Wrestling411

Dennis Hall set the bar high for Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States during his prime in the mid-1990s. In 1994 he won a bronze at the World Championships. In 1995 he won the World Championships. And in 1996 Hall earned a silver medal at the Olympic Games.

But Hall was best known for his tenacious style of wrestling on the mat. His rivalry with Jim Gruenwald was memorable. His marathon match against Brandon Paulson at the 2004 Olympic Trials was epic. And his weight cut to make the 2004 Olympic team in 2004 was painful.

Terry Brands was at the World Wrestling Wrestling Camp in Wisconsin Dells, Wisc., providing instruction for high school wrestlers throughout the Midwest. Brands, a two-time NCAA champion and two-time World champion, coaches the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and is the head assistant coach at the University of Iowa.

Brands talked with Wrestling 411 about his role at the camp and what he wants campers to gain from the experience. But he also talked about the possibility of becoming a head coach, the relevance of Iowa-style wrestling, and his purpose for 2009.

 

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By Kyle Klingman

Randy Lewis is competing again…and the wrestling world is buzzing.

Lewis has a legend that exceeds his accomplishments. Yes, he won an Olympic title in 1984 and, yes, he arguably the greatest wrestler the University of Iowa wrestling program has produced.

But it’s the way he wrestled that fascinates us. It was his flair on and off the mat that is his enduring legacy. It was his devotion to the pin. It was the big throws. It was the counters. It was the impossible leg.

“If everyone wrestled like Randy Lewis then wrestling would never need to market itself,” said Lincoln McIlravy, a three-time NCAA champion for the University of Iowa.

By Kyle Klingman

It is the college wrestling statistic that won’t go away: A team from Iowa or Oklahoma will place in the top two at the NCAA Division I wrestling tournament.

Okay, there was one year it didn’t quite work out. In 1967, Michigan State placed first and Michigan placed second at the NCAA tournament, marking the only time two schools were able to disrupt the balance.

Other than one stumble in 79 NCAA tournaments (including the years where there was unofficial team scoring), a college from Iowa or Oklahoma has show up in the top two.

Henry Cejudo, the youngest Olympic wrestling champion in American history, was at the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, as the event’s celebrity guest. Cejudo spent most of the day signing autographs and taking pictures with placewinners at the event.

Wrestling 411 talked with Cejudo at the conclusion of the event and learned more about his future in wrestling. Cejudo discussed the role kids of kids wrestling events, why his name isn’t in the current freestyle rankings at 121 pounds, his relationship with Terry Brands, and how winning the Olympic has changed his life.

 

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