YOUNG CHAMPION PROFILE Mark Hall eyes a bright future by Joe Mehling
With the red, white and blue balloons falling, Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA blaring, and the newly crowned U.S. Olympic Trials Champions waving to the excited crowd, 18-year old Mark Hall II stood at the base of the stage in Carver Hawkeye Arena and saw his future. The 2015 U.S. Junior World Team member went 2-2 at his first Olympic Trials but knows that his return in 2020 should be different. “After the finals at Olympic Trials, when they had all of the champions lined up, coach (Brandon) Slay made sure that I was real close,” Hall said. “I saw what it is going to be like when I am up there in 2020. In 2012, I was there as a fan, I saw that and thought ‘This is cool’. Now, four years later, I wrestled in it and saw the ceremony but this time there was a little sting in my heart.” Hall’s performance in the Challenge
Tournament at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials was impressive, considering he is not yet a college student. He opened with a 13-11 win over another talented young star Logan Massa. In the quarterfinals, he fell to eventual runner-up Andrew Howe, 10-0. Hall won his first repechage match, defeating past University Nationals cham- pion Quentin Godley, 11-5. Veteran star Adam Hall beat Mark Hall in the next round, 14-5.
Hall has accomplished nearly all that can be accomplished at the Junior and Cadet levels. He won 12 state champion titles in Minnesota, six individual titles and six team titles, as well as a 2014 Cadet World Championship. If that wasn’t enough, he was considered the nation’s No. 1 high school recruit and has commit- ted to further his career at Penn State University, winner of five of the last six NCAA team titles. Yet, despite all the accolades and the praise, Hall remains hungry and humble. “It is important to stay humble but at the same time you can realize all the great things you are doing and the great things you want to do,” Hall said. “When you start to look at the big picture you can certainly be happy for the things that you’ve done but there is so much I want to do. I had such a great experience with my coaches and teammates in high school but at the same time there is still a lot to accomplish.”
Hall has one of his unaccomplished 30 USA Wrestler
Mark Hall locks up a front headlock against Logan Massa in their 74 kg match at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Photo by Mark Lundy.
goals in his cross-hairs this summer as he looks to return to the Junior World Championships and win a gold medal. At last year’s Junior Worlds in Brazil, Hall made a run at the podium, winning his first two matches over a former Youth Olympic Games champion and a European Junior bronze medalist. He was stopped short of his goal by an unex- pected opponent.
Peter Nagy of Hungary, who had lived in Iowa and Florida and won a gold medal at the Cadet Nationals in Greco- Roman, scored a spin behind takedown with one second left to upset Hall in the quarterfinals. When Nagy lost in the semifinals, Hall was not eligible for repechage. During the finals, Hall watched from the side with a sting in his heart.
“He has a sour taste in his mouth from last year,” Assistant National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay said. “He actually beat two of the better guys and then lost to someone who is more of a Greco-Roman guy who just kept it close. Mark knows he should have won that match. He knows that feeling and he doesn’t want to feel it again. That has fueled his drive to a Junior World Championship this year.” He has taken the necessary steps to achieve that goal. Hall graduated early from Apple Valley High School and has
taken residence in Colorado Springs, Colo. at the U.S. Olympic Training Center where he trains daily with Coach Slay. The two have developed a relationship that has been rooted in much more than just wrestling.
“Coach Slay has helped me, not even just in wrestling, I think wrestling is minis- cule compared to how he has helped me become a young man,” Hall said. “I have always listened to what he has to say and 99 percent of the time it is benefiting me. He has made the right adjustments for me and has been a big part of my life.” Hall has spent considerable time at the OTC throughout his years in high school. Coach Slay can remember, without much thought, the first time he saw Hall at the OTC nearly five years ago.
“Five summers ago when he was 13 or 14, I threw him out there against our top Juniors and even guys who were eight or nine years older than him and he wasn’t scared,” Slay said. “He was fearless. He was willing to go out there and wrestle those guys. He realized that was part of his trajectory to get better. I remember thinking that I knew he had to go back to school but I was really hoping he contin- ued to come out to the OTC and train with us during the summer.” Hall did. He has been a familiar face
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