The 67th episode of the Five Point Move Podcast features 2023 World Team member Zac Braunagel (87 kg, NYAC/Navy WC), who in November won the Bill Farrell Memorial in New York City — and recently returned from an overseas trip that took him to first Sweden and then to Norway.
Braunagel, 25, had been part of the vaunted Illinois developmental pipeline as an age-group competitor, an era that for him included a Junior World appearance and a Fargo National title (both in ’19). He was projected to become a top Senior upper-weight and he has certainly established himself as such. In addition to having made his first Senior World roster in ’23, Braunagel this year is on the US National Team, a designation he had earned at the World Team Trials in April, which occurred only one month after his outstanding NCAA career for the University of Illinois drew to a close.
This past summer, Braunagel decided to depart from the Illinois Regional Training Center and try something new by joining the Navy Wrestling Club (hosted by the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD). Not only did Braunagel change training locations, his role is also different. Along with being a competitor for the Navy WC, he is serving as one of the club’s coaches.
Thus, the topics for this edition of the show are set. Braunagel discussed going from Illinois, his home, to the Navy Wrestling Club, his victory at the aforementioned Bill Farrell Memorial, and was looking ahead at his trip to Sweden for the Haparanda Cup. But — because the initial segment was recorded just prior to Braunagel leaving for SWE, another segment is attached in which he assesses his performance from Haparanda before sharing some insights on his time in Norway.
A Few Highlights
Braunagel on training at the Navy WC
“I have my separate practices where I go in and I practice with Peyton Walsh. He is in the wrestling club, as well. Then Coach Jay (Antonelli) goes in there and he will put us through a bunch of workouts. And then I have a lot of freedom to do stuff on my own. I will go in there and get lifts in on my own. Or whether it’s conditioning, I will go in there and do some conditioning on my own, and stuff like that. ”
Braunagel on winning the Bill Farrell Memorial
“It felt good. I felt like I could have opened up a little bit more with some of the guys. But at the same time, what I was doing was working, and if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. I was getting a lot of push-outs, I was pulling guys in front headlocks a bunch, and that goes into wrestling my positions. It all felt pretty good. ”
Braunagel on Jace Koelzer earning gold in Haparanda
“Jace wrestled really well. He was solid. He was scoring a lot of points, he was good on par terre. He wrestled through all of the positions. I think one match was pretty close against a tough guy from Bulgaria. Everyone else, they weren’t really in the match with him.”
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