Mongolian Gana ready to make impact in Division I

The average winter temperature in Mongolia is -13 degrees Fahrenheit. Siberia's average is -15 F. Washington D.C. checks in at 38 F.

Not surprisingly, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country on the planet (Greenland doesn't qualify) with fewer denizens than Chicago spread across a country significantly larger than Peru. Even so, the quality of wrestling in Mongolia is remarkable. And for the second time in as many seasons, college wrestling fans in the United States are being treated to one of the Asian nation's finest athletes: Ganbayar Sanjaa, 23-year-old American University junior known to his teammates as "Gana."

Ganbayar Sanjaa

Gana came to wrestle in America after a wrestling coach in Mongolia insisted that the then 14-year-old use his wrestling talents as a way to leave Mongolia and make a better life himself. Mongolia is a desperately poor country with limited opportunity for higher education and career advancement and, according to Gana, even if he developed into one of the toughest wrestlers in the country, and was invited to train alongside the national team in Greco or Freestyle, he'd still never be paid-to-win like is common in other underdeveloped wrestling-rich countries. Gana's coach sensed that given a friendly nudge, he could make a new life for himself outside of Mongolia.

"All you do is practice and train, all the time," said Gana. "That is what the team is always doing and I wanted to get an education." As for wrestling in Nadaam, the nation's annual celebration of the manly pursuits (wrestling, horseback, archery), Gana said, "That is not for my size man."

Gana received a student visa a few months after his 19th birthday and chose to attend Utah Valley State University in Orem, Utah, where a cousin had been living and studying. He enrolled in English classes, which he figured would be the first step to getting into school full-time. However, after a year of classes his English hadn't improved. But by chance one of the assistant coaches, an Uzbek who had wrestled for Steve Lampe at Colby Community College (Kansas), knew he could improve Gana's English enough to make him eligible to compete.

Steve Lampe

"His English was rough, but he could flat out wrestle," said Lampe, who has coached over 20 athletes from Asia. "We went out and got him some remedial books from the elementary school and then made sure we put him in the dorms. He wanted to be in dorms."

Gana assimilated quickly to his new surroundings, coach and teammates. He was well-liked among the guys at Colby for being quirky and telling stories from home, but he wasn't without his idiosyncrasies.

The heat; Gana hated the heat. The average temperature of his dorm room hovered in the 50s (a nice summer day by Mongolian standards). It was enough to get the mild-mannered and respectful Gana riled up on occasion. The only time Lampe ever saw Gana visibly agitated was after his Colby teammates cranked the heat in an effort to shed a few extra pounds. "He took his shirt off and tried to wrestle guys in the room like it was the 1970s or something. And he's only saying, 'No. Heat. Bad.'"

Ganbayar Sanjaa (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)

While the heat of a wrestling room was an inconvenience, Gana was also struggling with the difficult decision to leave his family in Mongolia. A few months after arriving at Utah Valley State, Gana was informed that his father had passed away. Upset, he prepped his bags and prepared to travel home for the funeral, but when he spoke to his cousin about the visa process, it became obvious that something might go awry if he left suddenly and then tried to re-enter the United States. That uncertainty ended the discussion.

"My mom made me stay," said Gana. "She said, 'You stay until after school.' And that is what I am going to do. I don't want to take a chance with getting back into the country. The life is here."

According to Coach Lampe, "[Gana] loves his family but he knows that if he stays here for a few years and gets citizenship, that he'll be with them in America, and a better life."

Mark Cody

American University head wrestling coach Mark Cody knew that he was getting a special transfer when Lampe described the sacrifices Gana had made to provide a better life for himself and his family. Several years before he'd been referred Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov by Lampe (As the wrestling world is aware, Abdurakhmanov ended up being one of the Eagles' finest wrestlers and if it weren't for one of the more disputed calls in NCAA history, he might have been a national champion). Cody knew from speaking with Lampe that Gana, a two-time junior college national finalist and 2009 national champion, would be another special, top-level wrestler with a leadership-worthy work ethic and commitment to his team and their goals.

"If we had a room filled with guys that had Gana's concentration it would almost be too much," Cody said. "Our team is talented and successful, and Gana has proven to be someone they all respect for his kindness and humor."

Ganbayar Sanjaa (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)

Gana hasn't complained about the heat yet, either, as Cody maintains he keeps a pretty temperate room.

The season is young but Gana is looking solid after a 2-0 start at this past weekend's Pentagon Duals. That's a start, but he'll have to do a lot of work to make it to the NCAA tournament this season. Ahead of Gana in the EIWA are four wrestlers ranked among the InterMat Top 20 at 149 pounds: No. 2 Kyle Dake of Cornell, No. 5 Kevin LeValley Bucknell, No. 12 Corey Jantzen of Harvard, and No. 14 Marion Mason of Rutgers. Another difficulty many foreign competitors face is staying healthy for the entire five-month trudge that is the Division I wrestling season.

Maybe the final obstacle for Gana, like Abdurakhmanov before him, is the need to continually improve on the mat. Though Coach Cody assures that he's "got some stuff on top," it's no secret that Asia hasn't churned out the style of wrestling conducive to domination on the mat. But then again, maybe Cody was right -- last Friday Gana posted an 18-3 technical fall in his match against Franklin & Marshall.

Regardless of this season's outcome, Cody is already making one promise to his star Mongolian: If Gana wants to be a wrestling coach, he'll make sure it happens. Gana can be like the men who've helped him get to this point and reach out to an athlete in need. He'll have an education and maybe even some of his family beside him as well. With any luck, he may even get control of the thermostat.

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Mongolian Gana ready to make impact in Division I

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