Colon moved down to 57 kg/125.5 lbs. en route to winning the Bill Farrell International. Milena Wick photo. Continued from page 6
Colon, from Clear Lake, Iowa, captured
two state high school titles before winning a junior-college national title for Iowa Central.
He qualified for the 2012 NCAA tourna- ment for Northern Iowa, but was dis- missed from the UNI team a short time later and sat out the entire 2012-13 sea- son.
“When I got dismissed from the team, I wanted to be done,” Colon said. “My heart wasn’t in it, and I just wanted to get away from wrestling. I wanted to give up and take the easy way out. There were a lot of things going on, and some off-the- mat issues.”
Those feelings eventually changed. Colon was given a second chance by Schwab, an Olympian and NCAA champi- on.
“I really appreciated Doug giving me another chance,” Colon said. “He stuck with me and pushed me. He didn’t give up on me, and he picked me up when I was down. He’s been great.” Colon rejoined the Panther program last season and became a Division I All- American for the first time. “Joe’s really grown and matured,” Schwab said. “Unfortunately, sometimes you have to go through tough times, have something taken away, and have pain be involved for growth to happen. He responded really well.
8 USA Wrestler
“He figured out a way to rebound from some setbacks. I’m proud he stuck with the program and stuck with himself. There were times when maybe he wasn’t sure if he could do it. He proved a lot of people wrong, and he continues to grow as a man and a person.”
Colon became one of the best come- back stories of last season as he ascend- ed to No. 1 in the NCAA rankings. He knocked off the second-ranked
Graff by a 6-0 score in an early season dual. Colon followed with a stunning first- period pin over Iowa’s Tony Ramos in the Midlands finals.
Ramos went on to win the NCAA title at 133 and make the 2014 U.S. World Team.
Colon is hoping to join a long list of wrestlers who have excelled international- ly despite never winning NCAAs. “Sometimes a setback like that fuels you a little bit more,” Schwab said. “It hurt him pretty badly to not get that national title. I know it’s something he uses for motivation. It stokes the fire.” Colon competed at the non-Olympic weight class of 61 kg/134 lbs. following the college season in 2014. He placed fifth at the U.S. Open and fourth at the U.S. World Team Trials.
Colon dropped down to the Olympic class of 57 kilos for his first event this season. “That’s the lightest I’ve been since I
was a freshman in college, but I felt good out there,” he said. “This weight class is where I feel like I can make a good run. I need to keep training hard and eating the right foods. I need to keep making leaps and bounds forward to try and get to the top.”
Colon is on track to graduate from UNI this semester with a degree in exercise science. He continues to train at UNI as a member of the Panther Wrestling Club and the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. “I haven’t fulfilled my dreams in wrestling yet,” he said. “I didn’t reach my goals in college, but I will take an Olympic title or a World title over an NCAA title.”
Schwab, who placed fifth at the 2007
Worlds, was asked what type of potential Colon possesses.
“Joe can put a lot of points on the board, and that can set him apart in that weight class,” Schwab said. “I believe in him and what he wants to do. I tell him don’t hold back on any hopes and dreams you want to accomplish. He’s definitely in that conversation to make the World Team, there’s no doubt. “Joe’s been through a lot, but he has a great attitude. He is really positive, and he is gaining more confidence as he becomes more experienced. His win in New York, it’s only one tournament, but it’s certainly an indication of what he can do.”
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