2016 U.S. OLYMPIAN - 65 kg FS Molinaro wins with calm confidence
by Richard Immel The ride to an Olympic berth has been tumultuous to say the
least for Frank Molinaro. The unexpected Olympic Trials champion has ridden quite the
wave of emotion from his historic victory in Iowa City, to crush- ing defeats in Turkey and Mongolia, and ultimately the good for- tune of an Olympic berth. How has Molinaro navigated the wildest month of his life?
Mental calmness and confidence. “There were times where my mind tried to waver to put nega-
tive thoughts in my head, but my faith is very strong and my faith in God is very strong right now. I have extremely good fam- ily support and family foundation, so those things don’t really get to me anymore,” said Molinaro. Entering the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Molinaro was an
afterthought by most to win the tournament. As the No. 9 seed at 65 kg/143 lbs., he wasn’t even projected to make it past the first round. “I was kind of an underdog and I was just there to have fun,” Molinaro stated. “I was extremely, extremely excited for the opportunity because I knew what was at stake. I knew what the possibility was if I did win the tournament. I really could just leave a legacy in my wrestling career that was greater than it was before I entered the day.” The old adage “any given day” rang true for Molinaro on April
9. He gritted his way to gold by defeating four world class oppo- nents: two-time NCAA champion Kellen Russell, four-time U.S. World Team member Brent Metcalf, four-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber and two-time Junior World medalist Aaron Pico. The best-of-three championship series between the surging veteran Molinaro and the wunderkind Pico was an instant clas- sic. Pico opened with a 4-2 win in match one, but Molinaro came back to win the second and third matches by 4-3 tallies. “I was most excited that Aaron made it through the bracket
and we would be going up against each other because I knew that we were going to leave it all on the line and we were both going to fight and nobody was going to try to sneak out a win,” said Molinaro. As sweet as the win tasted, Molinaro was forced to instantly regroup. The U.S. was unable to qualify 65 kg to compete at the Olympic Games by placing top five at the 2015 World Championships or top two at the 2016 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier. It was now up to Molinaro to travel to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and qualify the weight class. The top three placers at the 1st World Olympic Games Qualifier in Mongolia qualified their nation to compete at the Olympic Games in the weight class qualified. Molinaro saw an early exit after losing to two-time World medalist Yakup Gor of Turkey in the second round. He fell short of the top three place- ment and therefore needed to qualify at the 2nd World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey two weeks later. Only the finalists at the Olympic Qualifier in Turkey achieved qualification status. Molinaro opened the tournament with a 3-2 decision over 2013 World champion David Safaryan of Armenia and followed with a 7-6 win over 2015 Junior World silver medalist Yuhi Fujinami of Japan. An emerging Bulgarian standout and three-time NCAA All- American at Cal Poly, Boris Novachkov beat Molinaro 5-2 in the quarterfinals, essentially dashing any hopes of an Olympic berth
Frank Molinaro battles with Aaron Pico in the 65 kg finals series at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Tony Rotundo photo.
for the U.S. standout. Even under the crushing circumstances Molinaro battled back
to win a bronze medal in Turkey, a bronze medal that ultimately secured his spot in the Olympic Games. It was announced the week following Turkey the two countries
that qualified 65 kg at the European Olympic Games Qualifier had their Olympic qualifications revoked by United World Wrestling. A daisy chain effect ensued, resulting in the U.S. and Molinaro being awarded Olympic qualification. “Your whole life, all your training, all those times where you’ve
put the time in and you’ve paid the price in the practice room, this is what you want,” said Molinaro. Paying the price is a mantra wrestlers of all kind understand.
A lifetime of work boils down to one or two moments on the mat. Molinaro has made the most of his opportunity. “One thing I do pride myself on since I was a little kid is I pick
the hardest training partners that I can,” Molinaro said. “Anytime I go to a training camp, anytime I go somewhere I’m going to ask the hardest guy in the room to wrestle who I can. Always pushing myself, not being scared to lose and not being scared to lose in practice.” Another remarkable aspect to this tale, after winning a NCAA
title for Penn State in 2012, Molinaro essentially retired from competition. He coached for a time at Rutgers, but the itch to compete returned. For all intents and purposes, Molinaro had not wrestled a lick
of freestyle prior to his return in late 2013. The learning curve was steep, even sometimes feeling like a completely different sport. This only fueled the fire, and subsequently the success, more. The past two seasons Molinaro has won three gold medals at international competitions. In 2015 he claimed gold at the Guelph Open and Grand Prix of Spain. This February he ran the table at the Pan American Championships to take top prize. In August he will represent the U.S. on the grandest stage in wrestling, the Olympic Games.
13 USA Wrestler
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