Wrestling: Mead dominates dual, then watches star wrestling exhibitions
Dec. 16—LONGMONT — Former Olympic Greco-Roman gold medalist Rulon Gardner came into Mead's wrestling room Thursday night and wrote on its wall, "Who's next?"
The next great wrestler in the room, the state, the country — high school grapplers Leister Bowling IV and Dalton Berg believe it could be them.
The two Mavericks wrestling standouts dominated in their respective weight classes Thursday night, then got a peek at what success at the next level.
Following the Mavericks' 80-6 home dual win over Discovery Canyon was a college exhibition between the No. 2-ranked junior college Western Wyoming Community College and Division-II CSU-Pueblo. Interspersed was a wrestling showcase between some of the top current and former wrestlers in the world.
"It's cool to have something like this happen in your own gym," Mead coach Ty Tatham said. "It definitely creates a buzz and gets people talking ... And it's a great opportunity for some of these younger kids to get around guys who are stars right now. I mean, you won't meet a better guy than Rulon Gardner. He's a great human being."
The match of the night included 51-year-old Gardner, who is best known for defeating three-time reigning Olympic gold medalist Aleksandr Karelin of Russia in the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. He held is own against NCAA All-American and Team USA member Jacob Mitchell, who is half his age.
"As a kid, that's what you dream of," Berg said. "As a little kid wrestling you get those gold medals that don't mean anything, and you always dream of being that Olympic champ and have one of those (real) gold medals in your room. It makes me want to shoot for that."
Berg, ranked second in the Class 4A 175-pound weight class by On The Mat, was 39 seconds into the third period when he won by technical fall over Larry Hennings, 16-0. Bowling IV, No. 1 in 157s, was on the verge of a technical fall when he pinned Ryan Orlosky 47 seconds into the second.
The high school wrestlers cleared the mat inside the gymnasium for some of the top Greco-Roman wrestlers in the world. Brought in by Leister Bowling III's club team, Colorado Top Team School of Wrestling, some of the big names included University World bronze medalist Sammy Jones of the USA, 2016 Olympic gold medalist Ismael Borrero of Cuba and world champ Mostafa Hassan of Egypt.
"When you see the next level, especially if you thought 'I want to get to that' and now you see it and it's a reality, it's a lot easier to say 'That's what I want to be. That's what I want to do'," Tatham said. "I think it can drive kids and change their trajectory."
Mead, currently ranked 10th in 4A by OTM, will be among the schools at the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament at the Island Grove Event Center in Greeley on Friday and Saturday.
