WHO’S NEXT? USAW STAR OF THE FUTURE McKenna makes impact
By Alexandra Pernice Life just doesn’t seem to stop moving
for one of the best and brightest stars on the men’s freestyle stage – 2014 Junior World silver medalist Joey McKenna. At the age of 19, he is making major
waves at the Senior freestyle level. He recently pushed past his competition to win gold at the 2015 Cerro Pelado International in Havana, Cuba in February. “I needed to make small adjustments to
my style so I could compete with the Cuban wrestlers. Beforehand, I was train- ing to try and get a Cuban feel. My coach, Jeff Buxton had gone on the trip to Cuba last year, so I was getting point- ers here and there from him. I knew that the Cubans would wrestle hard and explosive, so I tried to get going and crowd them right off the bat,” said McKenna. McKenna came into the competition
with confidence and curiosity. What resulted was a championship per- formance. “I didn’t know how big my weight was
going to be. When I found out it was a four-man, round-robin, I was a little excit- ed,” McKenna said. “I knew I would have the chance to wrestle three good Cubans, one being their World Team guy (Yowlys Bonne Hernandez), who was third at the World Championships last year. “Interestingly enough, I ended up losing
to him, but beating my other two oppo- nents and winning the championship. Even though I ended up losing by a lot to (Hernandez), I think I learned a lot from that match. I think I learned a lot from the tournament itself, too.” McKenna’s performance in Cuba also impressed his coaches, including U.S. Assistant National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay. “Joey McKenna has proven to be one
of the best Juniors in the World and he has further developed his skills on the Senior level this year,” said Slay. “We are excited to take him as a backup to the World Cup in Los Angeles in April. If you desire to be a World and Olympic cham- pion, Joey has proven that taking a grayshirt year before starting NCAA wrestling will give you a head start to completing your Olympic dream.” Although he may seem young, his
30 USA Wrestler Joey McKenna won a silver medal for the U.S. at the 2014 Junior Worlds.
wrestling career already boasts an impressive list of accolades and accom- plishments. At the age of seven, McKenna picked
up a sport that would soon grow to be the absolute main focus in his life. “My older cousins started wrestling at a
young age, so they got me into the sport. I started at a youth club in New Jersey, called Pascack Hills, and there were a lot of good youth wrestlers that trained in my club. I always had pretty great role mod- els to look up to and aspire to be. From those days on, I just continued to train and wrestle,” said McKenna. As a student at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., McKenna had the oppor- tunity to wrestle for one of the best wrestling programs in the nation. Not only
did he build on his skills, but he also con- tinuously added onto a flourishing resume of accomplishments. “It felt great to attend Blair as a stu- dent-athlete. I had trained there before, from sixth grade through eighth grade, then I decided to go there for high school. When I started training at Blair, I knew I wanted to go there because there were some great wrestlers there, like Kellen Russell, Ed Ruth and Mike Evans. I always liked going there, I liked Coach Buxton, and I knew I wanted to be a part of that program,” said McKenna. At Blair, McKenna became a three-time National Prep champion, a two-time Beast of the East champion, and an Ironman champion. He also excelled at Continued on page 31
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