Jenkins is an example of the value of age-group World competition

By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling/Themat.com
gabbott@usawrestling.org

There was some big news in college wrestling this week, when No. 5 Penn State defeated No. 3 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The victory showed that the rising Nittany Lion program had regained its roar, and is competing at the highest level in Div. I wrestling.

Included in the dual meet was a victory at 149 pounds by No. 4 Bubba Jenkins, who pinned Mike Bizzle of OSU, giving Penn State six key points in the dual meet. So far this year, Jenkins has been on a mission, going 9-0 in the early season, and making himself one of the hopefuls for a NCAA individual title at this weight class.

It really should come as no surprise. In August, in the heat of Beijing, China, in the arena which will house the 2008 Olympic Games Wrestling Competition, Bubba Jenkins won a Junior World gold medal in freestyle wrestling. In short, Bubba Jenkins is the best freestyle wrestler in the world at the age of 20 and under.

There are differences between freestyle and folkstyle, for sure, so you can’t automatically just hand Jenkins an NCAA title based on his amazing feat in China. However, the confidence and experience that Jenkins gained during his summer of training and competition at the FILA Junior level is already paying dividends in his college career. In addition, taking advantage of this opportunity may open a whole new career in international wrestling for Jenkins after his collegiate days are over.

On August 26, Jenkins didn’t just win a tournament at the Junior Worlds. He beat some of the most talented Olympic hopefuls from top wrestling nations. He won four tough matches, facing athletes from wrestling hotbeds Armenia, Kazakhstan, Iran and Turkey. In the semifinals, he stopped Asian Junior champion Saied Dadashpour, 2-0, 6-0. Under extreme pressure in the finals, he shut out European Junior champion Okay Koksal of Turkey, 1-0, 3-0. Jenkins wrestled with a wide-open, active style, showing no fear of his rivals all day. With three-time World champion Lee Kemp in his corner as the coach, Jenkins was unbeatable in Beijing.

“It gave him a great experience,” said Penn State coach Troy Sunderland. “For him to get to the U.S. Olympic Training Center, to work out with athletes at a high level, and to work with the coaches out there, such as Lee Kemp, was tremendous. He is a confident kid to begin with. He came back with higher expectations for himself and it is showing in his performance.”

His achievement is noteworthy. The last U.S. Junior World champion in freestyle was T.J. Hill, who won the 50 kg division in 1999. In 1998, the U.S. had two Junior World freestyle champions, Donny Pritzlaff at 70 kg and Stephen Abas at 56 kg, both who are still competing on the Olympic level.

It should be no surprise that Penn State is on the rise in college wrestling. The athletes in the program are doing the extra things that it takes to win. Also on that 2007 Junior World Team was Penn State heavyweight Stefan Tighe, representing the USA at 120 kg. In the Junior World Team Trials, the qualifying event for the Junior Team, Nittany Lions Eric Caschera and Dave Rella were runners-up.

In addition, Penn State’s entire team took an international tour in 2007, competing in Romania in an international tournament. Jenkins, Phil Davis and Aaron Anspach won gold medals in Romania, and 12 team members participated on the tour. Penn State has made a true commitment to the USA Wrestling international program.

“We have always included that as part of our program,” said Sunderland of the post-season wrestling. “I enjoyed that in my time at Penn State as an athlete, the portion of the season devoted to freestyle and Greco-Roman. The overseas trip that we take once every four years, sponsored by our booster club, has raised the commitment. It compliments what we historically have done and takes it to a new level.”

“The guys on our team, including our incoming freshmen, who compete internationally, these are the kind that we want in our program. In the near future, they could be competing for spots on the U.S. teams on the Senior level,” he continued.

Winning a gold medal at an age-group World Championships is a tremendous feat, especially over the last 20 years when most of the nations of the world have sent strong teams.

If you peruse the FILA Database, you can find FILA World Championships on the Cadet, Junior, Espoir and University levels. Some of these events go back to the 1970’s. In the early years, many of the age-group World events were held in the United States, and there was not as large a turnout of international teams as we have today. There were numerous American champions back then, some who are not common names within wrestling circles at the higher levels. It is much different in recent decades.

FILA eliminated the Espoir level in 1995 and stopped hosting Cadet World Championships in 1999. The only age-group World event that FILA runs is the Junior World Championships (ages 17-20). FILA also recognizes the University World Championships and World University Games, events run by an organization called FISU. In modern international wrestling, an age-group World title is a very elite achievement.

A closer look at the list of U.S. age-group World champions reveal many of the greatest international and college wrestlers of all time. These names will be very familiar to those who follow wrestling and understand the history of the sport.

Olympians who have won age-group World Titles include:

Bruce Baumgartner (University World Games, 1981 FS)
Cael Sanderson (University World Championships, 2000 FS)
Randy Lewis (Espoir World Championships, 1977 FS)
Jimmy Carr (Espoir World Championships, 1973 FS)
Jason Gleasman (Espoir World Championships, 1993 and Junior World Championships, 1991 GR)
Mark Fuller (Espoir World Championships, 1981 and Junior World Championships 1979 GR)
Stephen Abas (Junior World Championships 1998 FS)
Kerry McCoy (Junior World Championships 1992 FS)
Ken Chertow (Junior World Championships, 1984 FS)
Garrett Lowney (Junior World Championships, 1999 GR)
Eric Guerrero (Cadet World Championships, 1993 FS)
Cary Kolat (Cadet World Championships, 1985 FS)
Travis West (Cadet World championship, 1983 FS)

Of this group, Baumgartner, Lewis and Sanderson won Olympic gold medals, while Abas and Lowney won Olympic medals

U.S. Senior World Team members who won age-group World Titles include:

Tommy Rowlands (University World Games, 2005 FS)
Donny Pritzlaff (Junior World Championships, 1998 FS)
Joe Melchiore (Junior World Championships, 1983 and Cadet World Championships 1980 FS)
Kevin Darkus (Junior World Championships, 1980 FS)
Harry Lester (Cadet World Championships, 1999 FS)
Cory Baze (Cadet World Championships, 1980 FS)

Of this group, Lester, Darkus and Pritzlaff have won World medals.

Some of the other prominent names who are past age-group World champions include Jesse Jantzen, Nate Gallick, Wade Schalles, Alan Fried, Dan Severn, Mark Churella, Jeff McGinness, John Fisher, Dan Chaid, Duane Goldman and Mike Davies.

When you look at the list of age-group World medalists, those that won silvers and bronzes, you see people such as John Smith, who went on to win two Olympic gold medals and four World titles.

History shows that Bubba Jenkins joined an elite group of American wrestlers this summer. College fans are enjoying the skill and ability of Jenkins this winter as Penn State rises in the college rankings. International fans can look forward to his future on the World and Olympic levels.

The U.S. international program will continue to compete among the best nations in the world if top college and high school wrestlers try out for U.S. age group World Teams and seek to win medals at the World Championship levels. If there is any doubt, just look it up. It’s all in the record books.

Gary Abbott is the Director of Communications and Special Projects for USA Wrestling and is a founder of the National Wrestling Media Association and is a 2005 recipient of the NWCA Meritorious Service Award.