Inspiring for coaches and wrestlers...

[Sommers]

From a school too small to field a football team...

 

He was overlooked by some, and eventually, even the 2x Nat'l Champ...

 

Nick Gwiazdowski grew into NCAA champion at NC State

BY BRIAN HAINES

bhaines@newsobserver.comMarch 29, 2014 

 

Great Story....

 

N.C. State's Nick Gwiazdowski poses in the wrestling training room at Weisiger-Brown Athletics Building. Gwiazdowski i the Wolfpack’s sixth individual to win a wrestling national title. ETHAN HYMAN â€” ehyman@newsobserver.com |Buy Photo

 

WOLFPACK’S BEST

 

Six N.C. State wrestlers have won individual NCAA championships:

 

2014 Nick Gwiazdowski Heavyweight

2009 Darrion Caldwell 149 pounds

1993 Sylvester Terkay Heavyweight

1988 Scott Turner 150 pounds

1984 Tab Thacker Heavyweight

1980 Matt Reiss 177 pounds

RALEIGH — The first time N.C. State wrestling coach Pat Popolizio saw Nick Gwiazdowski the last thing that came to mind was a future NCAA champion.

 

Popolizio, who coached at Binghamton University before joining the Wolfpack in April 2012, recently recalled his initial encounter with the Delanson, N.Y., native.

 

“I met Nick when he was in seventh grade; that was the first time I saw him,†Popolizio said. “He was a little stubby kid with big feet and was a little chubby at the time. My brother (Frank) called me up and said, ‘Hey, I got this kid on my club and you’re going to want to talk to him. He’s actually really good. He doesn’t look like much right now, but trust me when he grows he’s going to be really good.’

 

“Sure enough, (Gwiazdowski) comes walking into my office and I called my brother and said, ‘You’re crazy. What are you doing sending kids like this to my office?’ He said, ‘Trust me he’s going to be a good one.’ Sure enough he was dead-on about it.â€

 

Hopefully the thank-you card has been mailed by now.

 

That admittedly chubby teen transformed into a Cadillac-thick 6-foot-1, 250-pound premier athlete, who on March 22 topped Minnesota’s two-time defending heavyweight champion Tony Nelson, 4-2, in Oklahoma City to pin down his first national title as a redshirt sophomore.

 

Gwiazdowski, who en route to becoming the sixth individual champion in N.C. State’s history, racked up a 42-2 record to establish a single-season school mark for victories and picked up an ACC title along the way.

 

After locking up a grueling three-round victory over Nelson, Gwiazdowski then had to wrestle with his accomplishments.

 

“Just knowing that it was over and you’re the best guy. You look around that stadium and you look at that weight class across the country and you realize that you’re the best guy in the country,†Gwiazdowski said. “That’s something that takes a while to set in.â€

 

Growing pains

 

It also took awhile to accomplish. Growing up in the quiet community of Delanson, about 30 minutes west of Albany in upstate New York, Gwiazdowski attended Duanesburg High, a school too small to field a football team. Though Gwiazdowski played some baseball and soccer as a kid, he quickly gravitated toward wrestling.

 

Not that he had much choice.

 

“Me and my brother would always fight in the house,†Gwiazdowski said of his older brother, Michael. “I wasn’t like the fastest kid when I was younger, I was kind of chunky, but, I was good at (wrestling). When I started wrestling I would do good at all the local tournaments and when you do well at something you want to keep doing it.â€

 

He was years from refining the quick striking technique that helped him take down Nelson with roughly 40 seconds to go in the title match, but Gwiazdowski held his own against his brother, who had three years on him.

 

“They were back-and-forth. He was tall and skinny and I was kind of tall for my age and a little chunky … They were pretty intense, but I didn’t get my (butt) kicked, that’s for sure,†Gwiazdowski said.

 

Those sibling wars helped groom Gwiazdowski into a wrestling machine who left Duanesburgh as a two-time state champion and the No. 1 heavyweight prospect in the country.

 

Before long, the coach who thought his brother was crazy for sending a “little stubby kid with big feet†to his office was working like crazy to get him to stay. Luckily for Popilizio, that inside track helped sway Gwiazdowski to Binghamton.

