Part of the conversation included talk about “competitive maturity”, what that means, and how it attaches to a wrestler’s overall character. It is a topic perhaps best imagined as a tree with numerous branches. For an athlete to be competitively mature, he must have perspective and accept that there is no such thing as instant gratification in what could be construed as an otherwise spartan lifestyle. He must also know how to measure moments. How to slow them down, and how to remind himself that moments pass. They evaporate. One quarter of a quarter of a second might present an opportunity to gain an advantageous position and score, and these types of moments can’t go to waste.
In some cases, moments can last longer. Much longer. Minutes, hours, days, even weeks and years. But, again, they are all just moments. Here and then gone. Questions asked inwardly with no answers yet in sight. Might as well try to intentionally exercise patience because, before you know it, time has moved on and any and all adversity will, too, have faded away under the strength of one’s own dogged knack for perseverance.
Alston Nutter (67 kg) has not competed in nearly two years and, in all probability, you are making a bigger deal of that than he is.
The last time anyone has watched Nutter in an actual sanctioned competitive environment, it was at the 2023 US Open where he did well to make the semifinal for a second-straight year — but ultimately finished 6th. Nutter had arrived in Vegas already contending with an injury and that, coupled with facing rough opposition, equated to an early dismissal, on his part, from the tournament. It was the capper for what had already been a season marred with exasperation. The ’22-’23 campaign was Nutter’s first as an Olympic Training Center resident athlete. Except instead of availing a step-up on the domestic ladder, the season brought him frustration physically, which likewise meant that he was frustrated mentally. His premier battles came against both body and mind, and it was a lot to reconcile given that he was new to the OTC as well as to a new group dynamic.
Nutter had wanted to continue the same type of momentum that he had built while a student at Northern Michigan University, the place that by and large shaped his skill-set and general Greco worldview. The place where the majority of his closest friendships were forged, and the program that helped him earn a Junior World bronze (’19) followed by a runner-up showing at Final X in ’22. Having to adapt to a different routine, training protocol, and lifestyle was one thing; having to do all of that while encountering several mind-numbing physical setbacks was another. Nutter did not complain. Few top athletes ever do, at least not verbally. However, those in Nutter’s inner circle understood that he was not totally himself, especially during the first phase of World Team selection, and many wondered what he might need to return to the same version of himself that had developed into one of the nation’s best, most versatile lightweights.
Then, in short order, an opportunity to join the Army and its World Class Athletes Program arose. The scenario was intriguing. Army/WCAP, which for USA Greco-Roman currently is akin to the Yankees as far as talent and resources, would offer to Nutter the ability to work daily with fellow high-profile wrestlers within his weight range in addition to providing a sense of financial security. As a newly-married man, Nutter felt that what Army brought to the table represented an option that was too good to pass up, and so he ran with it.
Or more like “jogged” with it. Between reporting for basic, and later AIT, and rehabbing some aches and pains once again, the process has been a bit…slow. Nutter, as of this writing, has been on the shelf from a competitive standpoint nearly 23 months. He had to occupy the sidelines during the Olympic Year and somehow keep his wits about him amid the hyped-up nature of all that entails. The impressive part is that he indeed managed to maintain a productive — and patient — mindset despite the circumstances. Not that it was always easy. Nutter admits there were times when it was “tough”, while also going on to add that it was “a sacrifice he was willing to make” in order to get to the “next level”.
What that “level” actually looks like may soon be uncovered. Nutter is, of course, in the final training phase for the World Team Trials scheduled for next month in (where else?) Vegas. He will be back on the mat, back in his weight class, and those who closely follow this sport in the US will watch with interested eyes his every move. This is how the whole thing works. Curiosity runs in concert with the return of every “name” athlete. And that’s fine. Good, even. It is just that no one is more curious than the man himself. Nutter has had to wait, and wait some more. Now that he will at last have a forum in which to operate at full capacity, he gets to remember, in real time, exactly why he has gone through all of this in the first place. And he could not have done it without a healthy dose of patience.
Alston Nutter — 67 kg, Army/WCAP
5PM: How is married life thus far?
Alston Nutter: It has been great. It will be two years in May. It’s nice to have a good support system to come home to. My wife has been great to me. She has done a lot for me and is very supportive.
5PM: You had been at the Olympic Training Center after graduating from Northern Michigan. Then 2023 is when talk started to matriculate that Army might be an option. How did that begin to materialize? What were the circumstances?
AN: Well, you know, I’ve always been around the Army guys and fit in well with them. I got to know Coach (Spenser) Mango through the years and had talked to Coach Bruce Robinson a lot about it. I had a great time at the OTC, I had good training, but I was really ready to take it to the next level. I had always been wrestling with the Army guys, I had obviously gotten beat by the Army guys a few times, and I wanted to get on that level. I thought the World Class Athletes Program was our nation’s best program and I wanted to be part of that brotherhood while taking my goals to the next level. I thought it was a great plan for me, for my family’s future, and that is why I decided to join the Army.
5PM: You said that you had been around the Army guys a lot and had wrestled with and against them before. How much of a factor was the allotment of training partners within your general weight range?
AN: Well that was another huge reason, too, because we have Ildar (Hafizov), Dalton (Roberts), Juice (Justus Scott), and I even work out with Billy (Sullivan) sometimes, but (Alex) Sancho and Ellis (Coleman) are the two guys I really like to work out with a lot. And I obviously also wrestle Juice a lot. Those guys push me everyday and I knew going into it that it was going to be a hornet’s nest, and I felt like that was what I needed. Even some of the bigger guys like Britton Holmes, him and I like to talk a lot and we have similar mindsets on things. I’ve just surrounded myself by guys who have similar mindsets and that was a big one. Getting to come in everyday and work out with our Olympians and World Team members, and hopefully bringing myself up to that level is what I will be able to do. It was a huge factor.
