DALLAS–
Three new team entrants, plus one of the most balanced fields of
NCWA incumbents in recent history, have spiced up expectations for
the 2012 NCWA National Duals later this month.
The NCWA, the nation’s fastest-growing collegiatewrestlingorganization,
returns to Dalton, Ga., for its National Duals Tournament that will
be its largest yet from Jan. 27-28, 2012. The Northwest Georgia
Trade and Convention Center will host the Duals for a second
consecutive year, and among the 24-team field are former NAIA power
Lindenwood-St. Charles (Mo.), former NCAA Division I member Liberty
(Va.), and six of the NCWA’s top 10 programs in its most recent
coaches’ poll.
The 2012 NCWA National Duals also features an
inaugural high school division, and a first-of-its-kind Women’s
North vs. South College All-Star Dual.
New to the NCWA field is Liberty University (Va.), an
NCAA Division I program a year ago that found a home in the NCWA
once the school dropped it from its athletic department. The Flames
have fared well in the NCWA thus far with multiple dual wins behind
two returning NCAA qualifiers in its lineup. The Flames topped
fellow NCWA member The Apprentice School (Va.), 30-15, for third
place in the College Division of the Virginia Duals earlier this
month.
Lindenwood-St. Charles, which
won five NAIAchampionshipsin
the last decade and was the runner-up at last year’s NAIA National
Duals, is another highlighted team that will get its first tests
against NCWA competition. The Lions are new members of the NCWA in
this their first transitional year as they move into the NCAA
Division II ranks. They have three NAIA All-Americans and five NAIA
national qualifiers back in their lineup.
Liberty and Lindenwood, seeded 1-2 in the preliminary
seeding, will garner much of the attention. But NCWA incumbent
powers Central Florida, Apprentice and three-time National DualschampionGrand
Valley State (Mich.) are preparing for their first shots at their
new NCWA peers.
Apprentice, seeded third, already has dualwinsthisseason
over other National Duals entrants UCF, Maryland-Baltimore County
(twice), North Florida and Marion Military Institute (Ala.). The
Builders beat No. 4 UCF 27-21 at the recent Virginia Duals.
UCF, seeded fourth, has placed among the top five
teams at the NCWAChampionshipsevery
year since 2003. The Knights’ deep lineup has fared well thus far
against a schedule that has taken them across the country. UCF tied
for fifth in the College Division of the Virginia Duals after losing
to eventual champion Brockport in the semifinals.
Should the preliminary seeding play out, there were
be outstanding semifinal matches between Liberty and UCF, and
Lindenwood and Apprentice. That Final Four would pair two of the
last three NCWA national champions against a former NAIA champion
and a former NCAA Division I team.
UMBC is seeded fifth heading into the tournament,
followed by No. 6 Mercer, No. 7 Middle Tennessee State, No. 8
Georgia Southern, No. 9 Grand Valley State and No. 10 MIT. Mercer
and MTSU are co-hosts to the event.
Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.), another new NCWA
program and seeded 13th, will compete as well. The 24-team also
includes (alphabetical order) Auburn, Bowling Green, Carroll (Wis.),
Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Tennessee State, Georgia, Georgia
Southern, Southern Virginia, Tennessee, Toledo and Wichita State.
Debut of High School Division
The NCWA will also unveil a new high school pilot
program at the National Duals. The tournament will add a high school
division this year with a regional field for now, with plans to
expand it to become the first true High School National Duals in the
future.
Thompson High School (Ala.), currently the top-ranked
team in Alabama, heads the field that willwrestlealongside
the NCWA teams in each session. Chattanooga (Tenn.) Notre Dame and
Cleveland (Tenn.), each ranked among Tennessee’s top-10 teams, as
well as Walker Valley (Tenn.) and Grissom (Ala.) are also scheduled
to attend. At least two teams from Georgia are remaking schedules so
as to make the tournament a three-state field at its start.
The high school division, which will wrestle all day
Saturday, is another expansion by the NCWA into the rich wrestling
tradition in the southeastern U.S. There are eight NCWA programs on
college campuses in Georgia, including a Division I program at
Mercer. Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State,
Armstrong Atlantic State, Gordon College and North Georgia College
are all NCWA Division II members as emerging programs.
