Adam Wheeler

This article originally was published in the Antelope Valley Press on Monday, April 26, 2004.
It was accessed from http://www.avpress.com/n/mosty8.hts online.

HANG ON - Lancaster High School graduate Adam Wheeler, right, shown competing against R.C. Johnson in this undated photo, could qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2004 Summer Games.

Wheeler is in the hunt for a spot on the Olympic team

That's the way Adam Wheeler feels about making the United States Olympic wrestling team for the 2004 Olympics in Greece.

But don't think he's lackadaisical about it, because making the team is his goal. It's what Wheeler lives six days a week as a student at Northern Michigan University and a wrestler for the United States Olympic Education Center.

"I know that's what I want, but I know that I'm young enough to still improve," Wheeler said. "So I know that if I don't make the team now, there's always 2008."

In 1985, the U.S. Olympic Committee designated NMU as the country's third USOEC along with Lake Placid, N.Y., and Colorado Springs, Colo. Since 1989, the Marquette, Mich., campus has been the only USOEC and its focus is training athletes, who are all NMU students, for the Olympics. The wrestling program got its start in 1999.

Wheeler, a 1999 graduate of Lancaster High, qualified for the Olympic Trials in Annapolis, Md., to be held May 21. USOEC coach Ivan Ivanof shares Wheeler's thoughts on his chances at the trials.

"I will not be surprised if he makes the Olympic team,'' said Ivanof, the USOEC coach since 2002. "I know he has a few things to polish, but he is not too far away to make a step on the world map, either this year or next year or even the next Olympics. I am expecting him to do well.''

The U.S. team is made up of the top two wrestlers from the trials at each weight class.

Wheeler, who wrestles at 96 kilograms (211 pounds) in Greco-Roman style, made it to the trials with a fifth-place finish at the National Championships that were in Las Vegas on April 8.

In Greco-Roman wrestling, the competitors are not allowed to use their legs for locks. It is an upper-body discipline.

Wheeler beat three wrestlers in Las Vegas that he had never beaten before. One of them was R.C. Johnson, a veteran Greco-Roman wrestler and teammate of Wheeler's at the USOEC.

"Johnson beat (Wheeler) three times last year, and then this, two weeks ago in Vegas,'' Ivanof said. "Adam has been in the program for a short time, seven months I think. He hasn't even been in the program a full year and he beat R.C. It's a pretty big success.''

Wheeler lost in the quarterfinals to Dan Hicks of the Marine Corps, 3-0, forcing Wheeler's match against his collegiate teammate in the consolation bracket. Wheeler beat Johnson by a decision of 4-0 to continue on the path to fifth place.

Wheeler won in the final round by a medical decision to Frank Workman of the Marine Corps. Workman had injured his neck in a previous match and was pulled from the finals.

Wheeler will go into the trials ranked as the No. 4 wrestler at 211 in Greco-Roman. Wheeler broke in to the top 10 in March of 2003.

"It was a great feeling when I made the top 10,'' Wheeler said. "I haven't ever been above eighth until recently, when I was ranked fourth. It was a better feeling when I broke in to the top 10. Because then, it was like I was being recognized as one of the top contenders. When you're in the top 10, ranking doesn't mean anything. Every match with someone ranked is going to be tough.''

Since the only the top wrestlers are going to be at the trials, Wheeler said that he's expecting every match to be hard.

"Once you get to the Olympic Trials, there are only 12-15 people that can qualify,'' Wheeler said. "There's not going to be any easy matches.''

Wheeler has prepared as much as possible at the NMU campus, practicing every day but Sunday and going to tournaments several times through the year.

"It's like having a full-time job,'' said Wheeler, who is majoring in Criminal Justice. "Practicing twice a day, five days a week and then going to class between practices. I work hard and so do my teammates.''

Wheeler went to the Coast Guard straight out of high school, where he was a state wrestler for the Eagles.

"I was burnt out from school, so I went in the Coast Guard for a break,'' said Wheeler, who was taking independent study classes and classes at Antelope Valley College his junior and senior years to balance out a rocky underclass start.

Wheeler wasn't expecting to take the mat again after high school, until he heard about the wrestling programs in the military.

"I got out of boot camp and went to my station and tried out for the Navy team, because the Coast Guard didn't have a team,'' said Wheeler, who is still on active duty in the Coast Guard at the age of 23. "Once I got into it, I realized that I would have regretted it if I couldn't have wrestled further than high school.''

While he was competing in an international tournament in Arizona in 2002, Wheeler met Ivanof and some wrestlers from the USOEC program. After being in contact with the coaching staff for a period of time, Wheeler was offered the scholarship and was accepted into NMU last fall.

Wheeler wrestled in the 215-pound weight class in high school has stayed at that weight.

"It's been really hard to do that,'' Wheeler said. "I'm one of the tallest wrestlers that are ranked, so I really have to watch what I eat and how I work out.''

Before the trials, the USOEC team, which is the three-time national team champion, has the University Nationals tournament in Chicago, the weekend of May 6.

"I hope we can we can win it again,'' Ivanof said. "Adam will be a big part if we are able to win. He is really hard worker and we are fortunate to have him on our team.''
© 2004 Antelope Valley Press, Palmdale, California (661) 273-2700