With over 4,000 fans in attendance at Monday’s NWCA All-Star Classic, Oregon wrestling leaders are showing they are serious about saving a Ducks program that is scheduled to be eliminated at the end of this season. It won’t be easy, but with many hardworking, dedicated and passionate people involved, they just might have a chance

By Kip Carlson – For The Wrestling Mall
Comment on this article at info@thewrestlingmall.com

EUGENE, Ore. – Of all the wrestlers who gathered for Monday night’s National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic, Wade Sauer knew best just what was at stake.

Sauer, the Cal State-Fullerton heavyweight, was at Fresno State when that school cut its wresting program in 2005. So it hit home when the 2007 NWCA All-Star Classic was awarded to Oregon – whose program is on the chopping block and set to be dropped at the end of this season – to serve as a rallying point in the “Save Oregon Wrestling” effort.

By Jason Bryant
jbryant@intermatwrestle.com

The clouds hanging over the State Capital building in Harrisburg, Pa., on Wednesday morning shrouded the city skyline and blanketed it with a damp chill.

There’s also been a damp chill shrouding college wrestling, not specifically in Pennsylvania, but nationwide. But the 34 college wrestling programs in Pennsylvania have not been devoid of being cut, as witnessed by Slippery Rock cutting its historic program two years ago.

Initially, Slippery Rock was to drop eight sports as a cost-cutting move, five men’s sports and three women’s sports, but after a Title IX complaint was filed, the school was forced to keep the three women’s sports while the men’s sports were left with nothing – including wrestling.

Joined by former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R) and former Iowa wrestling Coach Dan Gable, the National Wrestling Coaches Association met with the Pennsylvania General Assembly to discuss options for legislation to solidify the athletic opportunities that currently exist in the state.

Hastert, Gable, NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer and a host of representatives met in the Majority Caucus Room in a meeting headed up by Rep. Todd Eachus (D), Chairman of the House Policy Committee.

Mark Palmer, Staff Writer
mark@revwrestling.com

Launched this past summer, Rev Rewind wrestling historical features will continue to appear from time-to-time during the wrestling season.

Every four years, the wrestling world turns its attention to the Olympics, as grapplers from across the planet battle for glory … and precious medals.

Before ever stepping on the mat at the Olympics, wrestlers in the United States must first earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team. This long process culminates with the U.S. Olympic Trials usually held weeks before the Olympic Games.

Author Jamie Moffatt provides wrestling fans with a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at this process of building a U.S. Olympic wrestling team in his brand-new book, Wrestlers at the Trials, published by Exit Zero Publishing, Inc.

This 196-page book covers the U.S. Olympic Trials from 1960 through 1988 by sharing the stories of more than ninety U.S. wrestlers, coaches and officials who participated in these events.

Wrestling fans have been wondering just what’s in store with the new Big Ten Network and the amount of wrestling the network will cover this year.

The Wrestling Mall recently emailed some questions to Mike Vest, Media Relations Manager with the Big Ten Network, to find out just what lies ahead.

Here is some information on what to expect below, from Vest:

• The Big Ten Network will televise approximately 22 hours of wrestling this season.

• The events will be edited for broadcast and will typically air late Friday afternoons beginning in January.

• The network will televise the Big Ten Tournament, but specific details have not yet been determined. Once those are made, you will find the broadcast schedule at www.bigtennetwork.com/schedule

• The Big Ten Network will collaborate with the conference office to determine the overall programming schedule. Wrestling will receive significant additional coverage on Big Ten Tonight, the network’s signature nightly studio show.

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State University wrestling team, coming off a 4-0 start to the season last weekend on the road, will head to the East Coast this weekend for its first tournament action of the season as the Sun Devils compete in the Keystone Classic inside the Palestra in Philadelphia, Pa. The tournament, hosted by Pennsylvania, will feature all eastern teams, including No. 13 UT-Chattanooga, No. 23 Penn and No. 25 American.

IN THE TOURNAMENT
Along with the three ranked teams mentioned above, the Sun Devils also could face competitors from Appalachian State, Boston University, Brown, Rider, VMI and Mercyhurst. The field will include 16 different wrestlers ranked among the Top 20 according to the November 13 USA Today/NWCA/InterMat rankings. The more loaded weight classes include 197 pounds, where No. 1 Josh Glenn (American), No. 10 Matt Koz (UTC), No. 15 Jason Trulson (ASU) and No. 16 T.J. Morrison (Rider) could compete with 184 pounds having three ranked competitors, including No. 13 Doug Umbehauer (Rider), No. 17 Lior Zamir (Penn) and No. 18 Brent Chriswell (ASU).