This is the third NCWA championship event hosted in
Georgia, which was one of the first states where colleges and
universities took advantage of NCWA membership while their programs
were being retracted in other major collegiate organizations two
decades ago.
Service Project Opens Tournament as
Businesses Rally around Teams
Two other events make this year’s NCWA National Duals
unique among its tournament brethren.
Also of note in this year’s NCWA National Duals is
each team’s participation in the NCWA’s “6:12 Project,” which will
serve a local Dalton charity known as the “City of Refuge.” Each
team will contribute to the homeless food pantry, and will send
volunteers to the shelter to assist in serving lunch and dinner on
Jan. 26.
The 6:12 Project is in its inaugural year, where each
of the association’s programs contributes back to their community.
The NCWA will conduct a service project at each of its championship
events in those communities, as well.
This is the third time the NCWA has had its national championship
events in Georgia. The NCWA held its National Duals team competition
in Dalton last year, and Mercer University hosted the 2011 NCWA
Championships in Macon last March.
The NCWA will also conduct a free clinic for local
youth wrestling organizations with 6-8 of the NCWA’s top coaches
working in the sessions.
Wrestling begins with the opening rounds at 10 a.m.
Friday, Jan. 27. Wrestling continues on Saturday, Jan. 28, beginning
with the championship bracket openers at 9 a.m., followed by rounds
at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. (quarterfinals), 5 p.m. (semifinals) and
the 7 p.m. finals matches.
Early Tournament Seeding
The preliminary seeding for the NCWA National Duals
is as follows along with a note on each team. The final seeding will
be done by the coaches on Jan. 26 prior to the event.
1. Liberty (Va.) – All eyes will be one the Flames to
see how a team that wrested in NCAA Division I last year will fare
within the NCWA. Liberty has excelled thus far in its first NCWA
season, and most recently took third in the College Division of the
Virginia Duals. Liberty already has dual wins over No. 3 seed
Apprentice and No. 7 seed Middle Tennessee State. Liberty has two
returning NCAA qualifiers in its lineup. If the seeding plays out in
the championship bracket, a Liberty-UCF semifinal should prove to be
one of the event’s featured matches.
2. Lindenwood-St. Charles (Mo.) – The five-time NAIA
Champions enter their first season under the NCWA banner as
immediate national contenders. The Lions were runners-up at last
year’s NAIA National Duals and the NAIA Championships, and have
three NAIA All-Americans and five NAIA national qualifiers back in
their lineup.
3. The Apprentice School (Va.) – The Builders have
ascended back to the top rung of the NCWA this season with three
returning NCWA All-Americans and five national qualifiers.
Apprentice topped UCF 27-21 at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 14, and
also has dual wins this season over other National Duals entrants
No. 5 UMBC (twice), No. 11 Marion Military and No. 12 North Florida.
4. Central Florida – One of the traditional NCWA
stalwarts heads into the NCWA Duals boasting a strong dual lineup
with a defending national champion in Josh Woods (235 lbs.) and
another national qualifier. The Knights have split duals with No.
3-seed Apprentice, and also have wins over No. 8 Georgia Southern
and No. 11 Marion Military from the NCWA National Duals field.
5. Maryland-Baltimore Country – The Retrievers return
an NCWA finalist in Daniel Carr (149 lbs.), and six other NCWA
national qualifiers to a team that is balanced up and down its
roster. UMBC took fourth at the Ursuinus/Will Abele Invitational on
Jan. 14.
6. Mercer – The Bears’ rise into the NCWA’s top 10
continues with a upstart dual team with two returning NCWA
All-Americans and five NCWA national qualifiers. Mercer would get
its toughest test yet in a prospective quarterfinal match against
Liberty.
7. Middle Tennessee State – The Blue Raiders have
wrestled arguably the NCWA’s toughest dual schedule to date, taking
wins over No. 11 Lindenwood-Belleville, No. 14 East Tennessee State,
No. 15 Cincinnati and Tennessee thus far. MTSU has three NCWA
national qualifiers in its lineup. A prospective quarterfinal
against UCF might determine the NCWA favorite heading into nationals
in March.
8. Georgia Southern – Not having to travel far could
play to the Eagles’ advantage. GSU has four returning NCWA national
qualifiers.
