CLEVELAND (April 26, 2010) -- Staff Sgt. Glenn Garrison and Spc. Nathan Piasecki led Army wrestlers to the Greco-Roman team title April 23-24 at the U.S. Open in Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center.
All told, eight Soldiers competed in the finals of the national championships for Olympic-style wrestling.
Garrison defeated U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program teammate and 2009 World Team member Spc. Faruk Sahin 0-2, 3-0, 1-0 in the 66-kilogram/145.4-pound Greco-Roman finale.
"I'm still hungry and I haven't won it yet, so that's what I'm still shooting for," Garrison said of his desire to win a world championship. "I want to be able to say I'm the best in the world.
"This means a lot. Before I went out there to wrestle, I was telling myself, 'I'm tired of second. Second is not good enough anymore. I need to be on.' So the outcome took care of itself, I guess."
Garrison, 36, knows the clock is ticking.
"I have two years until I retire from wrestling," he said. "My short-term goal is making the world team and my long-term goals are winning at the World Championships, making the Olympic team and winning at the Olympic championships."
Garrison believes he is wrestling better than ever before.
"I'm more strategic," he said. "I used to wrestle all from the heart and now I think I'm old enough that I can get a little tricky."
He learned most of his tricks from WCAP teammates.
"There's nowhere else on earth I could do this," Garrison said. "The Army provides me the chance to chase my Olympic dream. They keep bringing younger and newer bodies in and I teach a lot, but I try to learn a trick or two from them, too."
Sahin was heavily bandaged because of a head-butt he sustained on Friday that required eight stitches in his forehead. On Saturday, Sahin suffered a bloody nose that turned his semifinal match against New York Athletic Club's Ellis Coleman into a veritable blood bath.
"This is a gladiator sport," WCAP coach Shon Lewis said. "I don't recall a match that bloody. It's been a long time, but this is the U.S. Open for the national championships and it's a great steppingstone to achieve, step over, and step on."
The top seven finishers in each weight class at the U.S. Open qualified for a spot in USA Wrestling's World Team Trials, scheduled for June 11-12 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
"The real meat and potatoes are made at the World Team Trials in six weeks," Lewis said, "where we determine who is going to be the number one-ranked guy and who is going to represent the United States at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia."
Piasecki prevailed over Sunkist Kids' Chad Vandiver by injury default in the 60-kilogram/132-pound Greco division. Piasecki head-butted Vandiver out of bounds with 59 seconds remaining in the first period. Vandiver returned to the matt but never recovered. Twelve seconds later, Piasecki pushed him out of bounds again and the match was stopped.
"I gave him an unintentional head butt and he went down and he looked like he was a little bit hurt, and then he came back strong again," Piasecki said. "Then I got a takedown and he seemed like he was still hurt, so I guess the trainer called the match. I heard that he had a prior concussion a few weeks ago. I wanted to wrestle a full match. I was feeling good. ... It was unintentional, so I feel bad, but that just happens sometimes."
Piasecki, 28, had never finished higher than third at nationals.
"I'm real happy about this," he said. "This is like a dream come true. I've trained really, really hard and lifted really, really hard, and I feel like I really peaked extremely well this time. I had an injury in January that allowed me to sit a little bit for my body to heal and mentally focus to get ready for this tournament.
"All my closest friends have been telling me I was going to win it this year and I just believed them. This is the ultimate for me right now, but my goal is the Olympics. I want to place and get some medals. This is a good step to get me some international experience and get me overseas more."
Olympian and World Team member Spenser Mango scored in the waning seconds to defeat defending national champion WCAP Spc. Jermaine Hodge 0-1, 1-0, 2-0 at 55 kilos/121 pounds.
"Those are the two best guys in the weight class," Lewis said. "We came up a little bit short tonight. It was an intense match. That's the way Greco is supposed to look like right there."
All-Army wrestler Staff Sgt. Jess Hargrave battled gamely on an injured right leg before losing a 1-0, 1-0 decision to New York Athletic Club's Jake Fisher in the finale at 74 kilos/163 pounds.
"His meniscus is torn in three places," Lewis said of Hargrave. "We were just coming in here with a lot of prayers and smoking mirrors and he was able to make it that far. That lets you know what kind of fighter he is. A lot of guys would have just bowed out and tried to get ready for the World Team Trials, but he wanted to get it done."
WCAP wrestler Pfc. John Lorenz lost 2-0, 1-0 to six-time national champion Justin Ruiz of New York Athletic Club in the 96-kilo/211.5-pound Greco finale.
"He's making great progress and he's a fighter," Lewis said of Lorenz. "When you're dealing with a fighter, you can always work on that."
In women's freestyle, WCAP Spc. Othella Lucas returned from a two-year hiatus from wrestling and upset top-seeded Deanna Rix in the 72-kilo/158.5-pound semifinals before losing 2-0, 1-0 in the finals to Sunkist Kids' Kelsey Campbell, who was named outstanding female wrestler of the tournament.
Four-time national champion WCAP Sgt. Iris Smith lost 1-0, 5-0 to Stephany Lee in the women's finale at 72 kilos/158.5 pounds.
Three Soldiers finished third in their respective Greco-Roman weight classes: Spc. Jeremiah Davis at 60 kilos/132.25 pounds, Sgt. Aaron Sieracki at 84 kilos/185 pounds and Spc. Timothy Taylor at 120 kilos/264.5 pounds.
WCAP Staff Sgt. Dremiel Byers, a three-time medalist at the World Championships and eight-time national champion at 120 kilos/264.5-pounds, missed weigh-ins and did not compete in the U.S. Open.
"We had an unfortunate situation at the weigh-ins, but it's a little sweeter that we were able to do [so well] with some of the young guys," Lewis said. "Some of the young guys stepped up and became horses tonight."
(Tim Hipps writes for FMWRC Public Affairs.)
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