WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Dantzler made impact By Gary Abbott Thomas Curtis Dantzler, known worldwide as T.C, is not afraid
of taking on big challenges. Whether it is on the mat, in busi- ness or dealing with serious health issues, he has never set lim- its on what he can achieve. And along the way, he has kept a joy and humor in his approach to life and sports. “Humor was a big part of my family, growing up. Having humor and approaching things with a humorous side takes a load off what is really serious in life and what’s not so serious, once you break it down,” said Dantzler.
Growing up in the Chicago area, Dantzler had opportunity to excel in the sport, in part due to a great youth wrestling program in his area, the nationally-respected Harvey Twisters. “I got started in seventh grade because my brother wrestled. The Harvey Park District started a wrestling program, the Harvey Twisters. I heard about it and went to practice. My younger cousins Steve Williams and Joe Williams went there, and my younger brother. We started what is now a youth wrestling club dynasty, with Quintroy Harrell as my coach,” said Dantzler.
Like many others, Dantzler was not immediately successful on the mats.
“I wasn’t very good. I wasn’t terrible. I worked hard and I was aggressive. I didn’t have a lot of success. I was more than a 50- 50 wrestler, but never won the big matches. A big turning point for me was that my older brother got shot and killed when I was in eighth grade and then I really honed in on wrestling. I made it my own. I turned the corner in my high school career that spring after my junior year, doing freestyle and Greco,” said Dantzler. He went on to place second in the Illinois state champi-
onships as a senior, dislocating his shoulder in the finals match and losing an 8-5 heartbreaker. Dantzler wanted to be both a wrestler and a football player in college, a reason he chose Northern Illinois.
“I could play football and wrestle at a Div. I school at Northern
Illinois. Their school of business for accounting was No. 1 in the country at the time. I wanted to be an accountant. To go to the No. 1 school and play two Div. I sports, it was a great opportuni- ty,” he said.
In the age of specialization, especially at the Div. I level, not many are willing to compete in two sports. For Dantzler, it was not a problem. “To me, it wasn’t difficult. It was all I ever knew. Once you
start on it, you don’t realize how much free time you would have if you weren’t doing it. From an academic standpoint, Northern Illinois always made sure that I had tutors, so I could stay on task and on schedule. I am not going to say it was easy, but when it is all you ever know, it is not difficult,” said Dantzler. He was successful in both sports, a four-time NCAA qualifier in wrestling and a starter on the football team. He played foot- ball against some top teams including Florida, Fresno State and Iowa. Yet he did not achieve his goals on the mat, which helped drive his passion to continue wrestling after college. “I look back. By my sophomore year, I knew it didn’t have a wrestling room that had the ability to take it to the next level. The coaching staff gave me the support, but the room wasn’t
18 USA Wrestler
Olympian and five-time World Team member T.C. Dantzler retires from competition in 2010. USA Wrestling flie photo.
there. I could have been like a lot of other guys who became NCAA champions or All-American and were satisfied. When I left my college career, I felt like there was so much more suc- cess out there for me. That’s what made me go to the Senior level,” he said.
Dantzler chose Greco-Roman as his next challenge, some- thing which he had limited experience in.
“Greco was more fun and exciting. I didn’t have a Greco coach or situation when I first started training. I went to the library and got a book that had color pictures and started read- ing about Greco. I felt I could do this. I didn’t have a training partner. With my ex-girlfriend, I’d do my arm drag and my high dive over and over and over. I went to the Sunkist Open and took third place, and ended up beating a national champion, Carl Fronhofer,” he said.
National Greco-Roman Resident Coach Anatoly Petrosyan invited Dantzler to the Olympic Training Center for a week, and soon after, he invited him to join the OTC Greco-Roman resi- dent program. It was there where Dantzler learned the sport and built the skills needed for success.
“I turned the corner in my Greco career once I made my first World Team in 2002, being at the Olympic Training Center and
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