9. Grand Valley State (Mich.) – The Lakers have won
three of the four previous NCWA National Duals, but will have to
wrestle above themselves to win again this year. Three NCWA
All-Americans within GV’s dual roster may propel it into the
quarterfinals and match between the Lakers, one of the NCWA’s top
programs historically, against Liberty.
10. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Returning
NCWA All-Americans Sam Shames (125 lbs.), Ryan Madson (157) and
JacobLaux(197)
head up a solid and consistent dual lineup. MIT could be set for anunderdogrun
into the semifinals.
11. Marion Military Institute (Ala.) – The 2010 NCWA
National Duals champions always surprise at NCWA championship events
as one of the NCWA’s toughest teams year-in and year-out.
12. North Florida – The Ospreys made a splash on the
NCWA scene last year, and look to continue their impressive run at
the National Duals. UNF has three NCWA All-Americans and three other
national qualifiers in its lineup.
13. Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) – Lost by one point
to No. 7 MTSU on Jan. 7.
14. East Tennessee State – Has five returning NCWA national
qualifiers in the lineup.
15. Cincinnati – Returns one NCWA All-American and three national
qualifiers.
16. Wichita State – Aaron Hynick (NCWA champion in 2010 at 165)
leads the lineup.
17. Carroll Univ. (Wis.)
18. Southern Virginia
19. Toledo
20. Bowling Green
21. Connecticut
22. Tennessee
23. Georgia
24. Auburn
Cavalier Duals
Albany, GA
December 3, 2011
The UCF Knights
finished their fall semester competition season in style at the
Cavalier Duals in Albany, GA. The Knights went 2-0 in the day
against NCWA rival Marion Military Institute and NCJAA team Darton
College. In total the team went 16-5 matches.
In the first dual
the Knights used early momentum to nearly shutout MMI before
forfeiting the 285 lbs. weight class. Brian Santiago started the
team with a decision win at 125 lbs. At 133 lbs., Alex Chiricosta,
returning off of an injury, continued the momentum with a 15-0
technical fall. At 141 lbs. Matt Vaughn improved his record to 17
wins with a victory by pin over MMI. At 157 lbs. & 165 lbs., both
Santiago Martinez and Hayden Meyer pinned their opponents in the
first period. Martinez improved his record to 18-1 for the fall
semester. After accepting a forfeit at 174 lbs., UCF scored two
pins at 184 lbs. and 197 lbs. by Seth Dorne and Daniel Polaski.
Josh Woods completed the team’s perfect dual meet with a 2-1
decision win over MMI.
Next, the Knights
did battle with NJCAA Georgia team, Darton College. The Knights
continued their momentum with a second dual meet win over Darton
College. At 125 lbs., Brian Santiago redeemed a previous loss to
DeVita from Darton College by a score of 7-5. At 133 lbs., Alex
Chiricosta earned a :30 pin in the first period. At 141 lbs., Matt
Vaughn again improved his record with a major decision over Darton’s
Cole Claar. At 149 lbs., Max Becks dominated his opponent with
second period pin. At 157 lbs., Santiago finished the day 2-0 with
a second pin over Darton’s Chris Antonucci. In the weight classes
165 lbs. to 197 lbs., Darton College rallied a comeback with 4
straight wins over UCF’s Hayden Meyer, Nick Christian, Seth Dorne,
and Daniel Polaski, respectively. At 285 lbs., Josh Woods closed
the dual meet with a 3-1 decision win over Tracey Jewett. The
Knights were able to get the best of Darton College with 28-18 dual
meet score.
The Knights will
now prepare for their holiday season competition with a trip to Los
Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV to do battle with returning NCWA
National Champions California Baptist. The team will also compete
in the Desert Duals hosted by Wartburg College in Las Vegas, NV.
December Outlook
I
n
UCF’s 11th season in the NCWA, the team continues to
make their mark on the growing league. In UCF’s 10 year history
with the NCWA, the team has boasted 70 NCWA All-Americans, 9
National Champions, and 3 team titles. After graduating several
key wrestlers last season, the Knights started the 2011-2012
season with plenty of fresh faces. However, the young team
isn't letting the loss of four All-Americans stop them, as the
Knights look to test their new talent against an increasingly
tough NCWA landscape. Following some impressive finishes during
the fall semester, including a tournament team title at the UCF
Open and a dual meet win over perennial NCWA powerhouse the
Apprentice School, UCF seems poised to make some noise this
season.
