I was pleased 19 wrestlers chose to compete in the University National Championships this weekend in Akron, Ohio. I believe training and competing in off-season competitions does help with development. We had 5 wrestlers place in the Greco-Roman portion of the tournament in their respective weight classes: Jake Kettler- 2nd, Sahid Kargbo- 4th, Ibrahim Bunduka- 6th, Nik Weiser- 7th and Zach Martinez- 7th. We had 2 wrestlers place in the Freestyle portion of the tournament in their respective weight classes: Sahid Kargbo 6th, and Matt Meadows 8th. My hope is the guys learned from the competitions. Although they are not the same style as collegiate wrestling, I believe there is enough cross over to help a wrestler improve in collegiate wrestling. We definitely have lots of work to do, but the competition was a step forward. Jake Kettler wrestled as well as I have seen him. Vince Rodriguez had some good wins and even in his losses he showed he can compete with the best. Matt Meadows showed his offensive prowess and had a gutsy win in his placing match. Sahid Kargbo placed in both styles which shows his toughness. I believe he wrestled 15 matches over the three days of competition. Several other guys won matches and competed over multiple days.
We traveled to the competition in 2 vans. We stayed in a cheap motel. Each night after weigh ins or competition, we were treated like super stars by the Meadows family. Each night they fed the team and invited wrestler’s parents to join them as well. It was a great time of fellowship for our team and families. Our team grew closer as a result of the trip.
We will have 2 wrestlers compete this weekend at the Junior World Team Trials. Sahid Kargbo will compete in the Freestyle Trials and Ibrahim Bunduka will compete in the Greco-Roman competition. We had 4 other guys qualify for the final trials, but due to injuries and prior commitments only 2 will make the trip to Madison, WI with me. I think the fear of sitting in a car with me for 14 hours to Madison and 14 hours back to Fairfax, served as a deterrent.
On June 2, the Patriot Club will host the 27th Annual Patriot Club Alumni Athlete Golf outing. If we have the most Alumni participate in the golf outing, the Patriot Club will give us 10% of the proceeds. I encourage you to attend, network, have fun and help make some money for wrestling. For more information go to: http://www.gomason.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205073209&DB_OEM_ID=25200
The Patriot Club is also in the middle of an Alumni-Athlete giving Challenge. We need to win the challenge. For more information go to: http://www.gomason.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205073218&DB_OEM_ID=25200
I sent a long letter to Alums about the challenge, but can use your help in getting them to give.
masonwrestling 