Sunkist Kids Open
Past World medalist Cary Kolat makes statement by winning title at Sunkist Kids International Open
Craig Sesker USA Wrestling

Cary Kolat is back on the mat for the same reason a lot of wrestlers in their 30s will be over the next several months.

“It’s the Olympic year,” Kolat said. “I wanted another shot.”

Kolat – a past World silver and bronze medalist, and 2000 Olympian in freestyle � may just have a shot at making another Olympic team in 2008 if his performance Sunday provided any indication.

The burly, powerful Kolat looked strong in notching a 3-2, 1-0 win over Eric Larkin in the finals at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. at the Sunkist Kids International Open on Sunday at the Rawhide Arena

Kolat executed a three-point throw to capture the first period and then won the second period from the defensive position in the leg clinch. Larkin started with Kolat�s leg, but the strong defense of Kolat was evident when he quickly kicked his leg free to break loose en route to winning the period.

For everyone who followed pro wrestling from childhood, there was always a lingering question: How would certain guys, not necessarily the biggest stars but the ones who are known by fans as real-life tough guys, do if the battle was real?

The question was more on people’s minds during old-school pro wrestling’s heyday than in recent years, largely because the Ultimate Fighter has answered a lot of questions about putting guys with different backgrounds into an arena and seeing what styles come out on top.

In the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, many amateur champion wrestlers fared well simply through takedowns and the ability to control and keep opponents on their back.
But in today’s mixed martial arts, you have to be a well-rounded fighter, with knowledge of wrestling or judo for balance, jiu-jitsu for submission awareness and avoidance, and both boxing and kickboxing techniques.
Brock Lesnar isn’t coming to UFC to answer any age-old questions. He’s coming because it’s a sport he’s watched since its inception, and now after more than a year of full-time training, after trying pro wrestling and pro football, he feels that it’s the sport he was put on earth to participate in.

DAN McCOOL
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

Iowa State’s wrestling team will feature another Nate Carr, starting with the 2008-09 season.

Nate Carr Jr., a junior-college national champion last winter at Iowa Central Community College, said today he will compete for the Cyclones two decades after his father won three NCAA championships and 122 matches under coach Harold Nichols.

Nate Carr Sr. also won a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

“I don’t want to go any lower than being a three-time national champ,” said Nate Carr Jr., who is being withheld from competition this season at Iowa Central this winter.

The newest Carr will have three seasons of eligibility at Iowa State, which he said he chose over Iowa.

Carr Jr. originally signed to wrestle at West Virginia, but did not qualify academically, which landed him at Iowa Central.

The National Wrestling Coache Association All-Star Classic Lineups were announced recently.

The event, which is set for Nov. 19 in Eugene, Ore., is a one-day event that pits the top wrestlers in each weight class against each other in an exhibition match.

2007 NWCA All-Star Classic Matches Lineup
125: Paul Donahoe (Nebraska) vs. Jayson Ness (Minnesota)
133: Tyler McCormick (Missouri) vs. Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State)
141: Charles Griffin (Hofstra) vs. Nathan Morgan (Oklahoma State)
149: Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota) vs. Josh Churella (Michigan)
157: Craig Henning (Wisconsin) vs. Mike Poeta (Illinois)
165: Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan) vs. TBA
174: Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh) vs. Matt Stolpinski (Navy)
184: Jake Varner (Iowa State) vs. Roger Kish (Minnesota)
197: Phil Davis (Penn State) vs. Mike Tamillow (Northwestern)
285: Tervel Dlagnev (Nebraska-Kearney) vs. Dustin Fox (Northwestern)

Brock Lesnar, a former NCAA heavyweight champion for the University of Minnesota and former pro wrestler, has joined the UFC, it was announced on Saturday.

On UFC.com, UFC president Dana White said, “I don’t think there are any other pro wrestlers that can make the transition to MMA, except for Brock Lesnar. And if you look at his amateur wrestling credentials, his size, and what he’s done, this guy can end up being a force in the heavyweight division of the UFC.”

Lesnar is 1-0 in MMA with a dominating win over Min Soo Kim in June.