Army Greco stars land spots on Olympic Team
By Tim Hipps IOWA CITY – Making the Olympic
Team wasn’t the ultimate goal for three Greco-Roman wrestlers in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program. They are pursuing much bigger goals. Dremiel Byers, Spenser Mango and Justin Lester took a big step toward those lofty aspirations after winning titles at the U.S. Olympic Trials on April 21-22 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They advance to this summer’s Olympic Games in London, England. Two-time Olympian Byers won the 120 kg/264.5 lbs. division in two straight matches of a best-of-three final series against Steve Andrus.
Byers won by scores of 1-0, 1-0 and 2- 0, 2-0.
“Just know that I did everything that I can do to get this done, that’s the plan,” Byers, 37, said of heading to London with the goal of winning an Olympic gold medal. “That’s the way I’m going into it. … I’m just on a mission, and I’m not let- ting any distractions, including my own, get in the way. I just have to get this done.”
“Nothing is more important than this medal right now. Nothing. … I can put a dent in a tank right now the way I feel. I’m just going to keep this training going and stick with it.”
Mango took the 55 kg/121 lbs. division by pinning the New York Athletic Club’s Max Nowry at 1 minute, 53 seconds of their first match, and prevailing 1-0, 3-0 in the second.
“Everything went my way today,” Mango said. “Everybody’s tough. We wrestle each other all the time. Fifty-five is such a tight-knit group. We’ve wrestled each other multiple times and we know what each other’s go-to moves are, so it’s tough.”
Mango, too, will be making his second Olympic appearance.
“The first time, I’ll admit, I was sur- prised myself,” he said. “I knew I could do it, but I hadn’t did it yet. This time, it’s all business – need to bring home some medals.
“I’ve wrestled almost all the top guys in the world in my weight class. I know what
36 USA Wrestler36 USA Wrestler
U.S. Army standouts (from left) Justin Lester, Dremiel Byers and Spenser Mango landed spots on the Olympic Team in Greco-Roman wrestling. Tim Hipps photo.
I need to do – just really get out there and get after it. You can’t make any mis- takes on the world level; the guys are too good. I just need to keep sharpening what I do and constantly work on defense.”
Mango joined the Army since his first Olympic experience and expects the move to reap dividends in London. “The Army has the best program in the United States,” he said. “In the training room, I have Marco Lara, Nate Engel, Jermaine Hodge, Jeremiah Davis – all those guys right around my weight that are great wrestlers doing great things by helping each other, sharpening each other. I’m just really grateful for the opportunity that the Army has given me.” Mango, 25, has matured immensely since competing in the 2008 Games. “I do feel more like a veteran,” he said. “Lester and Byers are a little in front of me experience-wise, they’ve been doing it a little bit longer, but I’m definitely not the new kid on the block anymore.” Lester defeated the Minnesota Storm’s
C.P. Schlatter in two straight matches to claim the Olympic berth at 66 kg/145.5
lbs.
After winning the first match, 1-0, 2-0, Lester scrambled to a 2-0, 1-2, 1-0 victo- ry to avoid a third match.
“That sounds a lot better than just
World Team member Justin Lester,” he said of being announced as a U.S. Olympic Team member. “I’m definitely glad to tack that onto some of my accom- plishments, but this is only the first part. We’ve got a lot to do before we get to London.” Lester, 28, wrestled throughout the day and night with a business-like approach, willing his way through the pain of under- going arthroscopic knee surgery Jan. 17. “It was a good day,” he said. “I had some tough opponents, but I really could- n’t get going the way I wanted to go, that’s partly because of my competitors being so tough, and my knee also ham- pering me a little bit. But I got the job done. That’s all that matters. “The only thing I kept hearing in my mind was my mom saying, ‘You better win. Get it done. You better win.’ That’s the only thing I could think of the whole time.”
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