By Mike Finn

Rarely does the topic of extra weight put a smile on a wrestler’s face … unless your name is Harry Lester.

            “Yeah, I’m very fat and happy,” grinned Lester after beating Jake Fisher for the 163-pound Greco-Roman championship at the U.S. Nationals, April 10, in the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

            The last time Lester wrestled in Las Vegas — on June 14, 2008 — was not a happy time for the 25-year-old native of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. In fact Lester, the two-time World bronze medalist used that day to announce his retirement from the sport after he was upset by Jake Deitchler in the 145.5-pound semifinals of the Olympic Trials at the nearby Thomas Mack Center, where Lester was forced to conserve his energy in that loss and was later drawn to tears as he said goodbye to the sport.

            Now nearly 20 pounds heavier, Lester is enjoying is post-retirement period.

            “I still cut a little bit of weight, but I’m just enjoying it a lot more now,” he said. “I’m just having a lot more fun now than I was before.”

            Lester, who last won a national title in 2005, wasn’t the only highly-ranked Greco-Roman wrestler to compete in a heavier weight class than a year ago. In fact, two other national champions — T.C. Dantzler at 185 pounds and Brad Ahearn at 211.5 pounds — collected their second straight national titles one weight higher.

            Dantzler decided to move up to 185 pounds last August when he was preparing to represent the U.S. at the Olympics at 163 pounds.

            “When I was in the sauna at the Beijing Games, I told myself that I will never do this again to my body so I decided then to go up,” said the 38-year-old Dantzler, also a five-time World Team member who lost his only bout in China.

            “It’s been a different life. I’m a happier person. I’m only cutting about ten pounds. I can eat every day. I can do what I want. I’m so in love with wrestling, which is so much fun now.”

            The native of Chicago actually won his fourth nationals by defeating Aaron Sieracki, 1-0, 3-0.

            Ahearn, meanwhile defeated R.C. Johnson, 2-0, 1-0, for the 211.5-pound title, one year after he captured the 185-pound title; only to break his hand before the Trials and lose in the semifinals to Sieracki. (Brad Vering, who lost to Ahearn in last year’s nationals, came back to represent the U.S. in Beijing.)

            The 27-year-old Ahearn is one of four members of the U.S. Army Greco team to win in Vegas. He joined 121-pound Jermaine Hodge, 145.5-pound Faruk Sahin and heavyweight Dremiel Byers in earning the No. 1 seed in this year’s World Team Trials, May 30-31 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Ahearn said he was not surprised that so many wrestlers moved up.

            “For a while there, your technique is not where you want it to be so you feel like you have to make up for it by cutting weight,” said Ahearn. “Once your technique gets there, you are able to go up and feel confident to go up.

            “Cutting weight plays a lot of tricks on you. It gets in the way of your strategy. You can’t train the way you want to train and you have to start training two weeks out (from the competition).”

            “I’m happy,” said U.S. Senior National coach Steve Fraser, the 1984 Olympic champ who saw many of his wrestlers deal with weight issues during last year’s Olympics. “If they are cutting too much weight and not happy, I say, ‘Go up man. Don’t do it. It’s not worth it.’

            “You have to know how long you can stay at a lower weight and when you need to move up. When you follow your heart, it tells you that people can have success at either weight.”

            Lester said he thought he was done after last June’s disappointment.

            “The end of October, I thought it might be fun to do it (wrestle) again,” said Lester, who spent his time working with the younger U.S. wrestlers, including Fisher who continues to be a training partner for Lester.

            “Then I thought I didn’t want to put in the time. I loved my life then. By the end of November, I told myself that I was ready to go.”

            Lester returned to action at the Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, Feb. 5, in Colorado Springs, which he won. The U.S. Nationals marked the first time Lester faced Deitchler, who also moved up after competing at 145.5 pounds in Beijing. A pair of bear-hug takedowns — one in each period of their semifinal nationals bout — gave Lester the 5-0, 5-1 victory.

            “It’s just another win for me,” Lester said. “It was good beating him because he beat me before. I didn’t come here to beat him. I came here to win nationals. And he was just one of the people I had to wrestle, then so be it.”

            Lester said he still has a long way to go to reach the level he enjoyed in 2006 and 2007 when he won bronze medals at the World Championships.

            “I have to take it day by day and just stay healthy,” said Lester, who still lives in Marquette, Mich., where he trains at the United States Olympic Education Center.

            “I’ll be lifting a little bit harder to get more muscle and get rid of some of this baby fat. I know what I have to do. My coaches know what I have to do. We’re going to try to get through the Trials and if I’m the best wrestler that day, then I will show up for the World Championships and see what I can do.”