New Champs Added Excitement to U.S. National Championships
The one constant in wrestling is change. This truth was very apparent at the U.S National Championships in Las Vegas this year.
It is the second year of the four-year Olympic cycle heading towards the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. As many expected, there were changes in the standings in many weight classes. Younger athletes have started making their move. Veteran challengers have made some breakthroughs. And the changes never seem to come exactly as you might predict. It makes for some very interesting times for wrestling fans.
The major news of the tournament was the victory in men’s freestyle by high school phe
nom Henry Cejudo of the Sunkist Kids at 121 pounds. His exciting three-period win over a talented Matt Azevedo in the finals was remarkable. The victory has sent the historians scouring record books to find the last high school wrestler to win a national Senior-level freestyle title. The fact that No. 1 Sammie Henson did not enter the tournament takes nothing away from Cejudo’s amazing feat. They may have their showdown at the World Team Trials in Sioux City in a few weeks. Cejudo’s wins over Luke Eustice in the semifinals and Azevedo in the finals shows that all the hype about Henry is more than accurate. This just does not happen often. A college student winning a national freestyle title occurs only a few times a decade. Very few high school athletes ever enter the U.S. Senior Nationals, let alone win a medal. And for a prep wrestler to win it all is truly a historic happening.
Even better, when a journalist asked Henry about his achievement, about how he got so good so young, Cejudo looks at a bigger picture. “Why not? The Russians do it,” said Cejudo, who would rather wrestle a world champion than another high school student in America. This kid is on a different planet than his peers.
If you look through the results of the U.S. Nationals, you see many new names on the champion list. Each of these winners has a personal story, a journey, a winding road to winning their U.S. Nationals trophy. Some are rapid risers; others have truly paid their dues to reach the promised land.
In Greco-Roman, the three new national champions are not new wrestlers at all. These are hard working, dedicated athletes who have put in many years of training and competition to reach this place. Two of the first-time winners have been to the World Championships already, yet never took home a national title: Lindsey Durlacher of the New York AC at 121 pounds and TC Dantzler of the Gator WC at 163 pounds. Somehow, circumstances and fate had not come together before. This time, they put it all together.
Durlacher needed a last-second fleeing call in the third period against a talented young star, the USOEC’s Spenser Mango of the Gator WC, to claim his title. In an active and intense battle, it seemed Mango had pulled off the upset. Yet Durlacher battled right to the end, showing a heart and spirit that allowed him to get past a hurdle in his career. Any of the fans that booed Durlacher because of the call by the officials totally missed the point here. Durlacher spent years putting himself in the position to win that national title.
This was the first U.S. Nationals under the new Greco-Roman rules, which are perfectly suited to Dantzler’s explosive style of throws. The reverse lift position matches his skills very well. Yet Dantzler did not win his title just because of new rules. He still had to beat a life-long nemesis in the finals, the experienced and rugged Keith Sieracki, to reach his goal. Dantzler talked about how he used to focus more on the World Team Trials rather than the U.S. Nationals, but he decided that winning this title was a major priority for him. The joy he felt in hugging his parents and friends after that victory was proof of how important this victory really is.
The other new national champion was the veteran Jake Clark of the U.S. Marines, a talented, aggressive wrestler who has been the top challenger to Olympian Brad Vering for many years at 185 pounds. At the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials, the finals showdown has been Vering vs. Clark, with Vering winning each time. Clark found a way in Las Vegas to turn things around and beat Vering this year, which earned him the Outstanding Wrestler award in Greco-Roman.
When asked if Vering had been a thorn in his side, Clark quipped that he had been more of a “thorn bush.” Clark could have stopped training, stopped coming hard, stopped pursuing his dream. You can find many examples of wrestlers who never figure out how to beat that No. 1 rival. Clark pulled it off this time, a testament to his determination and pride.
In men’s freestyle, the Outstanding Wrestler was another athlete who has paid his dues, and always seemed to fall a little short. When Donny Pritzlaff was busy winning NCAA titles for Wisconsin, or capturing the 1998 Junior world title, many felt that he was the freestyle star of the future at 163 pounds. Yet that weight division was ruled by the amazing Joe Williams. Starting in 1999, interrupted only by the Olympic gold-medal run by Brandon Slay in 2000, Williams held an iron grip on his division. It has been years since an American has beaten Williams.
Along the journey, Pritzlaff seemed to get close but fall a little short each time. For a few seasons, he lost in freestyle to Joe Heskett, who Pritzlaff had beaten in key battles during their college career. Other wrestlers seemed to move ahead of Pritzlaff. Yet within the last year, starting with the World Team Trials last summer and going through the winter tour season, Pritzlaff seemed to be reaching a peak in his performance. His victory over Williams in Las Vegas was all about the progress that Pritzlaff has made recently. Suddenly, this weight class has become much more interesting to the fans.
The other men’s freestyle newcomer is Zach Roberson of the Sunkist Kids, who came away with a victory in a wide-open race at 132 pounds. The returning national champion was Michael Lightner, who made a big step forward last season and has only gotten better in the following year.
Others expected a great performance from Mike Zadick, who beat Lightner at the Dave Schultz this winter and has looked good while winning medals on winter tours. Yet Roberson, an NCAA champ who is known as a strong freestyler, also has been doing what it takes to be successful. The U.S. Nationals gave him an opportunity to show that his dreams can come true and that this will be a competitive race all the way to the 2008 Olympic Team Trials.
The women’s tournament also uncovered a few new champions, one who has spent many years knocking at the door, and another who is showing that there is a talented new generation of wrestlers who will be a factor in this Olympic cycle.
Clarissa Chun of the Sunkist Kids has been second many times in her career, at the U.S. Nationals, the World Team Trials and the Olympic Trials. She has already been to a World Championships, replacing Tricia Saunders one season on the U.S. team.
Many felt that Chun might never get to the No. 1 position because she is a little bit smaller in size than some of the other wrestlers, and because she may not have the stuff it takes to get that final win. Chun disproved any doubters with a solid performance that was a long time coming.
Her finals opponent was one of the sport’s top stars, eight-time national champion Stephanie Murata who recently moved down to this weight. Chun beat Murata in a tournament in Sweden this year, and received the No. 1 seed at the U.S. Nationals. Yet beating Murata again, under the pressure of the U.S. Nationals finals, was a major step for Chun, who was ecstatic that her day had finally arrived.
Young Sharon Jacobson became the first women’s wrestler from the USOEC program at Northern Michigan to capture a Senior Nationals title. In the last few seasons, she has moved ahead of many other talented young wrestlers to become a legitimate contender. Her path to the national title was cleared out a bit, when Marcie Van Dusen was injured this winter and could not enter, and two-time world silver medalist Tina George was upset in the opening rounds. Yet Jacobson had to beat two-time national champion Malinda Ripley to take her title, and she did it with a pin, something that put an exclamation point on her effort. She was named Outstanding Wrestler for her triumph, adding her name to the list of wrestlers who should have impact for many years.
They say that change is good. The wrestling community is used to constant upheaval within its ranks. There are no guarantees that these new champions will win a spot on the U.S. World Team this summer. The big battles will come for the men at the World Team Trials in Sioux City, Iowa at the end of May, and for the women at the Women’s World Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colo. at the end of June. These first-time champions will make these events even more exciting, a reason that fans need to make their plans to attend and enjoy the show.
(Gary Abbott is the director of special projects for USA Wrestling. He has worked with USA Wrestling since 1988 directing the organization’s communications activities. Among Abbott’s special project assignments are Title IX and women’s wrestling development. He was named W.I.N.’s Journalist of the Year in 2002.) n