 

“We were pretty familiar with each other all the way through and I got him to go to Binghamton, which was a major victory at the time because he was getting recruited by a lot of big schools,†Popolizio said. “I think he trusted myself and the system.â€

 

Wolfpack gets package deal

 

He would be rewarded for his trust twice. As a true freshman at Binghamton, Gwiazdowski finished eighth in the country at nationals, where he lost to Nelson. He finished 30-9 and was named an All-American.

 

The duo’s success caught N.C. State’s eye. The Wolfpack offered Popolizio its head coaching job, and when he accepted, his first mission was to bring Gwiazdowski with him.

 

“The opportunity to come here came and I had to start the (recruiting) process pretty much all over again, which wasn’t easy,†Popolizio said. “It was a challenge, I’m not going to lie. He’s from upstate New York, it’s just a different lifestyle there and a different culture altogether.

 

“In the end I think he could see through all that and said, ‘Hey, I got three years to win a national title and accomplish my goals.’ I think in the end that’s what really got him to come down here. There were things that we were able to do here that we probably couldn’t do at Binghamton. That’s why I wanted to come here and that’s the reason why he wanted to come here.

 

“The system and the resources proved itself right and I’m very happy and thankful for that because I promised him we would do it together here.â€

 

Gwiazdowski took his time making the transition, deciding to redshirt last season as he got accustomed to his new surroundings. It was another in a long line of good decisions.

 

“I wanted to get acclimated and it gave me another year to train and put on some size,†Gwiazdowski said. “I didn’t have too many friends my first year here … When I got here I didn’t know too many people, but I’m happy I’m here now. When you win a national championship it’s tough to say I regret making the decision.â€

 

As for friends, the bruising sophomore said that after his victory in Oklahoma City he has, “A lot more now, I’ll tell you that much. I had a lot more friends that Sunday morning.â€

 

What he wants is even more championships.

 

He came one spot from making the World team last year and will give it another go this season, but said his main focus is on bringing back more hardware to Raleigh.

 

“The next thing in my eyes is to win the next two (NCAA titles) because now that you have it, you don’t want to lose it. You don’t want someone else to take it from you,†Gwiazdowski said. “The next thing for me is to finish out my college career and win the next two championships and go undefeated. That’s something I have never done, I’ve never won all my matches.â€

 

After college? He graduates in 2016 and knows there are no million-dollar signing bonuses awaiting wrestlers, but there are the Olympics or, perhaps, transitioning into an Ultimate Fighter.

 

“To do that you really have to be committed,†he said of the Olympics. “That’s what you do. That’s your job.â€

 

Gwiazdowski said he was intrigued by becoming an Ultimate Fighter, as well as the prospects of coaching wrestling.

 

“If I didn’t wrestle I think I would like to be a coach somewhere,†Gwiazdowski said. “But I would consider Ultimate Fighting because wrestlers have a lot of success in it.â€

[Sommers]

Cont.

 

Great kid bringing it all down to earth for what seems unreachable...

 

 

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/03/29/3742981/nick-gwiazdowski-grew-into-ncaa.html

[Sommers]

Legless wrestling champ Isaiah Bird, 6, inspires others

 

http://longisland.news12.com/news/legless-wrestling-champ-isaiah-bird-6-inspires-others-1.7670817

[Sommers]

After seeing that great match, we now know even The Magic Man can't sit on a commanding lead and with 40 sec. Left broadcasted his mind set by putting his hands on his knees, as Burroughs saw the opening and scores twice to show why he is who he is...

 

http://www.flowrestling.org/video/743913-Jordan-Burroughs-never-felt-panicked#.U1kIgHMo7qA

[Sommers]

Master Teacher (Damon Smith may know a few of these)...

 

http://www.flowrestling.org/premiumvideos/742377-John-Smith-The-Wizards-Leg-Lace/

 

He teaches with clarity the why's and little things that really matter...

 

http://www.flowrestling.org/premiumvideos/742379-John-Smith-How-To-Lace-When-He-Backs-His-Legs-In-Your-Arm-Pits/

 

How to counter his counter and score multiple times, again fantastic training....

