Browsing: Wrestling

The London Olympics are less than 100 days away, and while some military athletes have already punched their tickets (and keep checking here for new Army qualifiers), the trials have yet to start in earnest. That changes this weekend in Iowa City. About 30 wrestlers with military affiliations will compete in the Greco-Roman and freestyle (men’s and women’s) tournaments to determine who’ll represent the U.S. on the mats. Click through for a quick guide for the once-every-four-years wrestling fan — the troops, the favorites, the story lines, the TV coverage and, of course, the flying squirrel.

Three quick hits from around the web on a Wednesday morning: 1. Proctor resigns: Bill Wagner at The (Annapolis, Md.) Capital broke the news yesterday — Navy quarterback Kriss Proctor, who finished his senior season with a win over Army in December, has resigned from the Naval Academy and will not graduate. The resignation hasn’t been accepted, according to the report, but it likely will be, and was reportedly triggered by an alleged honor code violation. 2. Falcon free agents: Frank Schwab at The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette brings better news, reporting on the pro football dreams of Air Force…

Wrestling’s rarely looked at as a team sport, especially at the elite level — one on one, no substitutions, no help beyond shouts from the sidelines. But Olympic qualifying for Team USA wrestling may be the ultimate team sport — still one on one, still no substitutions, but if a wrestler earns a qualifying bid in his weight class, it doesn’t go directly to that individual: Slap “USA” into the Olympic bracket for now, and whoever wins the U.S. qualifier in Iowa City next month gets the golden ticket. Need somebody to fight for their country, not just themselves? Find…

Wednesday night, NBC’s “Rock Center” will air a feature piece on Rulon Gardner, the 2000 Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling gold medalist whose post-gold medal escapades have come straight out of the “News of the Weird” archives: A 2002 bout with frostbite that cost him a toe, a 2004 motorcycle wreck, a mixed-martial-arts bout in Japan against a 1992 Olympic judo gold medalist (Gardner won), a 2007 plane crash, and an appearance on the NBC weight-loss reality show “The Biggest Loser.” In its online teaser, NBC reports that as of February, Gardner needed to lose 45 pounds to make weight at the…

Not a follower of Air Force wrestling? Then you might not know much about junior 149-pounder Cole VonOhlen. A quick primer: Of the nine service academy grapplers headed to the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Tournament next week in St. Louis, he’s the only one ranked, claiming the third seed in his weight class. His 36-2 record this year includes a 13-0 mark in dual meets, and according to his official bio, his “craziest ambition” is to “fight a grizzly bear with a samurai sword.” At least he has a fallback career as a reality TV producer. Here’s an interview…

I’d really prefer not to face one of these guys on the mat. The Armed Forces Wrestling Championships are taking place this weekend at Camp Lejeune, N.C., with titles awarded in seven different weight classes, and Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling featured. Action started Thursday and runs through Monday. The Army team dominated last year’s championships at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, capturing 12 of 14 gold medals.

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