Chas Betts celebrates after winning (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Last month Minnesota native Chas Betts claimed a title at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Greco-Roman at 84 kilos to earn a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.
InterMat recently caught up with the 26-year-old Betts.
How long did it take to sink in that you are an Olympian?
Betts: I can't even say still that it has. But definitely not for a few days. Just visiting with my parents, I finally got to sit down at their house and just relax for a minute and take it in. That's probably the first time.
At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials the top four seeds at 84 kilos in Greco-Roman were Minnesota natives and wrestlers you have trained with. How challenging was that mentally?
Betts: It was challenging, but I think at the same it was good to know that because of Minnesota's tradition of having a guy on the Olympic Team every year (since 1968). It's comforting to know that four or five of the top guys in the weight class were from Minnesota. Of course I wanted to be the winner, but it was nice to know that the chances were pretty good that we were going to have a guy on the Olympic Team at our weight class.
Chas Betts gets his hand raised after defeating fellow Minnesotan Jake Clark in the finals of the 2012 Dave Schultz Memorial at 84 kilos (Photo/Larry Slater)Betts: Yeah, I kind of figured that he would beat Peter Hicks. I thought the Clark-Hicks match was going to end up going three periods and it was going to be determined by the ball grab. I figured Clark was going to find a way to win because he has pretty good tactics in that sense, so I figured I would have him in the semis. I think I was pretty well prepared for it. I had myself convinced that I was not going to allow myself to lose to him. It's not a slight against him, but I feel like I train harder than he does. I feel like just that fact made me want it more.
In the finals you defeated Jordan Holm. He took one period from you in two matches, otherwise you shut him down. What was the key to defeating Holm?
Betts: I switched my tactics up a little bit from how I would normally wrestle. I know that Jordan is pretty aggressive on his feet, as am I. But when you get two guys who have a similar style like that they kind of end up trumping each other and it just leads to nothing. So I switched my style up and just relaxed more on the feet in those two matches than I normally would. I think maybe that surprised him a little. He kept his same style, attacking really hard. My idea was just to weather it, and then expose him in par terre. I think switching my tactics up is what paid off.
Dan Chandler was in the opposite corner of you in the finals coaching Holm. Was that strange for you?
Betts: No, that's not a problem. Actually, Dan and Brandon Paulson pulled me into their hotel room before the finals to ask what my thoughts were on the coaching situation. I kind of told them that I need to have Momir (Petkovic) in my corner because he's my full-time coach who trains me every day, twice a day. I said as long as I have Momir in my corner, you guys can do as you please. I won't take any offense to you guys sitting in Jordan's corner. They said that's fine. They said they want to give us both the best chance possible at making the Olympic Team. So I think it worked out fine.
Momir Petkovic talks with Chas Betts between periods (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Betts: I like his mentality, his ideals, and just the way he coaches. He doesn't just coach you as an athlete. He coaches your mind as well. The first time I made the World Team in 2009 I got a chance to spend some extended time with him. I started to see how he functions as a coach, and it just grabbed me right away. The way he talks to you and makes you understand the sport at a different level than just the intensity stuff and all that … It's like more of a mental focus level. I think he's the best in the country at that.
At the Olympic Team Trials you wrestled in front of over 13,000 fans in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. What was that environment like?
Betts: That was insane. I remember my semifinal match … I think Zadick was wrestling on the mat next to me. You could just hear the place going crazy. I knew it wasn't for me, but it makes you wrestle harder. It's a weird thing. You feel that energy from the crowd and it feeds you. I've never been in an environment like that. We've wrestled in front of a lot of people, like at the state tournament, but never where everyone is looking down right on you. It's a pretty special environment. They did a great job.
Chas Betts defeated David Craig to win a Junior National Greco-Roman title (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Betts: No, I didn't. I committed to the USOEC (Northern Michigan) in October of my senior year. But I think maybe even before that I already knew. I found out about the program in Fargo my junior year. From the second I found out that it was even possible to get an education while you train Greco I think my mind was made up.
What is it that you like about Greco-Roman compared to the other styles?
Betts: I was always more of an upper-body wrestler. I liked throws, lat drops, and things like that. So when I finally started to wrestle Greco, that was it for me. It just stuck because it made more sense. I think I always had good hips, so I just gravitated toward it more.
Six of the seven U.S. Olympic Team Trials champions in Greco-Roman wrestled in the USOEC program at Northern Michigan. How much pride do you take in seeing other former Northern Michigan wrestlers succeed on the senior level?
Betts: It's awesome. It's so nice because I started out with some of those guys, like Spenser (Mango) especially. We graduated the same year. We went up to Northern the same year. We have taken similar paths. It's awesome to see, and get that program validated and get proof that it works. I hate the idea that it's always in danger of getting shut down it seems like, or getting moved. It needs to stay alive. The proof is there. It's successful. It's a good program. I'm pretty proud of that.
Your younger brother Parker is now in the USOEC program at Northern Michigan. How much have you been able to work with him?
Betts: So far I haven't been able to work with him because of the way they have switched the program around a little bit. It used to be where those guys were always required to go out to Colorado Springs for most of the senior camps. That's not really how it works now. He hasn't had a chance to get out there and see me too much. I went out to Marquette in the fall for a week just to get a little different perspective and train for a little bit with the new coaches, so I have seen him a little bit and we work out whenever we see each other, but not too much yet. I'm hoping this summer we get a chance to train together a little more.
Chas Betts hits a gut wrench against Jordan Holm (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Betts: Yeah, I would say that. But I don't think that's necessarily the fault of any of the fans. It's kind of hard to get the fans behind it when they're already so familiar with folkstyle. Freestyle just translates a little better as far as the international styles go. From a fan's point of view, I can see where the understanding point of it transfers to freestyle a little better.
You step on the mat at the Olympic Games in London on Aug. 6. What do these next few months look like for you as you prepare for London?
Betts: We've got our schedule pretty well set already. We're going to have two main training camps. We're going to do the Curby Cup in Chicago to get a match in. They're flying a team over from Georgia for that. We might be wrestling in a tournament in Serbia, but I'm not sure if we've committed to that or not. Other than that, it's basically two main training camps to get ready, so we'll just push really hard through those two and then go over and get acclimated. I think we're going to head to London on like July 23. We'll relax over there and finish getting ready.
Chas Betts defeated Mark Stenberg in the Challenge Tournament at the 2012 Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Betts: I'll be bringing Andy Bisek. Always.
Have you put a timetable on how long you plan to continue wrestling?
Betts: No, I haven't officially decided anything. I kind of want to just focus on this right now. Hopefully all goes well and the decision will be easy after that. It's kind of hard to say because you get a taste of something you've never experienced before and ideas can change real quickly.
What's going to be the key for you to get what you want in London?
Betts: I'm going to definitely have to improve my par terre a lot before then. That's going to have to be my main focus. My wrestling is going to stay the same. I'm going to be intense, always looking for a point on the feet. But the Europeans are a little sneakier, a little more apt to that kind of thing. They like par terre a little more. They're the best in the world at par terre. So that's going to be the main goal from here on out.
This story also appears in the May 11 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering amateur wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote amateur wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now