The young team is lead by Captains Nick Christian and Alex
Chiricosta and returning National Champion Josh Woods. Joining
the Knights at 157 lbs. is Lindenwood transfer Santiago Martinez
who has already accumulated a 16-1 record and other transfer
students Ashton Griffin and Seth Dorne. Also joining the
Knights are freshmen Brian Santiago, Matt Vaughn, Max Becks,
Christian Grillo, Hayden Meyer, and Tyler Turner. Vaughn has
started the season with several impressive tournament wins and a
record of 16-2 with 10 pins. Returning for the Knights are
seniors Brent Silva (174 lbs.) and Daniel Polaski (197 lbs.).
With an underclassmen dominated lineup, the Knights are prepared
to make their mark on college wrestling in the Southeast United
States.
The Knights look to continue their high standard
of competition in the holiday season and the spring semester.
In December, The Knights will travel to Las Angles, CA and Los
Vegas, NV to square off with returning NCWA National Champions
California Baptist and attend the Wartburg Desert Duals. The
Knights will also compete in the Citrus Invitational in late
December. Next, the Knights will travel to Hampton, VA to
attend the Virginia Duals and to Dalton, GA for the NCWA
National Duals. Following several NCWA Southeast competitions,
the Knights will host the 2012 NCWA National Tournament in
Daytona Beach, FL.
UCF Wins UCF Open
UCF Wrestling caps off a
fantastic weekend of wrestling by defending their UCF Open title
in dominant fashion! The Knights won by a comfortable margin
over second place Mercer University, crowning five champions;
congrats to Brian Santiago (125), Matt Vaughn (141), Santiago
Martinez (157), Hayden Myer (165) and Josh Woods (235) on
placing first! Also, a special congrats to Josh on taking home
the tournaments Outstanding Wrestler Award!
UCF places 5 at 2011 Shorter
College Open
11/12/2011 - Rome, GA. - The Knights wrestling team continued
their second season event at the Shorter College, a second year NAIA
program out of Rome, GA. The Knights completed with some
league rivals Middle Tennessee State University, Mercer University,
Marion Military Institute as well as NJCAA, NCAA, and NAIA teams
Darton College, UT Chattanooga, Truett McConnell, and Shorter
College.
Leading the way for the Knights was freshman Brian Santiago
(Orlando, FL) with a 4-2 record placing 4th overall. B.
Santiago battled through a tough win over UT Chattanooga opponent
who beat Santiago at the Citadel Open.
Next was another freshman standout, Matt Vaughn (St. Cloud, FL)
who ranked a 4-0 record to place 2nd after an injury default in the
finals. Vaughn improves his season record to 10-2 with 5 pins.
At 157 lbs. was sophomore transfer Santiago Martinez (Coral
Springs, FL) who improved his season record to 10-1 placing 3rd at
Shorter College Open. Martinez was coming off an outstanding
tournament win at the Citadel Open on 11/6.
At 184 lbs. & 197 lbs., Seth Dorne and Brett Simonelli placed 5th
and 6th place, respectively. Other wrestlers just shy of the
placing round were Max Becks (149 lbs.) who holds a season record at
6-4. Christian Grillo (157 lbs.) and Tyler Turner (285 lbs.)
were just also just shy of the placing round.
Next, the Knights are set to host the Knight's Brawl Duals and
UCF Open on 11/18 & 11/19 on UCF's campus. The Friday night
match will begin at 6:00pm against NCWA powerhouse Apprentice School
followed by Truett McConnell (7:30pm) and Georgia So
uthern
University (9:00pm). The event will be broadcasted LIVE
through the UCF website (www.ucfwrestling.net).
UCF to Host 2012 NCWA National Tournament in
Daytona Beach, FL
11/01/2011 - DALLAS, TX. - NCWA is proud to announce that its
2012 National Collegiate Wrestling Championships will be held March
8-10 in beautiful Daytona Beach, FL.
