THE LAST WORD
Robles story is inspirational P
HILADEPHIA – The first time I interviewed Anthony Robles was during his sophomore season at Arizona State. I had heard about his incredible story. He was born without a right leg and didn’t start wrestling until he
was a freshman in high school. He struggled early in his career, but quickly became very
good in a very demanding sport. We did a phone interview for a feature story that ran in this magazine. He was one of the most polite, respectful and hum- ble young men I’ve ever talked to. At the end of the interview he said, “Thank you, Mr. Sesker,
for doing a story on me. I hope my story can serve as an inspi- ration.” When Robles won the NCAA 125-pound title on March 19 in Philadelphia, the story started to spread like wildfire in the national media. ESPN SportsCenter covered it. While I waited to catch my
flight from Philadelphia to Denver on Sunday morning, I sat with USA Wrestling’s Steve Fraser, Bill Zadick and Jason Bryant, and past NCAA champion Derek Moore at our gate. The story came up on CNN Headline News. Mission accomplished, Anthony. Your story is inspiring people
all over the country. And it has extended way beyond wrestling. When Robles put the finishing touches on his 8-1 win over
Iowa’s Matt McDonough in the 125 finals, the sellout crowd of nearly 18,000 fans stood and rewarded Robles with a much- deserved standing ovation. And I did something I’ve never done in my 20-plus years in
the communications business. I stood up on press row, where journalists are asked not to
cheer or show favoritism, and clapped along with them. Anybody who says Robles has an unfair advantage on the
mat is crazy. The guy only has one leg. He needs crutches to get around. Sure, he is very strong. He has the physique of a wrestler
who competes around 165 or 174 pounds. He towered over 157-pound NCAA champion and teammate Bubba Jenkins when they stood together posing for pictures after the finals. But the guy is missing a leg. Imagine how stable a table is
when it is missing one of its legs. That’s what Robles has to overcome on the mat. The guy he beat in the finals, McDonough, is a great wrestler.
He won an NCAA title last year, made the Junior World Team in freestyle and may be an Olympian some day. The way Robles dealt with all of the pressure was impressive. During his post-match press conference, Robles put it all in perspective. He said he wrestles because he loves wrestling. He doesn’t
42 USA Wrestler
do it for the attention. He also said if his story can inspire some- one else in life, that he is honored to be able to do that. His story has served as a huge inspiration for me. And I’m
Craig Sesker
sure I’m not alone. I haven’t had goosebumps at the NCAA tournament like that
since Cael Sanderson finished his unbeaten career in 2002. It truly is amazing to see what Anthony did.
NEBRASKA-OMAHA SITUATION COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED The proposed dropping of the wrestling program at Nebraska-
Omaha was one of the dumbest decisions I have ever seen. The Mavericks just won their third straight NCAA Division II
title when they were informed their program may be dropped. The timing was horrible, and the decision was even worse. Let’s hope the program can be saved.
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