FEATURE: Williams, O’Donnell, Lawal move up in weight to test themselves at Dave Schultz Memorial International
2/6/2005
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The Dave Schultz Memorial International is a major tournament featuring many top wrestling stars from around the world. It is an important event for athletes to challenge themselves and find out where they are with their training heading into the busy season.
For some wrestlers, it is a chance to test the waters at a new weight class. Moving up in weight is always an option for a wrestler, who must decide where he or she has the best chance of becoming a champion.
For freestyle wrestlers Joe Williams of the Sunkist Kids, Tela O’Donnell of the Dave Schultz WC and Mo Lawal of the Gator Wrestling Club, moving on up at the Dave Schultz International was just a choice for now.
Williams is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world at 74 kg/163 lbs., winning a World bronze medal in 1991 and placing fifth at the 2004 Olympic Games. He had one of his most important international wins just a week ago, when he captured the title at his weight class at the very challenging Yarygin International in Russia.
“He has never wrestled better,” said National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson of his win in Russia. “These rules allo him to have a slow start, without building the anxiety where you become afraid to take risk. He can have a poor few minutes, then pick it up in the final rounds. At the Yarygin, he scored more points and executed more attacks than any other tournament. And I have seen all of his matches during the past few years.”
For the Dave Schultz International, Williams weighed in at 84 kg/185 lbs. It was a chance to get some more international matches, without having to make the difficult drop to 74 kg/163 lbs. for two straight weeks.
“Joe is a 74 kg guy,” said National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson. “He just got off the Yarygin Tournament, and with the lack of rest and the travel he chose to wrestle up here. Joe knows that matches are important. He can compete at this weight class, at 84 kg. But he can win a World title at 74 kg. Joe wants to get more matches. He will wrestle as much as possible, and hopefully other athletes will see that it is important by watching Joe.”
Williams decided to wrestle at the Schultz Tournament, with input from Jackson, for a number of reasons that have to do with getting better under the new rules.
“I am just trying to do what Kevin Jackson has said, to go out and score,” said Williams. “With bigger guys in the higher weight class, it is important to understand how to wrestle smart. I am not comfortable here. It’s not my weight class. Everything has to be hit perfectly. You have to score when you attack. It teaches me good things. Every match has been close here.”
The idea of wrestling at 84 kg has been considered by Williams, in discussion with Jackson.
“I have been preaching to Joe,” said Jackson. “He is an older athlete. It gets harder to make weight. He is really big for his weight class. It is quite a cut for him. I tell him if he goes up he needs to make the move by 2006. He can win there. He beat World and Olympic champion Magomedov of Russia up at 85 kg. He can be good. But can he really dominate at 85 kg? He doesn’t have the confidence at that weight class, but getting matches there will make an difference. He will have to get bigger, that is for sure.”
“I have got to accomplish things first before I think about going up in weight,” said Williams. “I have some goals to achieve before I think about moving up.”
2004 Olympian Tela O’Donnell is competing up a division as well here, moving up from her normal 55 kg/121 lbs. division to 59 kg/130 lbs. She has a chance to face some different athletes than she competes against in her regular division, a way to challenge herself and work on her skills and mat strategy.
Since placing sixth at the Olympic Games, O’Donnell has been wrestling very well, according to National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner. Her silver medal performance at the Women’s World Cup this fall showed that she can be among the best in the world at 55 kg.
“I saw a huge difference in the few weeks between the Olympics and the World Cup,” said Steiner. “There was a different air, a different confidence level. Being an Olympian was something nobody could take away. It was a big step for her, something she used as a positive thing.”
Steiner sees O’Donnell’s decision to move up in weight here as just part of her process for getting ready for success at her normal weight division.
“This is a one-time thing,” said Steiner. “She really hasn’t had a break since the Olympic Games. She wanted a break, to train withough worrying about her weight. She can just focus on herself. She doesn’t need to worry about who she wrestles. She cans work on what she needs to do to win and get better.”
O’Donnell is looking to get in as many matches as she can, and try out a few new opponents.