This three-day, six-session event was moved from Mercer
University in Macon, GA due to facility scheduling conflicts. After
a thorough search, the NCWA chose Daytona Beach as Host City for
this 15th annual event. "The Daytona Beach Convention and Visitors
Bureau (CVB) really stepped up when we needed a new facility" said
NCWA Executive Director Jim Giunta. "The CVB’s Tara Hamburger and
the Ocean Center convention center’s Tim Buckley pulled out all the
stops in order to bring NCWA wrestling to Daytona Beach."
The University of Central Florida and the University of North
Florida will act as college institution co-hosts, as 475 qualifying
wrestlers from the U.S. and Canada converge on the Ocean Center for
this exciting competition.
While the event officially begins at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 8,
wrestlers, coaches, event organizers and their families will begin
arriving in Daytona Beach several days early. They look forward to
enjoying a some beach time, attractions and relaxation during their
spring break vacations.
"Spring is an exciting time and a busy time here in Daytona
Beach,” explains Hamburger. “Our annual return visitors like to book
their stays early, for spring family vacations and of course, for
world-famous Bike Week. To best accommodate our college wrestlers
and their families the CVB is currently working with NCWA and local
hoteliers to block the needed rooms. We advise attendees to book now
for the best pricing and availability.”
NCWA recommends that teams book their rooms as soon as the
official NCWA Room Block website is launched next week. Room rates
outside the NCWA Room Block may increase as the event approaches and
room supply begins to dwindle. For further Information on The
National Championships or its Host City contact:
Jim Giunta NCWA Executive director
Season Preview - 10/25/2011
After
graduating standouts at several key weights, the Central Florida
Knights start the 2011-2012 season with plenty of fresh faces.
However, the young team isn't letting the loss of four all-americans
stop them, as the Knights look to test their new talent against an
increasingly tough NCWA landscape. With a pair of impressive
preseason outings already in their pockets, UCF seems poised to make
some noise this season.
The team is lead by Senior Captain Nick Christian, who fell
just short of accomplishing his goal of landing on the medal stand
last year. Christian decided to commit to a final season with the
team to try and realize his vision of an all-american finish, and
after placing second in Puerto Rico's Copa Sparta freestyle
tournament, Christian is on his way to meeting his high standards.
His young fellow captain, Alex Chiricosta, is also looking to have a
notable year. The returning all-american will begin his campaign for
a third national placing finish after placing at both pre-season
tournaments this season. Also joining Christian in his Senior year
is four-year competitor Harrison Billig. The 141 pound wrestler is a
multiple-time national qualifier, and will also be searching for his
first all-american finish in his final season.
Also returning is defending 235 pound champion Josh Woods.
Woods will try to keep his gold this season as he returns to the
division as one of its most exciting heavyweight competitors. With a
runner-up finish at the Copa Sparta and a first place finish at the
GNWA Gorilla Open, it is clear Woods is back and ready to repeat.
Joining Woods at the top of the teams weight classes is fellow 235
pounderBrett
Simonelli,
Senior 197 pounderDaniel
Polaski and heavyweightTyler
Turner.
The Knights enjoy one of the largest freshmen classes in their
decorated history, lead by state-placers Brian Santiago, Christian
Grillo, Hayden Myer and Matt Vaughn. Santiago proved to be an asset
after winning both the freestyle and greco 123 brackets at the Copa
Sparta. Vaughn and Myer also showed their stuff this preseason,
placing first and second at the GNWA Gorilla Open, respectively.
Joining the Knights' new faces is Sophomore transfer and South
Florida standout Santiago Martinez. Martinez is entering his
Sophomore season after spending his first year at Lindenwood
University, which will be joining UCF in the NCWA this season.
Martinez placed top two in both of his preseason appearances this
season.
UCF opens their season inCharleston,
South Carolinaat
the Citadel Open and will be looking to earn another national at the
NCWA nationals in March.
4th Annual Alumni Match - 10/22/11
The Current Team got the best of the Alumni
Team for the first time in 3 years. A special
thank you to the all of the alumni who made it out to the events.
2003:
Raun Jessee @ 165 lbs.
Tom Lawlor @ 235 lbs.
2004:
Jason Ruberg @ 184 lbs.
