By Mike Finn

While autumn annually gets high school and wrestling fans excited about the upcoming winter folkstyle season, some of the United States’ best freestyle wrestlers usually act like bears and hibernate this time of year.

            But according to U.S. national freestyle coach Zeke Jones, the months when leaves are falling from the trees should also be the time for the top Americans to get better. And there’s no better way to get better than by facing top competition.

            That was the case during November, when American freestyle wrestlers faced a Russian team in three different sites around the country: at Wright College for the Chicago Cup on Nov. 17; at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, on Nov. 18; and at the New York Athletic Club on Nov. 20.

            While the Russians won all three duals by identical 4-3 scores, Jones was pleased with experiences that are usually reserved for late winter and spring, when America’s best are preparing to win the U.S. Nationals in April and make the World Team in May or June.

            The Americans were also facing a group of wrestlers from a country that has earned 47 of 72 possible gold medals at either the Olympics or Worlds the past decade. Jones pointed out that the Russians normally send a team to compete at the New York AC but chose to add two other stops this fall.

            “Make no mistake, that was a good Russian team,” said Jones, after the dual in Mt. Vernon. “They brought a lot of their best guys and that gives us that experience that we don’t normally get. (The Americans) will get a lot of confidence, win or lose against some of the best competition in the world.

            “For too long, we didn’t start wrestling until January. We decided to have a fall season. We’re doing two international team training camps. We’re getting the opportunity to wrestle in two to three different tournaments and getting way more competition than we ever have at this point of the year.

            “The only problem is that we keep ending up on the short end of the stick (of the final dual score),” Jones added. “We need to get on the other side of beating the No. 1 team in the world.”

            One of the Americans who defeated his Russian counterpart was former Buffalo All-American and current Edinboro assistant coach Kyle Cerminara, who defeated Magomed Magomadov, 3-1, 2-1, at 211.5 pounds. Cerminara believes the U.S. is narrowing the gap between the U.S. and the Russians.

            “In Russia, it’s a lifestyle and a commitment,” said Cerminara, who like all the victors in the Iowa exhibition earned $2,000 for his victory. “I believe that’s what Zeke Jones has the U.S. doing now. Everyone is just working together. The regional training sites are working out well. We’re moving in the right direction.”

            “Our first goal is to get our international team experience,” Jones said. “It doesn’t always happen that way. All in all, we’ve gotten all of our ones, twos and threes that opportunity to compete.”

            In the three events, nine former World/Olympic wrestlers competed for the U.S.: Jake Herbert (185) and Tervel Dlagnev (Hwt), who both won medals in this past fall’s Worlds; Trent Paulson (145.5) and Andy Hrovat (211.5), who both competed in both Chicago and New York; and Danny Felix (121), Shawn Bunch (132), Mike Zadick (132) and Doug Schwab (145.5).

            Schwab, a 2008 Olympian, hoped to use the event in Mt. Vernon to help him overcome losing in last summer’s Trials when an injured shoulder forced him to shut down his offense.

            “I’m not in peak shape where I need to be for the World Championships next year,” said Schwab, who scored in the final seconds of each period to defeat Arsen Mairov, 1-1, 3-0. “I don’t let myself go too far. That’s when injuries come in. I wrestled at last year’s Trials one-armed a little bit. I am excited about my future; about getting us (the U.S.) back on top and by beating the Russians.”

            Making the moment even more exciting was performing before a fan base that is just as hungry as the wrestlers.

            “I felt like I was back in the gym at Osage,” said Schwab, who called that small Iowa town his home before later wrestling and currently coaching at the University of Iowa. “Having all the people around you close to the mat, they’d get loud when things got exciting and quiet when you’re not doing much. I could hear a lot of people yelling, ‘pick it up.’

            “This can’t be any different than when (Iowa is) trying to beat Okie State. It’s at a whole different level.”

            And now a whole different time of year.