What the terrorists wouldn't know is that wrestling is far too malleable to be crushed by a single act, and wrestlers far too bullheaded and determined to cower. To that point the story tells of the wrestling coach who risked his life to keep out the bomber, and the volunteers already at work rebuilding the gym brick-by-brick.
As the local legend goes, "a wrestler never dies."
Our sport has seen all types of threats over the millennia it's been practiced, terrorism is just the most recent and most painful. My hunch -- and this bears out in the reaction of the nation to the bombing of another wrestling tournament in which the entire nation began to march in protest -- is this will be a marker for many Afghans on their ongoing struggle to protest and overcome these attacks. These men inspire their nation and attacks on them is an attack on ideals.
As of now there isn't any direct way to support the club, but I'm hoping that something will come to fruition soon. When it does I hope that we can join together and show solidarity with our Afghan friends and send them shoes, mats and singlets.
You know these men, because you are these men. They've done the same drills as you, their faces are mushed flat, their ears scarred, their shoulders broadened. You may not know their faces, but they are your brothers and when the time comes let's support them like we would any member of our family -- with absolute love.
To your questions …
Jon Jay Chavez competing at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: Do you view Jon Jay Chavez of Cornell as a potential NCAA title threat? He is a returning All-American. Or do you view him more as a Greco specialist? I've been super impressed with his development over the past year.
-- Mike C.
Foley: I don't see Greco-Roman being any type of hindrance to Jon Jay Chavez's chance at an NCAA title. Take a look at the larger factors like institutional support, previous wrestlers' ability to win at that school, and his previous results. All three would indicate he's well able to make his way to the top of the platform before the end of his career.
I think Greco is really going to be a hidden asset for Chavez. Well, maybe not so hidden given his accolades, but in a scramble the feel of Greco wrestlers can be jarring to those (like me) who are hyper fearful of being loaded up on to an opponent's hips. In a scramble-happy NCAA style of wrestling Chavez could utilize that fear to his advantage and find the takedowns that can often mean the difference in a big match.
Also, most Greco-Roman guys have incredible hand fighting skills that could really help give an advantage to Chavez, especially late in matches. Like you insinuated, now that he's cracked the top eight he doesn't seem to have a ceiling in the sport.
Q: Coach Andy Lausier is already doing great things at Davidson with pretty much only one year under his belt after stints at Sacred Heart and Princeton. A few items of note: He increased the scholarship fund by $500K, made a huge splash when he hired Joey Dance as his head assistant, brought in a nice group of recruits and is putting some nice teams on their schedule with duals against NC State, Pitt, and Brown. The wrestling facilities are fantastic and their duals are in the beautiful Belk Arena where Steph Curry used to drain threes. Now is your time to show them some love and look like a hero as they work their way up the ladder the next few years! What say you?
-- JEZ from Wisconsin
Foley: These are great notes and I'm glad you wrote in with the update. Though we bemoan that there are only 80 or so Division I teams, I assure you that even those "in the know" aren't able to keep attention on the triumph of every program. And $500K is a lot of money!
I'm sure that Coach Lausier knows that his program has a long way to go, but he's the right man to see that they make that journey. He's humble, bright, and most of all hard working. He may also have the world's largest reserve of patience, given the more challenging projects he's faced in the past few years.
Joey Dance on the coaching staff, and a tough schedule, will almost ensure that these wrestlers learn through their lumps. And if the facilities at Davidson are the same or better than they were in 2004 when I last visited then they are certainly sufficient enough to help Coach Lausier and his staff build something special.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Awesome behind-the-scenes VLOG of Team USA at the Junior World Championships!
Bey!
Q: Obviously, expectations were high for Kamal Bey at the Junior World Championships after last year's performance. He placed fifth this year after winning gold last year. While fifth place in the world is a great accomplishment, it's probably disappointing for him. What do you attribute his "disappointing" performance to? Well scouted? Moving up in weight?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The Junior World Championships are underway this week in Trnava, Slovakia, and Team USA has performed average over the first four days, earning three medals after a total of 15 weight classes.
The Greco-Roman team looked impressive throughout, but only managed two medals after defending world champion Kamal Bey lost a pair of matches up at 77 kilograms. He wrestled well, but lost to the other two best guys in the world at his weight class.
Getting to the medal stand Cohlton Schultz stared down a massive Anta Milkovic of Croatia at 130 kilograms, and wrestled his way to a 7-1 victory in the bronze-medal finals, walking away with a dominant 8-0 victory. At 82 kilograms it was Andrew Berreyesa capturing silver after falling to four-time age group champion Aleksandr Komarov of Russia, 10-0. Overall, the Greco-Roman squad finished in the top ten for the second year in a row, a positive sign that the developmental program is headed in the right direction.
The women also hit the mats this week, with some scattered early results. Macey Kilty took silver, dropping a finals match to Khanum Velieva of Russia, 7-0. Before her loss in the finals Kilty looked dominant as she launched opponents in the opening rounds. However, Team USA dropped all five of its athletes out of the championships round on Thursday as Russia and Japan each put four in the finals. Alisha Howk will wrestle for bronze on Friday.
The first of the freestyle wrestlers received their bid Thursday and will compete Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- a style which American fans are hoping will result in more medals.
Q: My daughter likes the sport. If she wants to continue into her high school years I'm thinking about having her not join the high school team. I would rather her focus on freestyle since it's freestyle after high school. Thoughts?
-- @ShogunOfSonoma
Foley: I think that it depends on why she is in the sport of wrestling. If her desire is to be near a team and to represent her school, then of course it's worth investigating the environment at the program and see if it's welcoming. However, if she's laser-focused on being an Olympic champion and there is somewhere for her to train year-round, then that may be a better option.
Looking down the field a bit, it's possible that women's desire for freestyle -- and men's wrestling's need for women to participate -- could nudge a school district somewhere towards freestyle rules. I'd prefer that didn't happen. The American scholastic style is unique and deserves some respect. On the other hand, I'm uncertain if local schools can handle the extra coaching costs.
Again, like you I'd prefer to see the women wrestle freestyle in high school, but I'm guessing there will need to be a major sea of change for the existing power structure to accept.
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