Todd Hauser @ 197 lbs.
Tom Lawlor @ 235 lbs.
2005:
Todd Hauser @ 197 lbs.
Tom Lawlor @ 235 lbs.
Jarren Williams @ 285 lbs.
2
011:
Josh Woods @ 235 lbs.
UCF 4x NCWA All-Americans:
Tom Lawlor -
NCWA's first 3x National Champion (3rd Place Freshman
Year)
Todd Hauser
David Miller
Paul Rothenberg
Steve DeAugustino
Richard Rippy
Dual Meet Record since 2001
NCWA team revival: 108-29
7
SE Conference Titles
3 National Titles
70 Individual All-American Finishes
9 Individual National Champion Finishes
Team Finishes: 2002 - 8th Place
2003 - 4th Place
2004 - 1st Place
2005 - 1st Place
2006 - 4th Place
2007 - 2nd Place
2008 - 3rd Place
2009 - 5th Place
2010 - 1st Place
2011 - 3rd Place
NCWA HONORS 147 STUDENT-ATHLETES ON SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
Published on June 20, 2011
NWCA supports the NCWA’s inclusion in association’s
post-season scholarship awards
DALLAS–
The National Collegiate Wrestling Association joined its collegiate
wrestling brethren this year in honoring the top student-athletes
within its association. This marks the first time that the NCWA has
awarded post-season scholastic honors for its thousands of wrestlers
competing at its 140 member schools.
The 147 honorees listed below are from the NCWA’s combined
Division I and Division II ranks, and include 10 student-athletes
from the NCWA’s women’s division. The NCWA is the only collegiate
wrestling association to offer post-season championships and
scholastic honors to female wrestlers.
Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches
Association, welcomed the NCWA’s involvement with the postseason
awards. “The coaches association supports programs that enhance the
academic side of a student-athlete’s experience in wrestling. The
NWCA is glad to have the NCWA on board with the academic awards this
year.”
The NWCA sponsors the NCWA academic awards as well as those for
the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA.
The NCWA’s top academic honors went to its 21-member
Scholar-Athlete Team representing its top student-athletes who
exceeded the NCWA’s criteria for Scholar All-American consideration.
Former California Baptist head coach John Petty assembled the NCWA
academic teams. Among the NCWA honorees, the University of Georgia
led the way with nine wrestlers, four of whom are on the
Scholar-Athlete Team in Mark Feeley, Russell Holzgrefe, Frankie
Miller and An Pham.
California Baptist was next with eight wrestlers on the two
teams, and Florida and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had
six each. Central Florida, Colorado State, Marion Military Institute
and Mercer had five each.
“It’s exciting for the NCWA to recognize our top scholars and
student-athletes,” NCWA executive director Jim Giunta said. “We
congratulate this year’s Scholar All-American teams, and hope that
this program can serve as a benchmark that all of our wrestlers will
aspire to in the future.
“The NCWA is about opportunities in wrestling, both on and off
the mat,” Giunta said. “We’re happy to recognize achievers who excel
in the classroom as well as the mat.”
Here are the inaugural NWCA-NCWA All-Academic Teams:
I can’t believe I’m two pounds over,” Kyle Coon says with
disbelief. “I’ve never had to worry about my weight.”
Kyle, a 19-year-old freshman wrestler for UCF, and a few of
his teammates are sitting on the edge of a wrestling mat Ferrell
Commons. The wrestlers are hanging around before practice,
mopping the black mats and applying cream to their legs and arms
to avoid getting staph infections over the next two hours. Some
are checking their weight, like Kyle just did, for the upcoming
tournament they’re slated to wrestle in.
“Dude, you can probably sleep it off,” one of his teammates
responds while lunging to stretch his calves, trying to put the
blond-haired wrestler at ease.
“I’ll just spin extra at the gym later.”
“Or, you can just tell the ref someone told you that you were
under weight. ‘It’s not my fault, man! I can’t see!’” another
teammate jokes and mimics Kyle. This gets a hearty laugh from
everyone in the room, but nobody laughs louder than Kyle, who is
blind.
“I love telling blind jokes,” Kyle tells me after their
Tuesday evening practice. “One of my friends who’s totally blind
says, ‘I don’t let my blindness define me. I define my
blindness.’”
