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THE LAST WORD


U.S. freestyle team makes statement


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STANBUL, Turkey - I had plenty of time to reflect on the U.S. men’s freestyle performance at the 2011 World Championships during my 10-plus hour flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Houston on the way home. I thought back to the 2010 World Championships in Moscow, Russia. The U.S. did not even come close to winning a medal in that tournament in freestyle and I remember running into wrestling legend Dan Gable immediately after the tournament. “Never in my lifetime did I think I would see a performance like that,” Gable said. “We need to figure out what’s wrong.” Mission accomplished. The U.S. freestyle team turned in a superb performance a year later in Turkey. The American squad finished third in the team standings and was not that far away from winning the team title.


Jordan Burroughs was simply phenomenal in winning a World title in his first trip to this event. He wasn’t perfect by any means, giving up takedowns in each of his five matches, but Burroughs never stops wrestling and never stops believing. Sure, he is athletic and explosive. But he’s also very smart, and he is very good technically and tactically. You need all those intangibles to beat the best guys in the World. Quite frankly, USA Wrestling needs a guy like Burroughs who is committed to wrestling. He’s coachable and he’s a workhorse in the practice room. He’s only 23, and has said he plans to wrestle through 2016. He’s charismatic, likeable and person- able, and he can do a lot to promote wrestling in this country. Jake Varner wrestled the best I’ve ever seen him wrestle, by


far, in winning a World bronze medal. Varner was continually looking to attack and his aggressive approach worked well for


him in Turkey. Jake is a totally different wrestler than the guy who placed ninth in the 2009 Worlds. He is bigger and stronger, and he now has an offensive arsenal that makes him a gold-medal con- tender next year in London. Cael Sanderson did an outstanding job in placing fifth in his


Craig Sesker


first World-level event in over seven years. Cael may see it dif- ferently, but he wrestled well. He could’ve been on the podium in Turkey, but a questionable call prevented him from winning his bronze-medal match against Albert Saritov of Russia. It was enjoyable seeing Cael back out there competing. I hope he gives it one more year. He can win an Olympic gold medal in London if he chooses to compete in 2012. Cael’s return certainly gave a boost to Varner, who benefited from training alongside one of the all-time greats. Tervel Dlagnev turned in a gutsy performance to place fifth. Dlagnev lost seven straight ball draws, but still managed to win in the defensive position in the clinch to beat two-time Olympic champion Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals. Dlagnev can contend for gold in London as well. Nick Simmons turned in a strong performance at the Worlds as well, finishing fifth and qualifying the U.S. for the Olympics in his weight class. I’m looking forward to seeing Simmons battle Henry Cejudo and others for the Olympic berth at next April’s Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City. Give Zeke Jones and his staff credit. The U.S. turned in a strong performance, setting itself up for a great Olympics.


42 USA Wrestler


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