 

http://www.flowrestling.org/premiumvideos/742378-John-Smith-How-To-Lace-When-He-Brings-Both-Knees-Underneath-Chest/

 

Note: anyone recognize the kid enduring Coach Smith's agonizing leverage, i.e., shin in calf? Even Perry feels it from his undersized teacher 😭

[ghouse]

Note: anyone recognize the kid enduring Coach Smith's agonizing leverage, i.e., shin in calf? Even Perry feels it from his undersized teacher

 

You do realize that the person on bottom through those demonstrations isn't Chris Perry... it is Zach Esposito.

[Sommers]

You see these guys more often than I ghouse, sure favored him from the few angles we got. Good catch my man, and yes, better size for coach Smith do inflict that excruciating pain on

[Sommers]

The next few posts will be loaded with 2014 NCAA Nat'l Championship Stats:

 

(Presently, I believe our great Tn boys can make noise, if they keep improving their game into the next level at the right schools/coaches)

 

2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships

 

Home States

The 330 wrestlers who competed at the 2014 NCAA Division I Championships called 38 states and 2 foreign countries home.

 

1. Pennsylvania 63 23. Oregon 3

2. Ohio 31 Utah 3

3. New Jersey 24 25. Connecticut 2

4. Illinois 21 Hawaii 2

5. New York 20 Idaho 2

6. Michigan 16 Kansas 2

7. Iowa 15 Massachusetts 2

8. California 13 Mongolia 2

9. Virginia 11 Montana 2

10. Minnesota 10 North Dakota 2 Missouri 10 West Virginia 2

12. Colorado 9 34. Alabama 1 Wisconsin 9 Canada 1

14. Indiana 7 Delaware 1 Oklahoma 7 Nebraska 1

16. Florida 6 Nevada 1 Maryland 6 South Carolina 1

18. North Carolina 5 Wyoming 1

19. Georgia 4 South Dakota 4 Texas 4 Washington 4

 

(The Home State statistics are derived from each qualifier's bio on their team home page)

[Sommers]

TEAM SCORES

1. Penn State 109.5 33. Central Michigan 12

2. Minnesota 104 34. Rutgers 11.5

3. Oklahoma State 96.5 35. Ohio 10.5

4. Iowa 78.5 36. Penn 10

5. Edinboro 62 37. Rider 9.5

6. Ohio State 57 38. Bloomsburg 8

7. Cornell 53 39. Purdue 7.5

8. Virginia Tech 49 40. Clarion 7

9. Northwestern 46 Hofstra 7

10. Oklahoma 45 Navy 7

11. Nebraska 43.5 Stanford 7

12. Iowa State 42 44. Franklin & Marshall 6.5

13. Illinois 41 45. Boston University 6

14. Missouri 40.5 46. Brown 5.5

15. Northern Iowa 40 47. CSU-Bakersfield 5

16. Wisconsin 36 Eastern Michigan 5

17. Michigan 35 49. Binghamton 4.5

18. Lehigh 29.5 50. Army 4

19. North Carolina State 24 51. UT-Chatanooga 3.5

20. Maryland 21 Columbia 3.5

21. North Dakota State 20.5 53. Bucknell 3

22. Pittsburgh 20 Northern Illinois 3

23. Old Dominion 18.5 Wyoming 3

Virginia 18.5 56. American 2.5

25. Boise State 15.5 Lock Haven 2.5 Indiana 15.5 58. Air Force 2 North Carolina 15.5 Arizona State 2

28. Oregon State 14.5 Harvard 2

29. Duke 13.5 61. Gardner-Webb 1.5 Kent State 13.5 West Virginia 1.5

31. The Citadel 13 63. Cal-Poly-SLO 1

32. Michigan State 12.5 64. Princeton 0.5 Utah Valley 0.5

(Note: 72 of the 77 Division I schools, with wrestling programs, were represented this year. Seven of the schools present did not score: Appalachian State, Buffalo, Campbell, Davidson, Drexel, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, and South Dakota State)

[Sommers]

ALL-AMERICANS (By Conference)

Conference All Americans

1. Big-10 34

2. Big-12 11

3. EIWA 10

4. ACC 9 MAC 9

6. EWL 3

7. Pac-12 2

8. SoCon 1 WWC 1

ALL-AMERICANS (By home states/24, country/1)