***
When Kyle was 10 months old, a doctor caught him slightly
crossing one of his eyes during a routine check-up in the Coons’
hometown of Jacksonville. She immediately told Kyle’s parents,
Steve and Ann Marie, to take him to a specialist.
“She looked startled when she checked them,” Steve says. “She
said she thought she saw something that we may want to have —
just to be safe — looked at by a specialist, which obviously
raised suspicions rather quickly.”
The next day, Steve and Ann Marie took Kyle to a retina
specialist at the University of Chicago.
“That’s actually one of the days I’ll never forget — that
doctor sat down and sat us down and said to us, ‘Your son has
cancer,’ ” Steve said. “That was the last thing I remember
hearing that day.”
Kyle had retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer that forms in
one or both of the retinas. In Kyle’s case, it was both.
The doctor at the University of Chicago wanted to remove both
of Kyle’s eyes the following Monday to avoid having the cancer
spread. But Steve and Ann Marie didn’t want to take away their
son’s vision.
There was another doctor in Philadelphia, the specialist told
them. “But he said, ‘There’s nothing that he can do that I can’t
do,’ ” Steve says.
Apparently, the University of Chicago doctor was wrong. After
discussing the diagnosis with friends over the weekend, Monday
came. Had the Coons stayed in Chicago, Kyle would have gone
blind before he even had his first birthday. But they chose to
visit the doctor in Philadelphia, who gave them the same
diagnosis but a different way to fix it. Yes, Kyle had
retinoblastoma, but no, his eyes didn’t need to be removed – or
at least not now, the doctor told the hopeful parents.
“There was a good chance they could save some or all of his
vision,” Steve recalls. “We went from one extreme to another
extreme. But we obviously didn’t fully understand what the road
ahead was going to be.”
***
Steve and Ann Marie tried every treatment imaginable to rid
their son of the malignant disease: localized radiation,
systemic radiation, laser treatment, systemic chemotherapy and
even chemotherapy injections straight into his eyes.
Then, when Kyle was 5 years old, Kyle developed glaucoma in
his left eye, forcing Steve and Ann Marie to make the decision
to have it removed.
“Once he lost the first eye, we kind of knew that he was
going to end up losing the second eye eventually,” Steve says.
So the Coons prepared their son for the inevitable. He
learned how to read letters and Braille at the same time. He
remembered the faces of his parents and his sisters. He learned
colors so when he did go blind, someone could easily describe
his surroundings to him. Essentially, he was learning the skills
of a blind person while he could still see.
Then, on Oct. 9, 1998, Kyle’s right eye was removed. Two
prosthetic eyes have sat in place of his originals ever since.
“One minute I could see, for me what I considered was fine,
but then I woke up in a hospital bed with no vision whatsoever,”
Kyle remembers. “It was really just a slap upside the head.”
At only 6 years old, Kyle could no longer play basketball
with his father. He couldn’t ride his bike with his friends. He
couldn’t do what the other healthy little boys could do.
“He was a sad, angry little boy who kind of saw his life
slipping away,” Steve says, remembering some of the “very dark
days” of Kyle’s new reality.
Fortunately, the depression turned around in about a month
when Kyle was introduced to Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind
person to have ever climbed Mount Everest, at a motivational
speech Weihenmayer was giving in Jacksonville.
“That day when we left [to go see Erik speak], Kyle was a
scared, angry little boy,” Steve remembers. “But he came home
with hope. He came home inspired and ready to try living life
again.”
***
Despite losing his sight, Kyle’s athleticism and love of
sports never wore off. He tried pursuing wrestling when he was
in sixth grade, but few middle schools even offered the sport,
and none of them were willing to put a blind student on their
team. His wrestling career finally began when he entered high
school at Paxon School for Advanced Studies in Jacksonville.
“We saw it as an opportunity [for him] to do something,”
Steve says. “He’s strong, he has agility and he has a heck of a
grip.”
But in his first two years of wrestling Kyle says he
struggled with the sport, with a combined record of 15 wins and
20 losses. He considered giving up on the sport when he failed
to qualify for regionals his sophomore year.
