2016 U.S. OLYMPIAN - 48 kg W Augello stays smart, stingy, patient
by Richard Immel Smart, stingy and patient. These three words have been the cata-
lyst behind Haley Augello’s magical run to an Olympic berth in women’s freestyle. “I tell myself three things before every
match and that’s smart, stingy and patient. You’ve got to be smart with what you are doing, stingy with the points you give them and patient with the points you are going for,” said Augello. The Lockport, Ill. native has been on
quite the tear in 2016. On the university level, Augello picked
up her second WCWA Women’s College Nationals title for King University as a sophomore in 2015. She then made a decision to take an Olympic redshirt year from school, and train full-time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. “The reason I made this decision had
nothing to do with (King Coach Jason Moorman) as a coach or the team as training partners. Training for something that important in a college town worried me. I needed to put myself in a place with not as many distractions and temptations. It wasn’t my trust in the coaching or train- ing that made the decision, it was my trust in myself to fully commit myself to the goal and to make weight with college life going on around me,” she said. Part of the change in her life was a decision to drop from 53 kg, where she was a national team member, down to 48 kg. Although she intended to do it earlier in the 2016 season, even a few weeks before the Trials, when she won the gold at the University Nationals, Augello was still competing up at 53 kg. Fast forward to April and Augello was
standing atop the U.S. Olympic Team Trials podium inside one of the most icon- ic wrestling venues worldwide, Carver- Hawkeye Arena. Although boasting an impressive set of
past credentials, wrestling at 48 kg for the first time at the Olympic Trials, Augello was a relative unknown in terms of how she would fare against America’s best at the lightest Olympic weight class. To win in Iowa City, Augello had to nav-
igate a bracket littered with elite talent. 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Clarissa Chun, two-time World bronze medalist Alyssa Lampe, two-time Junior World champion and 2013 World Team member Victoria Anthony and two-time Junior
12 USA Wrestler
World medalist Erin Golston were among the top Olympic contenders at 48 kg. “I was really confident in my training
and all the time I put in, so I really did expect to win,” Augello said. “I think that boosted my confidence and it helped me in the tournament having that kind of mindset.” Wrestling from the No. 4 seed in Iowa
City, Augello scored big wins over Candace Workman, Golston and Lampe to make the best-of-three championship finals against Anthony. In the only women’s freestyle final to go all three matches, Augello emerged victorious. “I kind of went in with a different mind-
set this tournament. I wanted to be more patient, so I didn’t make mistakes. Sometimes when you’re rushing things like that you can make mistakes. I went in with a more patient attitude and just tried to pick my opponents apart,” she said. Although she came out on top, immedi-
ately the thought of winning an unquali- fied Olympic weight class weighed heavy on Augello’s mind. Two weeks following the Olympic Trials Augello would be fight- ing to qualify herself for Rio on the far side of the world in the most unusual of destinations, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. “I remember right when I got my hand
raised I kind of felt nervous. Right away the nerves for Mongolia hit me. Everyone is so excited for you, and feels really happy, but a lot of people that don’t wres- tle don’t understand I still have to qualify the weight. “In those two weeks there’s not much
you can do technically to get better. You’ve just got to be confident in yourself going in. You’re already there and you’ve just got to be ready,” said Augello. No matter the quick turnaround between competitions, the two days of travel just to get on site in Mongolia or the overwhelming pressure that comes with Olympic qualification, Augello, fueled by confidence, qualified for the Olympic Games. Augello won her first three matches in Mongolia by technical fall and outscored her opponents by a combined total of 32- 1 to reach the finals of the 1st World Olympic Games Qualifier and solidify her position in Rio. “It was a huge weight off my shoulders.
I was relieved. I was happy that I got to go home. I was happy that I didn’t have
Haley Augello gets her arm raised in victory at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City. Tony Rotundo photo.
to make weight again in two weeks. I was happy that I set it in stone that I was going to Rio,” said Augello. Now facing Augello is a couple month
stretch of preparation for wrestling’s pin- nacle. She will be part of the Olympic Training Camps, and will compete at the Canada Cup with her Olympic teammates as a tune-up event. Augello truly believes that this is her time to shine. She has been a Cadet World champi-
on. She has competed at the Junior World Championships twice. She has won two WCWA national championships in her first two college seasons with every win coming by pin or technical fall. All that remains is execution in Rio. “I feel really confident that I can bring
back a gold medal,” Augello said. “I feel super confident about it. Especially after this summer when I get back to training, get back on the mat and get the things done I need to get done. I feel if Rio was tomorrow and I went I could bring home the gold medal.”
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