Blue White Illustrated

LAST WORD T I M O W E N | OW E N .T I M. BW I @ G M A I L . C O M Wrestling in 2020 equals more success at PSU I t's back. Wrestlers and fans from across the globe – Iran to Cuba, Budapest to Japan – breathed a long sigh of relief with the announcement. Following a seven-month exile, due to wrestling's unexpected ouster from the Olympics in February, the International Olympic Committee voted mankind's oldest sport back into the 2020 and 2024 games. While it is earthshaking news in the world of singlets and wrestling mats, it's also a pretty big deal at Penn State. Actually a very big deal. Here's why. In the basement of Rec Hall, two seasoned grapplers toil in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex. They are decades into their wrestling careers, their ears hardened by the abuse endured along the path to ultimate success. These guys – Cael Sanderson and Jake Varner – have already won their Olympic gold medals, and they want the wrestlers who train in the LWC alongside them, to win medals, too. Varner won his gold in 2012 with Sanderson by his side, and in turn, Sanderson won freestyle coach of the year honors. They trained with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, in the same practice room as Sanderson's student wrestlers, in the time leading up to Varner's gold in London. And they continue to train with the NLWC, along with other former and hopeful Olympians, including Franklin Gomez, a 2012 Olympic representative from Puerto Rico. "We're so blessed to be training with the guys here, Gomez said. " Imagine the recruiting pitch that this relationship creates. Come to Penn State, the team that has won the past three NCAA team titles, the team that puts half of its starters into the national finals, the team that sells out every home match, and the team with that big bald coach who, as a competitor, never lost an NCAA bout. On top of that, come to Penn State and train in the same room as gold medalists from previous Olympics, and athletes who are striving to reach that status next time. With the IOC's decision to include wrestling in 2020, this recruiting pitch is as enticing as ever. Aaron Pico, a sophomore at St. John Bosco High in Bellflower, Calif., is already considered one of the top high school wrestlers in the country, and the Nittany Lions will certainly hope that opportunity appeals to him. He's a freeestyle world champion and an undefeated folkstyle state champ. He's won a couple of national boxing titles, and he's also competed in Pankration, an ancient Greek sport that combines boxing, wrestling and modern day Mixed Martial Arts. Dude has been bred for combat. Pico recently told The Orange County Register that his ultimate goal is to qualify for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. And if it's not feasible in '16, then it is '20 or '24, or bust. "I'm still going to be young, but it's definitely possible to make and win an Olympic gold medal at 19 1/2, 20 years old," said the 138-pound 16-year-old. "That's what my goal is every day. I'm just going to keep working until I get it." While the '16 games would take place the summer after his high school graduation – making him a long shot to even qualify for the team – the '20 games are a very realistic possibility. So Pico will have to make a decision. Does he pursue a college degree and compete at the NCAA level? Or does he go di- rectly to the Olympic Training Center, which has already targeted him, and train full-time for his Olympic opportunity? At Penn State – now that wrestling has returned to the Olympics – he can do both. At other places, too, like Iowa, Oklahoma State and Cornell. The list goes on. Regional training sites, like the NLWC, produced more gold medalists in the 2012 games (two) than the OTC, which produced none. There has been a trend in recent years: Team USA's most talented wrestlers choose to train at sites like the NLWC or with the Sunkist Kids, instead of the OTC. (The other 2012 gold medalist – Jordan Burroughs – represents the Sunkist Kids in Arizona.) Zeke Jones, coach of the U.S. freestyle national team, is at peace with the fact that some of his most prized prospects are choosing regional sites over Colorado Springs. From time to time, he will pay a visit to those other sites. Last winter he stopped by the NLWC to meet with the coaches and current national team members, and also to scout a few future prospects. (He specifically pointed out underclassmen Nico Megaludis and Jimmy Gulibon, while stating that incoming freshman Zain Retherford "will be a perfect fit." David Taylor and Ed Ruth are obvious choices. Both have said they will remain with NLWC after graduation.) "Ultimately it's about communication," Jones told me. "It's the triangle between the national coach, the [regional] coaches and the athlete. Then developing a plan that makes sense for each of them, because this is our future." And the future just got brighter. For Penn State, too. I

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