Beach World Series Romania blog: Let’s celebrate! U.S. Beach Wrestling has truly arrived

Sunday, 21 July, 2024…  Perhaps the most compelling mysteries in wrestling is just how quickly tragedy can turn to triumph, and vice versa.  As I prefaced in yesterday’s blog, every great wrestling day includes some of this and some of that.

After what was arguably the most successful single day’s performance in U.S. Beach Wrestling history, we had a tough Sunday morning.  While Eliana Bommarito and Daniel Cardenas remained perfect, heading toward the afternoon finals, our other six split.

All three of our big guys were bracketed in the same pool.  Kyle beat Gabe, Nick beat Kyle, and… you guessed it… Gabe beat Nick.  Both Kyle and Gabe had lost to the Syrian, while Nick had beaten him.  The Syrian won the pool.

The +90 weight class included three pools.  This means the pool runner-up with the best criteria rounds out the semis.  By the narrowest of margins, Nick Stemmet was that guy.

So, the emotional pendulum swung again.  We had three of our eight competing for medals.  Gary has already published results:  Eliana won it; Daniel was Silver; Nick Bronze.

Add points for Justin being in the quarters, at 70kg, and our men ended up third in the 14 team race.  As Champion, Eliana put the United States in fourth of 10 nations on the women’s side.

So… with a ton of “ups” versus a few “downs,” USA Beach Wrestling had a breakout weekend.  As usual, our Romanian hosts offered an absolutely delightful post-event cookout and celebration.

But, here’s what I’m celebrating.  After being around this stuff for a long… long time, I picked up a different tone, a different look in the eyes of our fellow delegation leaders, coaches, and athletes. 

American athletes, in the Beach arena, are being scouted, prepared for, respected at the level we’ve all craved for 20 years.  For a long time, we had to listen to little chuckles.  The great ones from other Beach Wrestling powers, like Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, took us lightly.

Now, we’re showing up with studs from places like Northwestern, Grand View, Indian Hills, Stanford, the Air Force, and some solid clubs.  Our nationwide depth is a result of at least three prime factors.

Our Beach athletes, all ages, are experiencing lots of opportunity.  Thanks to folks like Ed Duncan and Tod Blank, we now offer quality sanctioned Beach events, coast to coast.  Take a look at the number of Beach entries in Fargo last week!

Our athletes who qualify to represent us abroad now have access to consistent, quality coaching, both live and virtual.  Timmy Box has dedicated himself to developing and implementing sound technique and tactic for any and all.  This is huge!  Coach Tim, you are appreciated.

Opportunity and Coaching mean little without our nation’s athlete pool buying in.  They have!  Athletes, at all levels are tapping into Coach Timmy.  More importantly, I see many, with the help of their own coaches, piecing together mini-camps, club visits, and other creative training settings.

So… yeah… American Beach Wrestling has arrived.  No doubt, we still have a long way to develop.  But, the fact that so many coaches, athletes, parents are tapping in to what the style has to offer, will speed the pace of that development.

Those serious looks and displays of respect, from our international rivals have been a long time coming.  But, they feel good!  I continue to be filled with gratitude for what these fabulous young humans add to my life.

Thanks to Gary and Richard for allowing me to share.  And Thanks to you, the reader for playing along.

Next stop:  Katerini, Greece in September.

Ciao

Saturday, 20 July, 2024…  Day One of this third stop in UWW’s Beach Wrestling World Series in in the books.  Team USA had a great day !

That doesn’t mean everything was perfect or easy.  Any great day, in wrestling, has some of this and some of that.

Gary Abbott and Richard Immel are going to publish detailed results.  Mine is to offer the onsite color commentary.

On the day, we went 11 and five.  Our five losses include two, in matches versus another American.  We’ve got three guys in the Men’s 90+ category.  Their points earnings, over the last two years of series events, forced all three into the same pool.  This proverbial “Luck of the Draw” sort of bit us.

Nick Stemmet, one of our Trio of Cardinals, looks like he’s on his way to the elimination rounds.  He will face the first-ever Syrian representative tomorrow morning.

