BRAD VERING, Continued from page 20
stop in there, train for a few days, then come back to the OTC. After I did it for a couple of cycles, Momir said ‘Holy Cow, you are totally different guy.’ It was a change in mentality, getting back in a college room. Josh won a national title that year, and I built a really close friendship with him. Mark was a huge help for me, bouncing ideas for training off him. Coach Fraser always told me to take my career into my own hands, which is what I was doing, but still following the guidance of Momir and Fraser, and throwing my own flair in there,” said Vering. Vering had a great year, losing only a few bouts all season and having fun again. He was able to train at a high level all year. He made the U.S. team again, along with a group of other motivated wrestlers. The Greco team came off a third-place fin- ish at the 2006 Worlds, and had high goals for the year. However, it was a challenging year for Team USA. World champ Joe Warren tested positive and was not eligible. The team went through a travel nightmare trying to get to the Pan American Games, almost not getting there and pushing some athletes to barely make weight. The team was truly tested. “Fraser put all of these challenges in front of that team. We were close in 2006, with a third-place trophy and he felt we had this team and we had to do it. We got turned around at the Pan Am Games on the flight. Some of the guys said lets go home, we only have one day to make weight. Team Leader John Bardis was in the sauna with the guys, and we get to weigh in and everybody is still overweight. It was all these things. We had the World Championships in Azerbaijan. It was a crazy experience and tough situation,” he said. It was Vering who had the best finish in Worlds in Baku, win- ning five straight matches to reach the finals. Vering was cut up and beat up and kept winning, including a pin over Jung-Sub Kim of Korea in the semifinals. In the finals, he was defeated by Russian World champion Alexei Mishine to place second. Harry Lester and Dremiel Byers won bronze medals and Lindsay Durlacher was an inspiring fifth. Team USA beat Russia by one point and Georgia by three to win its first and only Greco-Roman World Team Title. When the U.S. national anthem cut out in the middle as the team got the first place trophy, the American delegation sang our National Anthem at the top of its lungs. It was history.
“By the time we got to the World Championships, we felt this team was so hard. We didn’t care what the draws were. Throw anybody you want in front of us and we will light them up. Byers got into this tough place late in the tournament, where he had to medal. Harry had a phenomenal performance. Lindsay (Durlacher), T.C. (Dantzler), Justin (Ruiz), everybody gave everything they had. It was so cool. You were there with the best friends you ever had. We all did our part,” said Vering. In 2008, Vering had another strong season. However, he was
upset in the U.S. Open finals by Brad Ahearn, something that had him even more prepared going forward. The Olympic Trials were in Las Vegas, and he came through the Challenge Tournament, then beat Aaron Sieracki to make the team. “Brad took me out at the nationals that year. He was one of the best athletes I wrestled. He was as athletically as anyone I faced. It was the best thing to happen to me. I felt I was on the right track for a medal in Beijing. After the setback, I went full bore. I grabbed Justin Ruiz, Adam Wheeler, Fraser, Momir every day. I was loving it. You can ask Aaron. I had close matches with him before, and he beat me a handful of times. Against Aaron in the Trials finals, I couldn’t believe how many points I was scoring on him,” said Vering. Vering had great training and high expectations at the Beijing Olympics. He won his first match against tough Artur Mikalkiewicz of Poland, then fell to Denis Forov of Armenia.
Brad Vering made four U.S. World Teams. John Sachs photo.
Vering was not eligible to wrestle back. His final competition was disappointing, especially when finalists Andrea Minguzzi of Italy and Zoltan Fodor of Hungary were athletes who Vering beat often. After Beijing, he was ready to move on to the next phase of
his life. “I had given everything I had. My mom drove me over the
state of Nebraska. My parents drove me all over the United States. I was blessed to have their dedication. They were the ultimate parents. It was a privilege to be able to wrestle. In 2008, I felt I had taken so much from everybody else. It was time for me to give back,” said Vering.
He met his future wife, Candace, late in his career at the OTC, where she was a world-class volleyball player. She had also been supportive of Brad in his final years. They were mar- ried in 2009, and decided to start a family. “Ultimately, it didn’t matter what I was going to do. I felt I would be successful. You use the same foundation you use to be a successful athlete and student. You work hard until the job gets done. You don’t work to 5 o’clock, you work until it’s done. As a wrestler, you have to do that,” said Vering. He went into the medical device industry. “It is a tough industry, a high-stress situation. It is an environ- ment we can handle very easily. Wrestling is a tough and high stress sport. It builds a great foundation and discipline to suc- ceed, as long as you do the right things and keep learning. After I decided not to go down the coaching trail, I had mentors who felt I had a bright future in business. You have to start at the bottom, do the grunt work and the hard things. Ultimately, you work through that, and the cream rises to the top. When your opportunity arises, you step out of your comfort zone and you take it,” Vering said.
Brad and Candace remained in Colorado Springs and they have two girls, Maya who is 3½ and Ashtyn who is 1½. “They are awesome,” Vering said. “I work some crazy hours sometimes, but every chance I get to spend with them is the best thing. I have these buddies fly fishing or riding mountain bikes and other cool things. I’ll make sure I spend the weekends and every minute I can with the kids. It’s a lot better than catch- ing a 30-inch rainbow. It’s 100 times better than winning a World silver medal, and I really enjoyed winning that medal.”
33 USA Wrestler
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