DVIDS – News – Three WCAP Soldier-Athletes Win U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials, Aiming to Qualify for the Paris Olympics

Penn State University – Spc. Kamal Bey Sergeant Ellis Coleman, Spc. Dalton Roberts fulfilled part of his Olympic dream by winning the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials held at Penn State University on April 19-20.

Now the trio has one more tournament to make those dreams a reality.

Greco-Roman wrestling soldier-athletes from the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program won their respective weight classes at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials at the Bryce Jordan Center. They will now compete in the World Olympic Qualifiers, which will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from May 9th to 12th.

If Bey (77kg), Coleman (67kg) and Roberts (60kg) finish in the top three at their respective weights, they will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to August 26. 11.

“It was an incredible performance by those three Soldier-athletes,” said Staff Sgt. 1st Class Spencer Mango, one of the Army WCAP Greco-Roman coaches. “Right now, we are trying to qualify for Team He USA in Turkey.”

Mango was also honored by USA Wrestling as Team USA Greco-Roman Coach of the Year for the fourth time and credits the WCAP program for allowing him to give his all.

“WCAP is extremely important to the Army,” Mango said. “Every time I go to speak at a school, the kids think the Army is infantry. But I tell them that because I travel the world as a wrestling coach, I can do amazing things like this. Let me tell you, the Army has been a huge help to a lot of people.
I don't know about that. I can now do what I love and make a living doing it. ”

It was also the first time a four-star officer attended an Olympic trials. Gen. Gary Brito, the 18th commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, was impressed by what he saw.

“These Soldier-Athletes do a dynamite job representing our military and serving our country, and I couldn't be more proud of them,” Brito said.

Two of the No. 3 games pitted WCAP teammates against each other.

Roberts won his first title at the U.S. Olympic Trials, defeating Sgt. Ildar Hafizov 2-1.

Roberts won the first game 2-0, lost the second game 10-1 due to technical superiority, and won the third game 3-2.

Roberts and Hafizov have fought 17 times, with Roberts holding a slight edge over Hafizov.

“Going into the game, I felt confident and ready,” Roberts said. “In the first fight, I stuck to my game plan and was able to push out and get passive. In the second fight, I dislocated my ring finger, and in the third fight, I knew there was no way I was going to give up on a takedown.”

Roberts may have outperformed Hafizov, who won gold at the Pan American Games in November, but he said he was keen to listen to Hafizov's advice.

“He's a leader in the practice room,” Roberts said of Hafizov. “We compete a lot, we're comrades in arms, we're very close,” Roberts said. “It's always a battle, it's always a marathon.”

Roberts heads into the preliminaries confident and credits WCAP for his evolution as a Soldier-athlete.

“I feel like I'm a more mature wrestler,” Roberts said. “I know it's going to be bloody. There's a little bit of tension, but that's good. I'm excited.”

Coleman defeated teammate Spc. Alex Sancho wins 2-1 to qualify for last chance qualification. The first match was won by Sancho on the standard, but Coleman bounced back to win the next two matches, 2-0 and 3-2.

It was a validation of sorts for Coleman, who lost to Sancho in the final of the 2021 Olympic trials. Coleman recently received clearance to compete again in February after being away from the mats for three years.

“I really enjoyed my time off,” said Coleman, who made the U.S. Olympic team in 2012 at the age of 20. “I came back physically recovering and mentally as fresh as possible.” “I've had a lot of concussion treatment, surgery on my left elbow, right triceps, and surgery on my right hamstring.”
I had surgery, left ankle surgery, multiple surgeries on both knees, and torn my right torticollis. I was trying to heal my whole body. ”

Mango said Coleman, now 32, may be older but fought at a blistering pace throughout the tournament.

“He's older in terms of athleticism, but he kept his foot on the gas throughout the competition and it paid off,” said Mango, who competed with Coleman on the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. “As he gets older, he doesn't want to run through a brick wall. We want to avoid that. His body has been through a lot of fights and injuries and has become more efficient.”

Coleman joined the Army in 2013 and joined WCAP shortly thereafter. He believes the program has helped him progress as a wrestler.

Coleman was shaky at first competing in his first tournament since the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, but as the tournament progressed he found his form and was just a few matches away from winning his second straight Olympic title. he said.

“Honestly, I'm really grateful that I've had so many injuries and bounced back from them,” Coleman said. “It's my first and only tournament in three years so I could lose a lot, but I'm just getting back there so I'm going to go into the world qualifiers with confidence.”

Bay conceded just two points throughout the trial. It was a rebound for him after missing out on a spot on Team USA's weight class at the Pan American Qualifiers in Acapulco in February.

“When I put pressure on my shoulders, everything seems to be going well,” said Bey, who won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games in November. “For myself, it was a very good rebound. You have to remember that it's about wrestling. Everything else is not about it.
Case. “

Bey said she is confident in the world qualifiers and has the right mindset to qualify for her first Olympic Games.

“This is six minutes of intense wrestling, and you don't have to win the whole world. You just have to beat the guys in front of you,” he said. “I'm more than capable of doing that.”

These three Soldier athletes earned another chance to qualify for the Olympics, but Spc. 87kg Spencer Woods suffered a heartbreaking loss to Peyton Jacobson in the No. 3 match.

Woods, who had qualified for the weight class through a February qualifier in Acapulco, lost the first match 8-2, won the second 5-3 and won the third 3-1. Defeated.

“That was tough,” Mango said. He said: “Sometimes I feel like the amount of time, effort and sacrifice doesn't always show. I'd like to say he deserved to win the game, but at the end of the day,
Wrestling has to earn it. ”

Despite the loss, Woods said he has no regrets.

“I'm confident in my training and my wrestling instincts and my program,” Woods said. “I sleep better at night knowing that I left everything out there.”