Amateur Wrestling News - Driven by The Open Mat

Jeff Swenson and Bob Keenan will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, Oct. 16. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Swenson is currently the director of athletics at Augsburg College. He was formerly the head wrestling coach for the Auggies, leading his team to 10 NCAA Division III wrestling championships. Keenan is a wrestling coach and vice principal at Milburn High School in N.J. He was recently featured on “Cousins Undercover” on HGTV. Keenan was surprised with a homemaker over, which included a new wrestling room and a call to Dan Gable. The show will re-air on Thursday, October 17 at 7 p.m. Central.

By Kyle Klingman NWHOF Dan Gable Museum Eric Keller and Joe Russell will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, Oct. 9. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. It will also be posted below following the broadcast. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Keller enters his first season as the sole head wrestling coach at Wartburg College. He was an All-American at the University of Northern Iowa in 1999. Russell is the current head wrestling coach at George Mason. George Mason will host the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 2 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va.

By Kyle Klingman NWHOF Dan Gable Museum Brandon Paulson and Jamie Moffatt will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, Oct. 2. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Paulson will be inducted into the Alan & Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions on Saturday, Oct. 19 in Minneapolis. He was a 1996 Olympic silver medalist and a 2001 World silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling. Moffatt recently co-authored (with Craig Sesker) the book “Saving Wrestling: The Inside Story of the Sport’s Epic Fight to Stay in the Olympic Games”. He has also written books about the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials and about Hall of Famer Greg Strobel.

By Kyle Klingman NWHOF Dan Gable Museum Jason Bryant and Scott Siepker will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, Sept. 25. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Bryant is the editor for Amateur Wrestling News. He will provide a report on the 2013 World Championships that took place in Budapest, Hungary. Known as the Iowa Nice Guy, Siepker provides weekly football updates for ESPN. He made a video about wrestling’s inclusion in the Olympics called “Wrestling Nice” prior to the International Olympic Committee’s decision in August.

By Kyle Klingman NWHOF Dan Gable Museum Noel Thompson and Rich Bender will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, Sept. 11. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Thompson is the team leader for the 2013 U.S. Women’s World team for USA Wrestling. He is also a Board of Governor for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Bender is the executive director of USA Wrestling. USA Wrestling is the national governing body for the sport of wrestling. Both Thompson and Bender were in Buenos Ares for the International Olympic Committee’s announcement that wrestling would be included in the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.

FILA and USA Wrestling held a joint press conference directly after the International Olympic Committee voted to keep wrestling in the Olympics as an additional sport for 2020 and 2024. Featured in this press conference are FILA President Nenad Lalovic, USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender, CPOW Chair Bill Scherr, FILA Bureau member Jim Scherr, Actor/CPOW member Billy Baldwin, and USA Wrestling President Jim Ravannack.

Rich Bender, Executive Director of USA Wrestling, talks about the role the U.S. played in the movement to keep wrestling in the Olympic Games.

After playing such a pivotal role in the FILA presentation in Buenos Aires, Canadians Daniel Igali and Carol Huynh gained even more fans from around the World. AWN visited with Canadian Women's Freestyle Coach Leigh Vierling shortly after the February recommendation and now circles back to talk about Canadian involvement in the FILA presentation and the importance it had for wrestling's entry back into the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.

By Kyle Klingman NWHOF Dan Gable Museum Wright Thompson and Dan Gable will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, Sept. 4. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN: The Magazine. He was also the narrator for two 30 for 30 films on ESPN. Thompson recently wrote “The Losses of Dan Gable” for ESPN. Gable is the namesake of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. He won a gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics without surrendering a point. Gable also coached the University of Iowa wrestling team (1977-1997) to 15 NCAA championships.

By Kyle Klingman NWHOF Dan Gable Museum Craig Sesker and Nate Carr will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, August 21. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. Sesker is the communication manager for USA Wrestling. He will provide an update on wrestling in the Olympics and preview the 2013 World Championships. Carr was a three-time NCAA wrestling champion for Iowa State (1981, 1982, and 1983) and an Olympic bronze medalist in 1988. His brother, Jimmy, was a member of the 1972 Olympic freestyle wrestling team.

By Kyle Klingman NWHOF Dan Gable Museum Caylor Williams and Johny Hendricks will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, August 14. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Williams will represent the United States at 211.5 pounds in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2013 World Championships in September. He was a 2011 NCAA qualifier for the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Hendricks was an NCAA wrestling champion for Oklahoma State in 2005 and 2006. He currently has a Mixed Martial Arts record of 15-1. Hendricks will face Georges St. Pierre for the UFC welterweight title on Nov. 16.

Brent Metcalf will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, August 7. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. This week’s show will air from 5 to 5:30 p.m. due to the Chicago Cubs pre-game show. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments about the show. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. Metcalf was an NCAA champion for the University of Iowa in 2008 and 2010. He recently won the Sargsyan International tournament in Armenia. Metcalf will represent the United States at the freestyle World Wrestling Championships at 145.5 pounds later this year.

By Kyle Klingman National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum Helen Maroulis and Billy Baldwin will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, July 31. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments about the show. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. Maroulis won this year’s World Team Trials at 121 pounds. She was a silver medalist at 2012 World Championships as well as a fifth place finisher at the 2011 World Championships. Maroulis recently won a silver medal in a special international tournament in Olympia, Greece. Baldwin, who starred in “Backdraft” and “Sliver”, wrestled in high school and for two seasons at Binghamton University in New York. He is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an Outstanding American and is one of the leaders in the effort to save wrestling at the Olympic Games.

By Kyle Klingman NWHOF Dan Gable Museum “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments about the show. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. Humphrey will represent the United States at 132 pounds at the freestyle World Championships later this year. He was an All-American for Ohio State in 2009 and 2010.

Jason Bryant and J.D. Bergman will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, July 17. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments about the show. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. Bryant is the editor of Amateur Wrestling News. He will provide an update from the Junior Nationals wrestling tournament in Fargo, North Dakota. Bergman, a three-time All-American for Ohio State, made the freestyle World team at 211.5 pounds. He will represent the United States at the World Championships later this year.