WHO’S NEXT? USAW STAR OF THE FUTURE Lee making big impact
Cadet World champ has plenty of lofty goals he is pursuing
By Richard Immel Just days before competing in the
biggest wrestling tournament of his young career, 16-year-old Spencer Lee suffered one of the sport’s most nagging and painful injuries. He cracked his ribs. Prior to taking the mat in Snina, Slovakia this past summer for the Cadet World Championships, Lee was sidelined from practice. He was relegated to riding an exercise
bike to keep his weight in check and forced to wonder how he could possibly be at his best to compete for a World title. Making the most of his opportunity to represent the U.S. in Slovakia, Lee decid- ed to take a different approach in his training in the days leading up to the competition. “My whole mindset going into the tour- nament since I was hurt was to score before they could score,” Lee said. “It let me focus on being really technical out there, keeping composed and not being crazy like I was the year before.” Lee said a hunger filled him after being
limited in his training for Cadet Worlds. This hunger led him to four victories over the World’s best en route to a Cadet World gold medal in freestyle wrestling at 50 kg/110 lbs. Sticking to his game plan, Lee struck
quickly in all four of his Cadet World bouts. He scored three technical falls and one
fall during the competition, including an 11-0 victory in the gold-medal match over Azerbaijan’s Afgan Khashalov. As if that isn’t impressive enough, Lee
did not surrender a single point at Cadet Worlds. “It was just fun,” Lee said. “We are in a
different country, with your teammates, representing the U.S. I love the sport and I love representing my country.” Prior to earning his Cadet World cham- pionship, Lee had a banner year state- side as a freshman for the prestigious
30 USA Wrestler
Pennsylvania standout Spencer Lee is just a sophomore in high school, but he already owns a FILA Cadet World title in freestyle wrestling. Tim Foley photos.
Pennsylvania program Franklin Regional High School. In his first season of high-school com- petition, Lee brought home titles at the Super 32, Ironman, PowerAde and Pennsylvania state high school tourna- ment.
Being so successful as a freshman
puts large expectations on his future career, but Lee insists he feels no pres- sure from said expectations and in fact relishes in it. “I want to be the guy with the target on
his back and be the guy people chase after,” Lee said. “It gives me something to strive for and gives me a reason to work harder than everyone else.” An integral part to Lee’s on-the-mat success is training at the Young Guns Wrestling Club four to five nights a week, in addition to his regular high school
training. Young Guns is one of the premier wrestling clubs in the country, boasting many of the top ranked high school wrestlers, including Cadet World Team members Gavin Teasdale, Jared Verkleeren and Devin Brown, as well as high school standouts Luke Pletcher, Vincenzo Joseph and Michael Kemmerer. The club has also seen success at the
college ranks with current All-Americans Nico Megaludis, A.J. Schopp and Evan Henderson having been a part of Young Guns. In 2012, Young Guns saw their first wrestler win an NCAA Championship with Cam Simaz earning the title for Cornell University at 197 pounds. Given all the successful wrestlers
Young Guns coach Jody Strittmatter has Continued on page 31
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