U.S. Olympic Education Center programs expand opportunity for college wrestlers

College wrestling season is getting into full swing, and wrestling fans around the nation are checking the internet for results and stories on the top stars and personalities. There are rankings to discuss, and an active schedule of dual meets and tournaments to keep the people interested and involved all winter.

Not every college wrestler in the United States is training and competing in preparation for the college national championships at the end of the season at the NCAA, NAIA or NJCAA levels. There is a group of athletes and coaches in the upper peninsula of Michigan who have their focus completely set on a different set of competitions, future World Championships and the Olympic Games.

The U.S. Olympic Education Center (USOEC) at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich. has two important college wrestling teams that train exclusively in the Olympic styles of the sport. There is a USOEC men’s Greco-Roman wrestling team and a USOEC women’s freestyle wrestling team, both stocked with talented and motivated student-athletes who have set lofty goals for their athletic and academic careers. Just like in the college wrestling programs that compete in American folkstyle, these athletes must juggle a full schedule of college classes, training sessions and competitions.

Among the star athletes who are competing for these college teams this year are Harry Lester, Amy Borgnini, Spenser Mango and Danyelle Hedin. Fans can follow their progress in the results of major national and international competitions in the U.S. and overseas all year long.

The men’s Greco-Roman program is managed by head coach Ivan Ivanov, a past World bronze medalist from Bulgaria who is considered one of the world’s top Greco-Roman coaches. Joining his staff last year was two-time Olympian Jim Gruenwald, also respected for his teaching and leadership abilities.

The head coach of the women’s freestyle program is Shannyn Gillespie, a former NCAA All-American and national-caliber freestyle wrestler who has extensive coaching experience. The coaching staff was expanded to include veteran freestyle wrestler Tony DeAnda as the assistant coach, providing additional knowledge and experience to the program.

National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser calls the USOEC his “secret weapon,” one of the main reasons why the United States has improved its performance at the World and Olympic levels in Greco-Roman. National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner credits the USOEC for developing young athletes who are stepping up and competing for spots on the U.S. World teams.

The USOEC has college programs in a number of other sports, such as boxing, speedskating and weightlifting. Each of these teams are very important in the development of those sports, which are not sponsored on the NCAA levels. The wrestling teams are doing very well, and proving that the mission of the USOEC program to develop future Olympians is right on track.

The 2005-06 international season was a perfect example of the importance of the USOEC to American wrestling. In both the men’s and women’s program, athletes from Northern Michigan University made major contributions to our national success.

Greco-Roman wrestler Harry Lester made history this year by winning a World bronze medal at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. at the World Wrestling Championships, the first USOEC wrestler to win a World medal on the Senior level since the creation of the wrestling program in 1999. Lester has been a trailblazer for the program, becoming the first USOEC wrestler to win a Senior National title and to make a U.S. Senior World Team during the 2005 season.

Lester’s success on the World level at the young age of 23 was made possible by a decision he made a few seasons ago. One of the nation’s top high school wrestlers out of Ohio, Lester attended Iowa State Univ. to pursue his college career. However, after the first year there, he made a decision to switch over to training fulltime in Greco-Roman and join the USOEC program. In a few short years, Lester has proven that a U.S. wrestler can achieve great things in Greco-Roman at an earlier age if he concentrates completely on the style during his college years.

On the U.S. Women’s World Team, another USOEC wrestler was making an impact on the international level. Mary Kelly, who competed with the USOEC women’s team, qualified for the World Championships at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. this year, the first member of the women’s team to make a Senior World Team. Earlier this year, Sharon Jacobson became the first USOEC women’s wrestler to win a Senior national title, when she captured the 55 kg/121 lbs. division at the U.S. Women’s Nationals in Las Vegas in April.

The USOEC program had some significant achievements on the World scene on the age-group levels this year as well. Spenser Mango, an exciting athlete with the ability to make spectacular throws, won a University World gold medal at 55 kg/112 lbs. this past summer. Mango also won a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships, giving him two World medals during a summer of excellence.

Other USOEC athletes who won age-group World medals this year included Chas Betts (University World silver medal) in Greco-Roman and Danyelle Hedin (Junior World bronze medal) in women’s freestyle. It was the second straight year that Hedin had won a Junior World medal.

One of the important things that the USOEC program has done is provide a stepping stone for young athletes to climb the ladder of success. Many USOEC athletes have gone directly from Northern Michigan to become members of the U.S. Olympic Training Center resident program in Colorado Springs, Colo. Both Mary Kelly and Sharon Jacobson made that step this year, after their strong season of success. On the Greco-Roman side, an example would be R.C. Johnson, who started with the USOEC team then moved on to Colorado Springs last year, and earned a spot on the national team at 96 kg/211.5 pounds this summer.

As time goes on, more and more talented wrestlers who have had top achievements on the high school level and within USA Wrestling’s Junior-level programs are deciding to attend Northern Michigan and participate in the USOEC program. The example set by stars such as Lester and Kelly are making it very clear that this is a great option for young wrestlers who have dreams of success on the Olympic level.

For most college wrestlers, the regular season ends in March with the national championships. For the USOEC athletes, the season gets started in the fall with international tournaments, goes through the spring with the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials events, then extends into the summer with World Championship events.

USOEC athletes have already had a number of competitions this autumn, and are continuing the pattern of success. USOEC Greco-Roman wrestlers who won titles at the Sunkist Kids International included Mango, Jacob Curby, Cheney Haight and Adam Wheeler. At the New York AC Holiday International, Mango, Curby and Haight once again claimed titles.

When following college wrestling this year, don’t forget to go to the international results on TheMat.com and keep an eye on the USOEC athletes. Years from now, when you are watching the Olympic Games on television, you may see a number of these college stars winning medals for our nation.

Gary Abbott