Place Home State All-Americans

1. Pennsylvania 17

2. Ohio 9

3. Iowa 6

4. Minnesota 5

5. California 4 Illinois 4

7. Indiana 3 Missouri 3 New York 3 Virginia 3 T11. (2 each) Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, South Dakota,

Washington, Wisconsin

T19 (1 each) Delaware, Georgia, Mongolia, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah

[Sommers]

In the category of most pins at the NCAA tournament, David Taylor, with his three pins at this tournament, and 11 total, claimed second place behind Dan Gable (Iowa State 1968-1970), who had 13 pins (in only 3 tournaments), and passed Larry Owens (Washington 1969-1972) who had 10. Three others are tied with nine pins.

• Nine defending or former champions entered the tournament, five repeated:

o 125/Jesse Delgado, Illinois

o 141/Logan Stieber, Ohio State

o 165/David Taylor, Penn State

o 174/Chris Perry, Oklahoma State

o 184/Ed Ruth, Penn State

• Seven 3X All-Americans entered the tournament, all became 4X All-Americans:

o 133/Tyler Graff, Wisconsin, 2nd/3rd/5th/5th

o 157/Derek St. John, Iowa, 5th/1st/2nd/4th

o 165/David Taylor, Penn State, 1st/2nd/1st/2nd

o 165/Tyler Caldwell, Oklahoma State, 2nd/3rd/2nd/5th

o 174/Andrew Howe, Oklahoma, 2nd/3rd/1st/2nd

o 184/Ed Ruth, Penn State, 1st/1st/1st/3rd

o 285/Tony Nelson, Minnesota, 2nd/1st/1st/7th

• 60 returning All-Americans entered the tournament, 39 repeated, 21 did not.

• Four men wrestled long in the consolation bracket, with 8 matches each:

o 125/Joey Dance, Virginia Tech, 6-2, 4th place

o 149/David Habat, Edinboro, 6-2, 4th place

o 184/Lorenzo Thomas, Penn, 5-3, 6th place

o 285/Mike McMullan, Northwestern, 7-1, 3rd place

• 125/Earl Hall, Iowa State, was the only one of the 40 at-large selections to become an All- American, as he finished in 8th place.

• Average record of the Champions: 34-2; average record of all 80 AA’s: 30-6

• In a rare occurrence, none of the qualifiers for Penn State, Oklahoma State, or Iowa (10 each) entered the tournament with 30 or more wins.

[Sommers]

It is notable that every year most of the young men who become NCAA Champions and All- Americans come from a background of extremely successful High School careers. Multiple State Championships are the norm (in this tournament there were: 29 4X State Champs, two 5X State Champs; one 6X State Champ; and three 4X National Prep Champs). However, at this tournament there were seven competitors who never achieved State Champion or National Prep Champion status, but became All-Americans. Their accomplishment should be encouraging to all high school and college wrestlers. The following list shows the All- American, his placement at this tournament, school, highest State finish and high school.

141/Richard Durso, 8th, Franklin & Marshall, 3X PA prep 2nd placer, Malvern Prep. 149/James English, 7th, Penn State, 2X PA State placer (3rd/7th), Central York HS 165/Pierce Harger, 8th, Northwestern, 4X OH placer (3rd/3rd/6th/7th, Archbishop Moeller HS 174/Tyler Wilps, 7th, Pittsburgh, 2X PA State placer (5th/7th), Chartiers Valley HS 184/Jimmy Sheptock, 2nd, Maryland, 3X PA State placer (3rd/3rd/7th), Northampton HS 184/Lorenzo Thomas, 6th, Penn, 2X PA State placer (2nd/3rd), Pittsburgh Central Catholic HS 197/Chris Penny, 6th, Virginia Tech, 2X VA State placer (2nd/4th), Cox HS

NEXT YEAR

Fifty-three All-Americans, from this tournament, will be back next season. Placers by class: Seniors 27, Juniors 28, Sophomores 12, Freshmen 13.

Twelve schools return two or more All-Americans, from this tournament, next season: 4 each from Iowa and Penn State; 3 each from Cornell, Edinboro, Lehigh, Iowa State, Minnesota, Northwestern and Oklahoma State; and 2 each from Missouri, Nebraska, and Virginia Tech.