Happy 4th of July! Have fun, cover your ears during the fireworks, and put sunblock on if you go out. Otherwise, I have nothing else for you.
The United States Greco Roman Olympians leave for Rio in one month and six days. Contemplate that for a sec. It’s gotten to the point where this space is being used to remind everyone how quickly the Olympics seem to be approaching, so just for consistency’s sake look at it like this: The Concord camp and Junior Greco World Duals wrapped up in late May. May! It seems like all the training camp talk started two days ago. By now, the squad is about to land (or have already landed) from Azerbaijan following the three-week camp in Azerbaijan. The team is getting a bit of a respite and then they will be built all the way back up over the next month. It’s coming, people.
Cadets win Pan Am gold, have little trouble doing so
Nine out of ten members of the US Cadet Greco Roman team took home medals in Lima, Peru on Friday. Four of them locked down gold medals with dominating performances: Andrew Chambal (Michigan, 42 kg), Colin Valdiviez (Missouri, 54 kg), Calvin Germinaro (Minnesota, 63 kg) and Noah Adams (West Virginia, 100 kg). As a whole, the Cadet team racked up 88 points in their title-clinching victory with Venezuela coming in second (72 points) and Mexico grabbing third-place honors with 63 points. The only final bout where any trepidation might have been involved came when Valdiviez got past Ecuador’s Michael Jimenez Chispon via criteria 8-8. The rest was pretty clear-cut. Chambal tech’ed out his first three opponents by a combined score of 25-0 ahead of pinning for his championship; Germinaro cruised through his first two bouts and then walked away a 6-3 winner over David Bodden (HON); and Adams ran both of his foes off the table with two tech’s himself.
Also coming home with medals were: Cevion Severado (Missouri, 46 kg, bronze); Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio, 50 kg, bronze); Jack Karstetter (Oklahoma, 58 kg, silver); Jake Hendricks (Pennsylvania, 76 kg, silver); and Michael Beard (Pennsylvania, 85 kg, bronze). There’s not much more to say about it. Sure, some of these weights were rather thin in terms of overall numbers, but there’s more to all of this than just showing up. These Cadets came to play and their ongoing development is something to watch out for.
Wilson and Miller travel to Germany, don’t come home with souvenirs
But that’s okay. JayShon Wilson (Marines, 75 kg) took apart Khalil Rabbia (PLE) 11-2 in his first match and then dropped the next two. Daniel Miller (Marines, 98 kg) only had one match and it was a loss to one of the world’s best at his weight, Cenk Ildem (TUR, world no. 6). The Grand Prix of Germany is usually a tough scrap but this year saw a ton of talented athletes getting in on the action, many of whom are Olympians headed to Brazil. Wilson and Miller both need international matches to increase their viability domestically as well as to gain the kind of experience competitors at their level require to blossom. The fact that this event was on their schedule says enough about where they are both at in terms of attitude.
Prebes!
We are thrilled to have Robinson “Greco Moses” Prebish on board. Greco wrestlers and coaches from around the country are familiar with “Prebes.” He has coached the US Cadet National and World teams, has played a vital role in building up Virginia’s own Greco program, and he’s an enthusiastic encyclopedia of knowledge who loves to share what he’s learned. Prebes is going to start out with the “Fargo Survival Series” focusing on both athletes and coaches. Prebish has a very unique and educated perspective on what it takes at Fargo. He has been there as an athlete (a successful one) and as a coach (again). He knows what it takes to make an impact in the Fargo Dome, so there is no doubt that what he has lined up here is going to be extremely valuable information.
Down the road, you can expect more from Prebes here. Going forward will be techniques, strategies, and a whole bunch of useful insights. He’s just a great guy to have on your side.
What’s coming up here…
A return to our normally scheduled program — The weekly “Coach Lindland Report” will be back. It was just too challenging with the time difference and scheduling conflicts to record like we normally do while the coach was away. While we did intend on doing something for this past week, bottom line is that it didn’t make a ton of sense to rush through the process. And we avoid the whole “email conversation” thing here unless there is super-pressing info that needs to be released right away. Whatever. Anyhow, the reports will be back so keep your shirts on over it…
Yes, there will be an interview and a “Memorable Match” segment. We skipped last week’s Memorable Match (my bad) simply because we made an editorial decision to include two full-scale athlete interviews. Speaking of, have you checked out the ones with RaVaughn and Kamal? They’re both worth your time in a big way but perhaps for different reasons…
A profile on another Greco wrestling club, one you may have heard of…
Remember – if you have camps, clinics, or tournaments and want us to know about it, you can contact us (info@fivepointmove.com). Like we mentioned last week, if it’s just a “digital flyer” sort of thing with basic information we will likely put it up. But if you’re looking for a more sustained audience, advertising on 5PM is the next step in that process. Let us know and we’ll work with you.
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