One highlight for Team USA came at 80kg in tonight’s second round.  Daniel Cardenas launched his Romanian opponent in what we all now as “The Logo Throw.”  Take a look at USA Wrestling’s time honored centerpiece.  Yup… THAT THROW !

You can vote for the event’s BEST TECHNIQUE.  This award is chosen, based on quantity of ‘Like’ on Instagram. 

Voting will open Sunday, at 3:00am Central Time and close at 8:00am.  I’m hustling you to set an alarm and vote !  This award comes with a pretty healthy paycheck !

In other news… I’m taking the chance to brag a little about Mitch Brown.  This young man is a perfect addition to the program USA Wrestling’s Beach contingent has built.

Mitch is a Utah boy, steeped in the Greco tradition the state has built.  After a year with Coach Barber at Air Force, Mitch finished his collegiate career at Utah Valley. 

He has since become active in the United States Air Force, where he is a member of their WCAP program.  A successful Greco-Roman team member, Mitch has chosen to broaden his scope to include Beach Wrestling.

Mitch had his first international Beach Wrestling experience last month in France.  It was an experience he described to me as, “Less than spectacular”. 

From what I saw today, Airman First Class Brown went back to the States to study.  Mitch wrestled well, against solid opponents, and split in today’s first two rounds.

Congrats to Mitch’s chain of command, for granting him the ability to pay his own way to these events.  Congrats to him for asking !

Friday, 19 July, 2024…  I want to continue my theme of wrestling’s contribution to human potential and human contribution to wrestling’s potential.  The United States has watched some great humans develop, with Beach Wrestling in their toolboxes.

Folks like Ike Okoli, Michael Peters, Shauna Kemp, Gabe Beauperthuy, Timmy Box… just to name a few… have leveraged their success in the sand into successful careers that include service to community and sport.  All of these life-champions added their Beach Wrestling Adventures to shape their views of what success really offers and demands.

Eliana Bommarito, America’s newest Beach hero, is currently on that rocket ride.  Eliana won her first World Title (U20), just under a year ago.  That event, also in Romania, was about a ten-hour drive from Timisoara, in Constanta.

The way Eli reacted to her success won the hearts of Romanians and wrestling fans everywhere.  Barely 19 years old, at the time, she showed a grace and dignity all of us should envy. 

I watched Eliana take the time to pose for pictures with admirers, long after other champions of the day were deep into the post event meal and celebration.  She signed autographs for children, parents, grandparents and then danced to Romanian folksongs until the DJ finally had to pack up to leave.

Eliana Bommarito is a champion’s Champion.  She’s got an easy sense of “Class” about her.  We’ve already been swarmed with athletes, team leaders, and fans asking when “The Big Girl” will arrive.

Good news… “The Big Girl” is here!  As a matter of fact, we’ve got all but two Americans in.   One of our Heavyweights, Gabe Rangel, got caught in the global IT glitch.   Gabe’s afternoon flight to Timisoara was cancelled.

After some heavy anxiety and creative negotiation, Gabe did get on a late-night flight.  Team Leader, Ed Duncan was also delayed in Munich, so he will be in late tonight, as well.

I’m pretty picky about my list of heroes.  But, all our American Beach Wrestling pioneers… past, present, future… are automatic entries on my list.  They magically blend intensity, adventure, and plain old fun into the sauce that flavors mankind’s oldest sport.  For that, I am forever grateful.

Ciao

Thursday, 18 July, 2024…  It’s no big intellectual reach to see why the United States Marine Corps attaches its name to USA Wrestling’s National Championships.  I got to listen to the Comandante of the Marines a few years ago, when he made the comment, “USA Wrestling and the Marines are both looking for the same thing… eighteen-year-old butt-kickers.”

So, what is it that prompts a kid to take on something like a 256-person bracket in Fargo?  What is it that keeps a legend like Cuba’s Mihain Lopez training into his forties?  What is it that drives a young American to pay their own way to Romania, just to compete in a non-Olympic style like Beach Wrestling?  Our Marine Corps partners appreciate the answer, even when none of us can totally articulate it.

