Continued from page 36
was extremely fast for a big man and had impressive technique, wrestling more like a middleweight. Neal’s many tools allowed him to rack up lots of points in many matches.
As a sophomore, Neal reached the
NCAA finals, losing to Penn State’s Kerry McCoy. He closed out his college career with a pair of undefeated seasons and NCAA titles. In 1998, Neal manhandled Trent Hynek of Iowa State in the national finals, 20-5. As a senior in 1999, he bat- tled Minnesota star Brock Lesner in the NCAA finals, winning a tight 3-2 decision. His biggest college memories were not from competition, but from the wrestling room.
“The best memories I have was that practice room at Cal State-Bakersfield. We would work until we were dog-tired. Right when we were about to quit, you’d look around and see everyone else get- ting after it. We took ourselves to a differ- ent level. We believed we were the best conditioned team in the country,” said Neal.
Neal was not done. His 1999 year was one of the greatest breakout years in U.S. freestyle wrestling history. He imme- diately jumped into the freestyle scene, winning all the major events, one after another.
“I always enjoyed freestyle. It is a lot more about explosion and athleticism. You could get behind but you could hit a five point or three point move. As long as you could score points and be in great condition as a heavyweight, you could be successful,” he said. He started with a win at the University Nationals, then won the U.S. Senior Open title, beating 1997 World Team member Tom Erikson in the finals, 9-3. He followed with a victory at the World Team Trials, defeating 1998 World Team member Kerry McCoy in three matches. In the deciding third match, Neal won 5-0. That summer, in Winnipeg, Canada, he defeated Cuban star Alexis Rodriguez in the finals for a gold medal at the Pan American Championships. Rodriguez jumped out with two three-point throws, but Neal came storming back for an excit- ing 8-7 win.
At the 1999 World Championships in Ankara, in his first match, Neal rocked the house, hitting a blast double on Frans Vanden Heever of South Africa for a five- second pin. Medical staff had to carry the South African off the mat because of the force of the move.
“Before the tournament, I talked to my coach Darryl Pope. Our strategy was to get out there and put as many points on the board as we can. Whether you are
ahead or behind, just keep scoring points. It’s about understanding what your strengths are and leaning towards them. Fortunately, our strategy worked,” said Neal.
Neal continued his offensive show with his signature double leg attack. He put up 13 points against a Greek opponent, then 10 points on tough Turk Aydin Polatci in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he scored seven points against Recep Ashabeliyev of Azerbaijan. In the finals, Neal fell behind crafty Russian veteran Andrei Shumilin, getting thrown for three early points. However, Neal kept up the pressure with his impressive shots, and battled back to defeat three-time World medalist Shumilin, 4-3 for the World gold medal. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the competition.
In spite of his amazing season, Neal still faced a major battle to make the 2000 Olympic team in a loaded weight class. He missed the early part of the season recovering from shoulder injury. However, his biggest obstacle came from McCoy, who was able to develop an effective strategy against the explosive Neal attack.
McCoy was able to defeat Neal in the finals of the 2000 U.S. Open by a tight 3- Continued on page 38
USA Wrestler 37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44