5PM: Prior to entering basic training and AIT, I imagine that you were made aware that there might be a somewhat lengthy pause before being able to wrestle again?
AN: Yeah, of course. I was prepared for that. I wanted to think that it wouldn’t take that long. I mean, you hear a lot of people say ‘That’s the Army’, but I knew that it was going to take a while. I came to terms with that and did what I could to keep myself in good shape — and the Army does not have any problem with keeping you in good shape, especially for initial entry training. But I mean, I knew it was going to be a decent amount of time.
5PM: What is your MOS?
AN: 13-Romeo, field artillery radar operator.
5PM: What prompted you to go in that direction?
AN: It was offering a bonus and I thought that field artillery sounded cool.
5PM: What was it like having to navigate the sidelines while many of your friends, contemporaries, and former teammates were competing during the Olympic Year?
Alston Nutter: It was tough. Obviously, you never like to be on the sidelines; but when you have a higher goal and an outreach on something, you know that you’re going to have to make sacrifices for the betterment of yourself. And that was a sacrifice I was willing to make in order to get myself to the next level. I was dealing with injuries, too, and needed to heal up. I could go on about that all night, but that was a sacrifice I was willing to make to take myself to the next level.
5PM: How was the adjustment period upon getting back on the mat and how has it been since then?
AN: It was good. I got back from AIT and immediately we went straight into camp for the Olympic Trials. Obviously I didn’t qualify, because I was gone, but I was there for the camp. And after that, we had the Olympic Team camp. Ever since, I have been training at WCAP and training with all the guys everyday, so it has been… I mean, you’re going to have to adjust real quick or I don’t know what’s going to happen to you (laughs). You just have to flip that switch and be ready to go.
But it has been great. I have been training everyday at WCAP with all of the guys, wrestling live, and doing what we do. It took a little bit to get my body — especially my ribs — back into being competitive and able to wrestle. But it was a pretty easy transition for me. I was really hungry to wrestle after not having been able to for a little while during my Army training. I was able to snap back into it and it was pretty good. I was excited to wrestle and it made it that much better.
5PM: Were you worried at all that you might have missed a beat before coming back into a competitive room?
AN: Yeah, I thought about that. When I was just sitting down in my barracks room thinking about it, I was like, This is going to suck, I’m going to forget everything. But once you get back into a room, you know, because we’ve been doing this for so long… Joe Rau told me that it’s like riding a bike. You might not be in-shape or you might not be sharp, but you still have all of those instincts. And once I did get back in there, I actually thought that I wrestled pretty decent. I actually surprised myself a little bit with some of the stuff that I was able to do. I mean, obviously, I wasn’t in wrestling shape. I had to strengthen my joints and everything to get ready for the impact of training everyday. I was worried a little bit, but once I got back into it, everything started coming back to me. Especially when doing it everyday.
5PM: One of the things associated with Army is the resources for recovery, injury prevention and rehabilitation, strength training, and so on. Has that been something that you noticed, even coming from the OTC?
AN: The OTC has really great recovery stuff, too, that helps you get ready for the next practice, but WCAP has been great. We have Kyle Eckert who helps me whenever I need him. He answers questions, gives me advice, and gives me plans for things to do for my body to make me a little more limber or to strengthen areas I am weak in. Colonel Barber has been great, too, making us workout plans that are tailored to specific individuals. It has been great with WCAP in that regard. We have really intelligent dudes helping us out. But it is pretty comparable to the OTC. The OTC has great people helping out, as well. Like Andrew. He’s a great dude. He has helped me out a lot in my career, as well.
5PM: You have known all or most of the guys on your team for quite a while, but there are certain guys whom perhaps you might lean on more than others. For example, take Ellis, who for all intents and purposes should just be named the captain of the US National Team.
AN: Yeah.
5PM: Who have you sort of meshed with the most so far?
AN: Well, obviously all of my old Northern buddies, but if you mean guys I might look up to, I would say Xavier Johnson, Ildar is a big one, and definitely Ellis. They all help me out whether it is mentally with my wrestling or basically just by being my friend. They have really been there for me. Of course, Dalton Roberts. Every single wrestler in the country can look up to his work ethic. But I would say that Ellis and Ildar have definitely helped me out by being leaders for me and getting my mindset where it needs to be. They are just great leaders on the team.
5PM: By the time you compete in April, it will have been about two years since you were last able to compete. What goes through your mind knowing this? Is there a way to simulate a match type of environment beforehand?
Alston Nutter: Well, I think that trusting my training would be the most important thing in that regard but, at the end of the day, I can sit here and worry about how people say things like “ring rust” and so forth, but my goals are to be a World and Olympic Champion. So, if I can’t get over minor setbacks in my career, like not competing in two years or whatever it is, and I’m worrying about things like that all the time, then I am obviously not going to accomplish my goals. But, mindset is a very important thing in the sport of wrestling. I have been in practices going through my warm-up and getting myself ready to go again. Above all, I am just really excited to compete again. I am hungry in that aspect. I’m really excited to go out there and compete. But when you bring up the whole mindset thing and whether or not I can simulate, I think that our coaches do a great job of putting us in that environment everyday in practice, and it is just about trusting the training. I think that is what is going to do the best for me when it comes to rolling up in April and making the Team.
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