We’ve got a trio of collegiate wrestlers from the Stanford Cardinal on their way to Timisoara, as I write.  Hunter Garvin, Daniel Cardenas, and Nick Stemmet enter their second consecutive season in United Word Wrestling’s Beach World Series.

The Cardinal trio saw there first World Series experience in St Laurent du Var, France in June of 2023.  Stemmet is now a two-time qualifier, while both Cardenas and Garvin are ’24 All-Americans and Pan American Champions.

Do I believe there is some direct correlation between their physical experience, on the sand, and their success on the mat?  I could never prove that.  Do I believe there must be a correlation between their sense of adventure and willingness to take risk and their collegiate success? I could never bet against it!

Credit the Cardinal program, under the leadership of Coach Ayres.  Supporting Student-Athletes, emotionally and financially, as they decide to see the world via sport, demonstrates an open-mindedness that’s easy to recruit to.

In addition to the Stanford Three, we’ve got five other adventurers heading into Timisoara tomorrow.  I’ve told you Justin Benjamin’s saga… staying in Europe for a month.  In the next couple of days, I’ll share a little about what motivates Eli Bommarito, Gabe Rangel, Mitch Brown and Kyle Ferriter.

All of these young heroes have back stories that should inspire au and the young people we draw into Wrestling.

As always, Thanks to Gary Abbott and Richard Immel for their own zeal, in promoting the so-called developing styles.  Thanks to Ed for grabbing the “Beach-Ball” and running with it.

Thanks to you, for playing along.

Ciao

Wednesday, July 17, 2024: U.S. team arrives, and sees Loethen on the event poster

It’s a big week for Wrestling!  Congrats to our U20’s on their success in Peru!  Congrats to our Seniors for their performance in Spain!  Appreciation for all those who are contributing to the success we all call ‘Fargo’!

And… appreciation for eight American athletes on their way to Timisoara, Romania for Event #3 in the 2024 Beach Wrestling World Series.  That Senior level event kicks off Saturday morning, following Thursday and Friday’s U15, U17, and U20 European Championships.

The American Eight include Justin Benjamin and Mitch Brown (70kg), Hunter Garvin and Daniel Cadenas (80kg), Gabe Rangel, Nick Stemmet, and Kyle Ferriter (+90kg).  Reigning World Champion Eliana Bommarito (+70kg)is USA’s lone female entry.

The Team is led by Ed Duncan of North Carolina.   Ed is just finishing the Beach competition in Fargo (which is setting new records for participation) and will travel straight into Timisoara.

Timmy Box, head coach at Palomar, in southern California, serves as Coach for his second year.  A former World Silver Medalist himself, Coach Box has committed his personal time and resources to growing Beach Wrestling in the United States.

Kenneth Timbs of Georgia will referee the Senior event.  This will be Buck’s second appearance in the World Series, both in Romania.

USA Wrestling still allows me to hang out.  After refereeing and serving as instructor for referees, I still enjoy offering what advice I can.

Along with others, Justin Benjamin competed in the French event three weeks ago.  Unlike the others, Justin stayed in Europe.  After training with a French club, Justin travelled to our home in Slovenia, where he’s been training for the last 10 days.

So, Justin, Eva, and I made the seven-hour drive to Timisoara today (Wednesday).  We’re hoping that the absence of jet lag and attention to nutrition and weight management pay off.   Justin is the current points leader at 70kg and is keen to widen his lead.

Walking into the credentialing center, this afternoon, all three of us froze in our steps.  Ty Loethen, another  American Beach Wrestling icon, is featured in one of the action shots adorning the event poster for Timisoara. 

Ty’s fortitude and endurance earned him a Bronze Medal and a paycheck in the 2023 World Series.  After two decades of believing in what Beach Wrestling is doing for our beloved sport, I reveled in one of those “Proud Grandpa” moments seeing an American on that poster.

Enjoy, appreciate, and be excellent… wherever wrestling has you this week.  I hope you take a few minutes and tune in to what this group of fine American athletes are contributing to the overall good.

Ciao