WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Kelly delivered on big stage By Gary Abbott
The U.S. wrestling community can be proud of the vast improvement and clutch performance by Coleman Scott, who won a bronze medal at 60 kg/132 lbs. in freestyle at the Olympic Games. Scott became the 16th athlete from the Oklahoma State wrestling program to win an Olympic medal.
The last OSU Cowboy to win an Olympic medal before Scott was a mem- ber of the 2012 U.S. Olympic coaching staff in London, helping Scott and his teammates pursue their dreams. Like Scott, 2004 Olympic silver medal- ist Jamill Kelly was not expected to come home with a medal, but he also wrestled very well when it truly counted. Beating the odds is something that defines Kelly. Never considered a blue- chip wrestler, hard work and an open mind allowed Kelly to achieve great things. These traits now help him in his quest to be one of the best wrestling coaches.
Kelly didn’t try out for wrestling until he was in ninth grade in Atwater, Calif., when his freshman football coach chal- lenged him. Standing less than five-foot tall and weighing 103 pounds, Kelly knew he was not built for a career in the NBA or NFL. Once he gave the sport a chance, he fell in love with it. “I didn’t achieve that much in high school,” said Kelly. “The school I attended wasn’t a wrestling powerhouse. I was JV my first year. I got to start my second year, but didn’t make it to state. My junior year, I was injured. I was fourth in the state as a senior. But because I was just starting in wrestling, I felt there was so much more I could do in the sport.” Not high on anybody’s recruiting lists, Kelly did research on junior colleges in California. He read in Amateur Wrestling News that Kelvin Jackson went to Lassen College, then went on to Michigan State, where he won the NCAA title. Kelly also saw that they wrestled a national sched- ule, so he went to Lassen to prove him- self.
“I felt Lassen would be a good fit for me. Once I got there, I got to wrestle alongside T.J. Williams and Vladimir Matushenko and other great wrestlers. Never before had I been around that level of wrestling. I grew tremendously in those
36 USA Wrestler36 USA Wrestler
Jamill Kelly captured a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics. John Sachs photos.
two years in Lassen. The wrestlers and coaches there made me go to another level,” said Kelly.
Kelly was a runner-up at the Junior College Nationals, and caught the atten- tion of top programs at open events, beating some quality NCAA Division I opponents. Among those interested was Oklahoma State’s John Smith. When Kelly went to Stillwater to meet him, he decided to wrestle for the most success- ful program in college wrestling history. His time at Oklahoma State was a chal-
lenge. Although he was able to start for the Cowboys and make the Big 12 con- ference finals, he fell short of becoming an All-American. “It was tough. The biggest thing for me was my mentality. I wasn’t there yet. I was around national champions and three- and four-time state champions. I gave a lot of respect to people because they accomplished more than me. I wres- tled not to lose, rather than to win. I was- n’t there mentally until I got into freestyle,” said Kelly. Initially, Kelly was not interested in doing freestyle after college. Because John Smith was a 2000 Olympic coach, Kelly had an opportunity to work out with World medalist Cary Kolat. Later that year, former OSU wrestler Teague Moore
called Kelly and said that Kolat wanted him to come out to West Virginia to train with him.
“Cary liked the way I’d work out with him. He asked me to be his training part- ner at the Olympics in Sydney. I was lov- ing it. I was learning so much. I started to bug people so I could watch more wrestling on video. Mentally, wrestling with those guys gave me more confi- dence. After going to the Olympics, I wanted to give it a try myself,” said Kelly. Kelly trained at Oklahoma State, and began to climb the ladder on the Senior level. He began to believe in his dream in 2002, when the weight classes changed from 63 kg to 66 kg and he placed sec- ond at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas. “It showed I could compete with those guys. When I beat Chris Bono in the semifinals, and lost to Bill Zadick in over- time in the finals on a penalty call, I knew I was right in the mix,” said Kelly. After placing only sixth in the 2003 U.S. Open, Kelly made a run at the 2003 World Team Trials that surprised the wrestling community. He won the Challenge Tournament, defeating 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Lincoln McIlravy in the final match, then beat Bono in two straight matches to make his first U.S.
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