Top collegians should plan ahead to qualify for University World Championships

March Madness (or do we call it Matness?) is only a few weeks away, and many in the U.S. wrestling community are focusing on the qualifying events as well as the big show at the NCAA Div. I Championships in Oklahoma City in March. Wrestling fans are already excited about the process, including discussing which wrestlers and teams will make big news at the most important competition during the season each year.

Likewise, for athletes who compete in the other NCAA divisions (Div. II and Div. III), as well as in the NAIA and the NJCAA, there are qualifiers and the national championships coming up shortly. This is the highlight of the season for the U.S. college wrestling community.

For those who follow college wrestling, there is no tougher tournament than the annual college nationals each season. However, if you consider the international styles of wrestling, there is a tournament out there that has an even higher level of competition than can be found in the American college nationals. That event is the World University Championships.

Each year, the world’s best university students come together and battle for World medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. Many of the athletes in this event, especially from the stronger wrestling nations, are already considered world-class athletes on the Olympic level. Winning this tournament is very challenging, a true test for the competitors who qualify for the U.S. team.

This year, the World University Championships will be held in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, June 15-20. This is earlier in the year than other years, when the U.S. has fielded a team to compete.

The reason that coaches and athletes should be thinking about the World University Championships now is that the qualifying event for this tournament will be sooner this year than in 2005. Any athlete who would like to represent the U.S. at the University Worlds must enter the USA Wrestling University National Championships held at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., April 28-30.

Women college students should also know that the qualifying event for the U.S. women’s team at the World University Championships will be the Body Bar Women’s University Nationals in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 6-7.

A year ago, USA Wrestling changed the way that it selects its men’s World Teams on the FILA Junior and University levels. Instead of determining a team at the annual national championships, there was an additional World Team Trials and Camp added to set the U.S. squad. In 2005, the FILA Junior World Team Trials, as well as the World University Games Trials were held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs during Memorial Day weekend.

The U.S. team that competed at the World University Games included many of the best college wrestlers (and those post-collegians that met eligibility requirements) available. The results showed that the new system worked well.

The U.S. freestyle team had a strong performance, winning three gold medals in the six weight divisions that the United States had an entry. The University World champions are all athletes that are well-known for their achievements in both collegiate and freestyle circles: Nate Gallick of Iowa State, Jesse Jantzen of Harvard and Tommy Rowlands of Ohio State.

Winning on the University and FILA Junior levels are a key element in the development of future Olympic and World medalists for the United States. The coaches and leaders within USA Wrestling have a strong commitment to success at these levels, and constantly are reaching out to the college coaches and athletes to get them involved in the process.

This year offers a scheduling challenge, however. With the World University Championships in mid-June, there is not enough time for USA Wrestling to do the University World Team Trials event and camp like last season. A team would not be determined in time to set the travel arrangements and training needs for success.

Therefore, in order for an athlete to make the University World Team this year, in all three styles (freestyle, Greco-Roman, women), the athlete MUST compete at the University National Championships this year.

There will be no World Team Trials event from men on the University level in 2006 because of the timing. Everybody who is capable of qualifying for the U.S. team in men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman and wants to improve themselves at the college levels should make plans to attend the event in Evanston.

Why think about it now? Quickly, we will soon be in the college conference meets, then the year-end college national tournaments. Before you know it, it will be the end of the college season in late March. That leaves only a few weeks to plan for the travel and other arrangements to participate at the University Nationals held at Northwestern.

There are so many good reasons why college wrestlers should make plans to attend the University Nationals. First of all, this tournament has developed into a tremendous competition. Every weight class is loaded with quality wrestlers, and with the double-elimination format, every competitor will get an opportunity to gain valuable experience.

Certainly, the University Nationals often include many of the top Div. I wrestlers in the nation. However, you can go through the results of this event and see that many college wrestlers from the other divisions have found some success at this tournament. Any college wrestler who has high goals and seek to get better will find that this competition is a must.

In addition, this tournament is a qualifying event for “funded access” to the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC). All of the athletes in men’s freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman who place in the top six in their weight class receive funded access. This allows these wrestlers to train at the USOTC with our national coaches and Senior-level athletes and receive free room and board.

As an added benefit, this year, the top two athletes in men’s freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman at the University Nationals qualify to compete in the World Team Trials event on the Senior level. This tournament is set for Sioux City, Iowa, May 28-29. Again, college age wrestlers who participate in the World Team Trials receive a tremendous opportunity to gain experience and seek high goals for their career.

Why attend the World University Championships? This question is really no different than why wrestlers always seek out the toughest competition that they can find. The athletes who earn the right to compete at the World level are doing what it takes to become champion wrestlers. Certainly, there is also the unbelievable honor of representing your nation in one of the most important wrestling events in the world each year.

You only have to go back to our most recent Olympic gold medalist, the amazing Cael Sanderson. Prior to reaching his goal of winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games, Cael also entered the 2000 World University Championships. Although he lost an early match, because of the format of the tournament at the time, Sanderson stormed back and captured the World University Championships gold medal. It was his first major international honor. Four years later, Sanderson was standing on top of the podium in Athens, Greece, as an Olympic Champion.

Al though the folkstyle season is not yet over, college coaches and athletes are asked to mark their calendars right now. The University Nationals are set for Northwestern Univ. in Evanston, Ill., April 28-30. There is time to do the research for affordable flights to Chicago. All of the other details that go into getting organized to attend this event should be looked at very soon.

There will be a change in the official hotel for the University Nationals this year. Athletes and coaches can stay at the Best Western University Plaza, located at 1501 Sherman Ave. in Evansto. The room rate is $89 a night, and you must ask for the USA Wrestling rate. Contact the hotel at 847-491-6400 or visit the web page at http://www.bestwestern.com/universityplaza

USA Wrestling is asking the college wrestling community to get the University Nationals on their radar screen early this year. We are counting on our nation’s best athletes attending, so the USA can have a strong performance in Mongolia this year. The opportunity is there… start your planning now.

Gary Abbott is the Director of Communications and Special Projects for USA Wrestling and is a founder of the National Wrestling Media Association and is a 2005 recipient of the NWCA Meritorious Service Award.

Gary Abbott