“It was hard, and I knew it was going to be hard, but I did
seriously consider quitting after that,” Kyle says. “But then I
went to Ken Chertow’s Gold Medal Training Camp and began
learning how to really wrestle and strategize.”
Chertow is a well-known name in the wrestling world. He’s a
three-time NCAA All-American and wrestled for the 1988 U.S.
Olympic team. His training camps are now located in 20 states,
and he also led Ohio State’s wresting team to fourth place in
the 1991 NCCA Championships, the highest ranking the team has
ever achieved.
Kyle first attended Chertow’s camp during the summer between
his sophomore and junior year of high school.
“He was very rough technically when I first met him,” Chertow
says of Kyle. “Now, he has a very good feel for our sport and
executes a wide array of moves correctly.”
Chertow would use Kyle as a demonstration partner during the
camps so Kyle could feel the moves being pulled on him since he
obviously couldn’t see them. He taught Kyle how to be in control
by grabbing different parts of the opponents’ upper body, and
more importantly to never let his inability to see hold him
back.
“I think Kyle has to work harder than most kids to perfect
moves since he does not see us show them, but he learns just as
quickly as the other kids because he works so hard.”
After training with Chertow, Kyle’s wrestling record improved
greatly. He finished his junior year of high school with his
first winning record: seven wins and six losses. His senior
year, when he became captain of the team, he lost only seven
matches out of 30.
But Kyle wanted more. He didn’t want to stop wrestling when
he graduated high school.
***
“Battle with him!” Coach Jason Balma yells at the UCF
wrestling team. “Push yourselves!”
The 30 wrestlers are partnered off and are going to
head-to-head with each other at practice. The scent of 90
minutes’ worth of their dried sweat lingers in the air,
accompanied by grunts from wrestlers trying their hardest to
impress Balma. Kyle has his opponent in a headlock when all of a
sudden his partner slips out of it and slams Kyle to the mat.
Tyrone, Kyle’s Seeing Eye golden retriever, perks his head up
from the sidelines, his eyes focused on his owner to ensure
he’ll get up. Kyle gets back on his feet in a second and
prepares to go at it again. Tyrone lowers his head, but he still
looks worried.
When Kyle was looking to wrestle in college, he looked at
FSU, UF and UCF.
“Coach Balma just showed the greatest interest,” Kyle says.
“When I applied and was accepted into UCF my senior year [of
high school], Coach Balma arranged for a couple of the wrestlers
to meet with me and show me around campus. The team sold UCF to
me. I decided that I didn’t care if I got into any other
schools; this is where I wanted to be.”
At first, Kyle had to learn how to adjust to both UCF and a
new wrestling team.
“It’s rough going from being the wrestling team captain, and
one of the top guys in the city, to being at the bottom of the
totem pole, struggling to make the roster,” he says.
Just as Kyle had to adjust, the UCF team had to adjust as
well in order to accommodate Kyle’s needs. One of his teammates
will take him by the arm each practice to run around the mat
during warm-up. They’ve learned the National Collegiate
Wrestling Association rules for wrestling with someone who’s
blind — start the match holding fingertips and keep contact the
entire time. When the team travels to tournaments out of state,
they make sure Tyrone can be taken care of. They’ve accepted
Kyle for who he is, but the team doesn’t see him as disabled.
“Kyle fits in so well, and everybody kind of forgets he’s
blind,” Assistant Coach Johnny Rouse says. “He’s so acclimated
with the team that they don’t think of him as having a
drawback.”
Most importantly, Kyle doesn’t see himself that way either.
He jokes about his blindness rather than let it get in the way
of his life. As of February, his record for the team was at five
wins and 12 losses. In addition to being a wrestler and
studying communications at UCF, he loves to play guitar and
drums, and he’s currently writing an autobiography (he uses a
computer just like any other student; a computer program will
read him anything on his computer screen). He’s climbed Mount
Kilimanjaro and Machu Picchu with his mountaineering team, Team
Sight Unseen. Being blind doesn’t hinder Kyle from living
extraordinarily.
“There’s probably going to be some operation somewhere down
the line [that will allow me to see], but even if there was, I
don’t know if I would do it,” he says. “I’m happy with my life.
I really am.”
Nicole Lauber is a recent journalism graduate of UCF and
currently lives in St. Petersburg.