“It was a hard time to get to weight, but I am excited to wrestle here,” said O’Donnell. “I get to wrestle with Sally (Roberts), and there are a lot of good people in the weight class. I am not too much smaller than these girls.”
“It would be a success to win and learn and wrestle well,” said O’Donnell. “I have to get a lot of matches in under the new rules. It’s fun to wrestle against new people.”
According to Steiner, this tournament has a specific purpose for talented athletes like O’Donnell.
“We are not in a peak phase right now,” said Steiner. “These tournaments are about getting better and learning about yourself. You don’t want to get caught up on winning or losing. You focus on the process, about learning how to win.”
Williams and O’Donnell are already well established on the international scene. Conversely, Mo Lawal is one of the top young talents in the freestyle field, somebody who is making a name for himself.
After winning NCAA Div. II titles at Central Oklahoma, Lawal went to Oklahoma State, where he was an All-American for the champion Cowboy team. Last year, Lawal made some big waves at 84 kg/185 lbs., placing third at the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials. He beat some talented athletes, and gave successful and experienced athletes like Cael Sanderson and Lee Fullhart some difficult tests. Entering the new four-year cycle, Lawal is a hot prospect for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
For the Dave Schultz International, Lawal moved up to 96 kg/211.5 pounds, something that he has done a few times already in his career. He placed second in the weight class, losing a close and competitive three-period finals bout to Dawid Rechul of the New York AC.
“He came off a disappointing performance in the Yarygin Tournament at 84 kg,” said Jackson. “He wrestled the athlete from Kazakhstan who wrestled Cael Sanderson during the Olympics. He had put himself in a position to win that match. If he had, I think he could have made it all the way to the finals. The potential is there. He has to get better in many ways. He is up a weight class here. After returning from Russia, it is probably good he is wrestling up.”
“He has athletic ability that can’t be matched in his weight. He’s real explosive on leg attacks. He just needs to improve in the other positions.”
1988 Olympic champion Kenny Monday expects big things from Lawal in the future. Monday has worked out with Lawal, and can see things in him that could be very exciting.
“I think Mo is an outstanding talent,” said Monday. “He is one of the best young wrestlers coming up. He’s part of the future of USA Wrestling. He has got good skills; now he has to get the mental game stronger. He’s making that transition from folkstyle to freestyle. That takes a few years to get folkstyle out of their system. I am impressed with his passion and his desire to wrestle. He trains hard.”
Lawal wanted to win the tournament, but felt he got some great experience competing at the higher weight. He knows what it is like to wrestle against 96 kg athletes. Every day, he trains with 2004 Olympic Daniel Cormier in the Oklahoma State wrestling room.
“I’m trying to get matches,” said Lawal. “It is experience for me. Size wise, they are bigger than me. But for strength, speed and power, I can stay with everybody at 96 kg, except for Daniel Cormier. At a one-day tournament, you don’t have time to get big. Back in a two-day tournament, when I was at 185 pounds, by the end I would get up to 212 pounds. The person who doesn’t cut weight has an advantage with the new rules.”
Jackson knows Lawal can be a winner at 84 kg, but is not sure where he will ultimately compete for his shot at a future Olympic team.
“His future may be at 211 pounds,” said Jackson. “He believes he has to win at 185 pounds before he moves up to 211. I think he may go up to 211 in the future. He is not a 211 pounder now. Daniel Cormier and Tommy Rowlands are huge 211 ““pounders. It will be hard for him to match their size right now. He has the potential to go up, but who knows if it will happen in the quadrennium.”
Lawal plans to make his run for glory at 84 kg this year, but can perceive a time in the future when he might move up for good.
“I don’t fear anybody at 96 kg. If Daniel Cormier goes up to heavyweight, then I am definitely going up. Then Joe Williams could go up to 84 kg,” said Lawal.
All of this goes into the decision by an athlete to move up in weight for the Dave Schultz Memorial International. Regardless of the final result here, the decision to test new waters may make an impact on the athlete’s future decisions and success.
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