Wrestler teaches kids in preparation for Beijing

By Travis Johnson Email
Collegian Staff Writer

A gray-haired man in his 60s sits on a bench in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex beneath championship plaques. He watches intently as his grandson, an elementary school wrestler, rolls around the mat with a kid twice his age, but not much taller.

Earl Harris’ eyes shift from the mat when someone beside him wants to talk wrestling. He was Pennsylvania state champion in 1958 and he could talk wrestling for hours. He also knows a thing or two about his grandson’s coach — Penn State wrestling standout and 2008 Olympic hopeful, Brad Pataky.

If Pataky and Harris weren’t generations apart, they would likely be the bitterest of enemies on the mat. Harris’ and Pataky’s high schools, Philipsburg-Osceola and Clearfield, are longstanding rivals who’ve often matched each other, champ for champ, title for title. But Harris says he always rooted for Pataky, even against his alma mater. There was something special about Pataky, the elder champion says.

“Pataky? “Harris grunts, as his white eyebrows perk up. “I always say, the best wrestlers can take a punch and, damn, he was a barn burner. Man, he was tough.”

But Pataky doesn’t seem like a vicious freestyle wrestler at all. He wears a light smile as youngsters goof off, doing handstands and rolling around the mat. When he’s not practicing in the mornings, he’s going over pinning techniques in a community wrestling club practice at night.

Spectators wouldn’t guess the Nittany Lion sophomore is currently ranked eighth in the world in his weight class on the Olympic Ladder — the measuring stick for would-be Olympic wrestlers.

“Ever since I was little I thought that would be so cool to make the Olympics, “Pataky says with a smile. “I never thought I’d have a chance to be there, but now that I’m in college, I’m competing with the guys that are really high up. I feel it’s coming true and if I can succeed and make the Olympic team, that would be great.”

Pataky has applied for a redshirt from the NCAA, so he can compete in the 2008 Olympics. He won’t find out if it’s awarded to him until later this spring because, Pataky says, the NCAA has cracked down due to athletes misusing the redshirt.

So far, he’s kept a training log and has done a good job of establishing his resume for the games. He’s 18-9 for Penn State wrestling in collegiate style. More importantly, he has racked up an impressive showing in freestyle events — something the Olympic coaches look for most. Olympic wrestling Pataky says is much different from collegiate style.

“In freestyle you can lock your hands and expose a guy’s back just by going a little past 90 degrees, “Pataky says. “You don’t have to hold him there for five seconds, you can just roll him through to get points. You can throw the guy as high and as hard as you can. It’s a little more physical.”

Inside a crowded Lorenzo Wrestling Complex during a morning practice, as his teammates spar under Penn State coach Troy Sunderland’s guidance, Pataky is engaged with freshman Adam Smetana. Adorned in sweatshirt and sweatpants, Pataky looks more like a coach pointing, teaching Smetana to play the aggressor so he can react and hone his freestyle skills.

Pataky was named Penn State’s best freestyle wrestler in 2006 and followed that up with impressive showings in five freestyle events last season. He pinned three grapplers at the Sunkist Open, finished third at the Guelph Open in Canada and won the Brockport Open in New York.

“In high school I wrestled a lot of freestyle, “he says. “Placing in tournaments in freestyle in college helped a lot. In high school I wrestled in the junior freestyle out in Las Vegas and placed out there and that helped.”

Only one wrestler will start at each weight in Beijing in August, and Pataky says the only way he can work his way into the starting spot at 121-pounds is by beating those higher on the Olympic Ladder. He will have opportunities to improve his ranking at the U.S. Open in April where the top seven qualify for the Olympic Team Trials to be held in June.

Sunderland says the field is wide open. The way it’s laid out, he says, is that any wrestler has multiple chances to make the team after a good showing in the U.S. Open.

“It is so competitive and so close between those guys, “Sunderland says. “[Brad’s] definitely made some progress this year.”

Sometimes progress comes slower than expected, however. As a stoic-faced Pataky sits alone on the bleachers after a morning practice, he rubs his side. He tore cartilage in his ribs a while back and agitated it minutes ago. Although he says he feels better now, the injury prevented him from wrestling in another freestyle tournament earlier this month, the same one he went 3-1 in last year.

Despite the injury, Pataky has continued to train. One of his training partners, former Penn State wrestler Adam Smith, is ranked ahead of him on the Ladder — something Pataky says keeps him focused. He has also had the pleasure of training with former Penn State wrestler Sanshiro Abe, one of only three four-time All-Americans in Penn State wrestling.

“It’s incredible, “Pataky says as his eyes widen. “Just knowing Sanshiro is just amazing, being able to train with him is a great experience because he is the best of the best.”

At night, on the far end of the wrestling room, Pataky’s tells his students to go at it once more.

Harris, the best of the best in the 1950s, watches the “kid “who won two state titles for Clearfield watch over his grandson’s form. He nudges those beside him as his grandson scores a double leg takedown on another kid. The expressions on the dueling tykes’ faces are completely different. Harris’ grandson’s face is twisted into a determined scowl; his opponent is nearly in tears.

“That’s my grandson right there! “Harris says, pointing. Then he looks over at Pataky who’s clapping in approval.

“I tell you what, “the old champ says sternly, pointing his finger. “The best wrestlers, the champions — they’re the ones who get up when they’re down. I don’t know much [about the Olympics], but Pataky … I watched him. Whatever it is, he can do it.”