Continued from page 30 “He has been around a long time. He has seen all kinds of
different wrestlers, different styles. He knows how to make us better in the positions we need a little help in, keeping our hands in front, not just trying to use our speed, moving guys to get in better position. He is a great coach. He gives you inspira- tion and keeps your head up. He keeps you wanting to work hard. He helps you get better, not just in the room but also out of the room,” said Green. You might ask how a guy who placed third in the Big Ten and third in the NCAA Championships could come back a few months later and place third in the World Championships. But if you followed James Green in his odyssey to make the 2015 World Team, you would understand that he had the stuff neces- sary for success. “I didn’t start wrestling freestyle seriously until I went to col- lege. I went to Fargo in high school, but didn’t know anything about freestyle. I thought I could just take people down and that would be it. But that wasn’t the case. I started training freestyle in college and I loved it. It helps with both folkstyle and freestyle,” said Green.
In 2014, Green began to show that he had a bright future in freestyle wrestling. After winning the University Nationals to earn a spot on the University World Team, Green placed a strong second in the University World Championships. A few weeks later, he placed second at the Phase II World Team Trials at 70 kg. Green won three straight matches to reach the finals series. He lost in two straight bouts to 2014 U.S. Open champion Nick Marable. His battles with Marable were competitive. In 2015, just weeks after his final NCAA Championships, Green placed third in the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, losing in the third round to Kevin LeValley by a 5-5 criteria decision. He came back strong to place third. At the 2015 World Team Trials in Madison, Marable did not weigh in. Green won twice in the Challenge Tournament, aveng- ing his Open loss to LeValley with a 13-2 technical fall. In the
James Green gets a high single leg on Muruslav Kirov of Bulgaria in the bronze medal bout. Larry Slater photo.
championship finals, Green defeated 2009 U.S. World Team member Dustin Schlatter in two straight bouts, 5-0 and 4-2. When Marable filed for an extension to the final series, USA
Wrestling’s Freestyle Sport Committee denied the request and named Green to the World Team. Marable exercised an appeal process available to him through the Amateur Sports Act, and ultimately an independent arbitrator ruled in his favor. A Special Wrestle-off Series between Marable and Green was scheduled for Fargo, N.D. during the ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet Nationals.
Just days after returning from winning a gold medal at the
Spanish Grand Prix, Green took control in both matches against Marable in Fargo, winning 4-0 and 2-1 for a two-match sweep. “I wanted to prove a point and prove I’m the best guy at the weight,” said Green in Fargo. “I’m looking forward to wrestling for Team USA at the World Championships and wrestling in my home country. I just tried to keep a level head through the whole process. I’ve been ready to wrestle again since the Trials. I kept my focus on what I want to do and that’s win a World champi- onship. I’m ready. I just have to keep learning and keep pro- gressing.”
James Green bites his bronze medal during the awards ceremony at the World Championships in Las Vegas. Larry Slater photo.
Green faces a new challenge in 2016, because 70 kg/154 lbs. is a non-Olympic weight class. If Green goes up to 74 kg/163 lbs., he could face Burroughs in the Olympic Trials process. If he drops down to 65 kg/143 lbs., he would need to trim over 10 pounds and wrestle at a weight class he has not made in a number of years. Green already knows what he will do. “I have been planning to go down to 143. I was down to 145 two years ago. It’s a cut but it’s doable. We have a great plan, a great system. I will be down quicker, still with the same strength, and looking to dominate,” he said.
31 USA Wrestler
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