling, taking fifth place at 145 pounds in Sombo and Beach Style and a bronze medal in Grappling.

“This was the first time I’ve wrestled overseas, and it was pretty awesome,” Bohn said. “It was quite an experience. There were a lot of different aspects to the trip. I’ve never done Beach Wrestling before, that was my first time doing that, so it was interesting. The competition was very good. There were a lot of different countries, and everybody was very nice.”

All three styles are different from what Bohn competes in at East Kentwood.

“Sombo and Grappling are submission wrestling,” Bohn said. “There are no pins, you just work for submissions, so it is different.”

A special honor ceremony is slated for halftime of the football game between No. 18-ranked Wartburg and Buena Vista Saturday, Sept. 15, as Wartburg College head wrestling coach Jim Miller receives Amateur Wrestling News’ Man of the Year award.

Miller was named the 2007 recipient last March after his Knights rolled up their13th first or second place national tournament finish in the last 15 seasons. The 2007 squad also continued impressive strings of having at least one All-American in 20 straight national tourneys, three-or-more All-Americans in 17 straight national meets, and earning at least one individual title in five straight national championships.

“It’s a very high honor,” Miller said. “Amateur Wrestling News has set the standard for coverage of all levels of the sport. With that said, to be at a small college and get this award is very prestigious. I feel like I’m helping represent NCAA Division III and its great coaches with this.

“Obviously, this wouldn’t have come my way without the help of so many great assistants and athletes this past year and in previous seasons helping set a high standard for Wartburg wrestling,” he added. “It’s a reflection on our program and where it’s at in relation to the rest of the country.”

Baku, AZE
By Jason Bryant
jbryant@intermatwrestle.com`

Seeing a U.S. World Team practice isn’t something uncommon for wrestling fans, speaking generally of course.

It’s commonplace for World and Olympic teams to have workouts in and around the NCAA Championships, so fans can get a glimpse of the Olympians there, in a non-traditional setting.

But in Baku, the capital city of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, it didn’t resemble a festival atmosphere – it resembled something you might see in “Rocky.”

The rank odor of day-old sweat, crumbling stairs and a well-worn set of practice mats were Friday afternoon’s training surroundings. There was no high performance equipment, no state-of-the-art training centers – this was old school.

“Sovietski,” said U.S. World Team coach Terry Brands as he walked away from the wrestling training area and headed to the showers.

Two of Azerbaijan’s best wrestlers came out of this athletic club, nestled in between on-going construction sites. “This looks like Beirut,” said Dave Bennett, looking out the windows at the work being done on a high rise building just outside of the training facility.

Friday was old school.