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that, she only beat me once or twice. That’s when I started hav- ing international success,” she said. There were only four Olympic weights for women, and Downing was at a non-Olympic weight. She stayed at 67 kg/147.5 lbs., except the Olympic years when she moved up to 72 kg/158.5 lbs. for the Trials. “I was a true 67 kg wrestler. I was low enough on body fat that 63 kg would be all about making weight and not wrestling anymore. On the other hand, when I wrestled 72 kg, I pretty much woke up, had breakfast and made weight soaking wet. I tried to get to that size but it wasn’t for two years after I retired that I weighed that much,” she said. Downing’s first World meet was in 2005 in Budapest, Hungary, and she came home with a bronze medal. “Everyone my age, in 2003 and 2004, those girls already
started having success. I didn’t make it until 2005. I had been to international tournaments and was ready to win right away because it took me so long to get there. There was no option for me than gold. I remember a moment before stepping out to the mat that I felt it all. I had USA on the singlet my back. It was an amazing feeling,” she said. She made three straight World Teams, adding a second
World bronze medal in 2007. She went up to 72 kg in 2008 for her second Olympic run, and had a very strong effort. She reached the finals of the Olympic Trials, losing in two straight matches to young star Ali Bernard. “I had been working with Kristie and Steph Lee in mind. At one point, I had coached Ali Bernard at a camp. I spent a whole week of one-on-one time coaching her. To lose to her was dev- astating. Her learning curve was bigger than mine. I was deter- mined I was going to get it. Ali was probably the one I was least prepared for. I hadn’t wrestled her as much. It was the stuff of nightmares. I knew I was done,” said Downing. Going into retirement, she felt good that she had left it all out onto the mat. Downing stayed in Colorado Springs with her new husband, Joe Cygan, who worked at the Olympic Training Center. In 2010, she took an assistant coaching job with the women’s team at Oklahoma City University. “I gave college coaching a try. I was excited, because they were the best team in the nation at the time. But it ended up not being for me. After that, I was kind of lost for awhile. I was strug- gling to find out who I was outside of being a wrestler. I knew I wanted to coach, but coaching didn’t turn out what I had expect- ed. I thought I was a well-rounded person, and had gotten a Master’s degree while at the OTC. I kind of didn’t want to coach and needed a break from it all. Since I stared in high school, I hadn’t had a break from it for 16 years,” she said. She didn’t completely get away from wrestling, taking some coaching assignments with USA Wrestling and finding her way to wrestling rooms helping wrestlers. After a divorce, she moved to California and was not involved in wrestling much. It took the tragic death of a good friend, her assistant high school coach Eric Kriebel, that ultimately brought her back to her hometown in Indiana and back into coaching.
When back for the funeral, her high school coach Dave Cloud
offered her the assistant coach job which became open with the death of her friend. She decided to take the opportunity and move home. She also worked with the Kriebel family’s contract- ing business, which she had done on-and-off over the years. During this time, she reconnected with her coach’s nephew, Jay Kriebel, who she knew growing up.
“Jay and I connected during the process of getting the affairs in order. I was involved with the family when they handled the details of the funeral. We were both stripped down. There were
20 USA Wrestler
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no walls left. After I moved back, Jay and I kept getting closer. It happened really quickly that we ended up getting married last January in the middle of the season. Three months later, we were pregnant,” she said.
She now goes by Katie Kriebel but still answers to Coach Downing. It was a tough time for the wrestling team her first year there as assistant coach, like a “Bad News Bears” kind of season in her mind. However, she has learned to love coaching again, and truly enjoys working with the young men on the team. This year, Pendleton Heights is having its best season in years, setting its dual-meet win record with 21 so far. Her daughter, Camryn, was born in December, another key life-changing event in a time of rapid change for her. “I have been ready to be a mom for awhile. I just turned 35. I had been around friends doing that. Pregnancy was the first time I had to listen to my body, and my body was in charge. I had always been in charge of my body and my body was my tool to have success. That was a change and I enjoyed it. Having a little girl, everything changed immediately. It is the most terrifying and wonderful thing at the same time, all the time. It is complete joy and complete fear, always,” she said. Downing has worked with Senior-level athletes on tours. “I enjoy it still. I got to go on dozens of tours as an athlete. I am now working with the women who are at the top of their game and starry-eyed. I got to work with Junior age girls at the Pan Ams, which is great. How you interact with them at that age is different than the elite level women. You are developing a per- son at that age. I’ve gone to Sweden the last few years with the elite athletes. It is fun because they are the literally the best. I don’t have to teach position. They know who they are and are developed as people. We are there for the same goal. We are going through a journey to get as close to that goal as we can,” she said.
The Penn State coaching stafff, joined by many of the Penn, joined by many State wrestlers and Olympic level athletes that are training in State College, will be involved daily in all aspects of the camp. The best camp staffff in the nation will provide you ou become
with the mental and physical training to help you become the best wrestler you can be.
Improve your performance on the mat with unmatched technical instruction, live wrestling, competitions and an individual tournament. Campers wrestle in a world class facility, while residing in residence halls directly across the street.
Wrestling 1 Wrestling 3
Wrestling Team 1 Wrestling Team 2 (tentative dates)
Te Te
eam 1 eam 2
June 24-27
W restling 2 (Intensive) June 24-July 1 June 28-July 1 July 5-8 July 9-12
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