Let's Talk Wrestling

Jillian, or “Monster” as she’s commonly known, is a 2x state champ for Union HS. She finished 5th last year, an ending that taught her some valuable lessons and made her hungry heading into her senior season. She’s been a great ambassador and role model for this next generation of girls wrestling and I cannot wait to see what she accomplishes in the future. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy, Jillian Worthen!

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Cliff is from Dubuque, IA and a graduate of Hempstead High School. At Hempstead, he was a 4x finalist and 3x state champion. He wrestled at the University of Iowa, finishing as a 3x AA and national champion. Cliff spent time on Iowa and Edinboro’s wrestling staff and just began his 7th season as Assistant Head Coach at West Virginia, where the Mountaineers have quietly put together some exciting teams. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy, Assistant Head Coach Cliff Moore!

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The second-ever guest on the podcast, Liam was a 2x state finalist for Servite High School in California, their first-ever state finalist. After 4 years at Indiana, Liam came to Nebraska and became an AA his senior year after a 5th place finish. Liam has already been having success at the senior level. He qualified for the Olympic Trials at 57 kg. while also placing 4th at the World Team Trials at 61 kg. Liam and his wife, Kennedy, reside in Lincoln with their daughter, Bohen. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy, Liam Cronin!

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Welcome to Season 4! You already know how we start things off here.

Eric really doesn’t need much of an introduction. He was an AA for Nebraska and has been competing for the Nebraska Wrestling Training Center over the past couple years. Eric qualified for the Olympic Trials and finished 4th at 97 kg. He lives in Lincoln with his wife Clare and newborn baby girl, Scarlett. Eric is also an Assistant Coach at Nebraska Wesleyan. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy, Eric Schultz!

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Zack is from Omaha, NE and went to Omaha South High School. Zack was a state qualifier as a junior before wrestling at the University of Nebraska-Omaha for Head Coach Mike Denney. However, as we all know, UNO dropped wrestling in 2011, a move that still cuts deep with Zack to this day. Zack did follow Coach Denney to Maryville University, where he finished out his career. Zack competed and coached greco upon graduation, leading the U20 greco team at the Pan-Ams in Mexico in 2022. Zack is also the Executive Director of the Premier National League. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy, Zack Wilcox!

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The Premier National League is a league consisting of some of the top wrestling clubs across the country. The purpose of PNL is to elevate wrestling by providing great experiences and elite competition with high standards for coaches, referees and athletes. This weekend, November 1st-3rd, they are hosting their Fall Championships in Kansas City, MO at Hy-Vee Arena. In this episode, I sit down with Executive Director Zack Wilcox and head coach of MWC Zac Dominguez to discuss how PNL came to fruition and what the vision is moving forward.

PNL website: https://www.pnlwrestling.com/home

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Madison is from Warren, PA, where her love for wrestling began. She started keeping stats for her middle school wrestling team. She attended Edinboro University, where she became known as the “Everything Girl” because she was literally doing everything behind the scenes for the wrestling program. Madison has also done some freelance work for InterMat and I have linked a couple of her articles in the show notes. Madison has that underdog mentality, so there’s a lot of tenacity in this episode. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy, Madison Hollenbeck!

InterMat Articles:

https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/post-collegiate-life-for-wrestlers-in-service-academies-r98806/

https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/international/who-to-watch-at-the-u20-and-u23-trials-r91126/

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Ben is from Gilbert, IA and was a star athlete, participating in football, wrestling, soccer and track and field. Ben ultimately chose to play football at the University of Wyoming and, after graduating in 4 years, Ben transferred to Iowa State for his final year of eligibility. But as Ben’s mom, Jinjer, said about wrestling, “Once it’s in the blood, it’s in the blood forever.” With that, Ben revived his wrestling career. He started training and competing on the world level, placing at several tournaments. He made such a strong impression that he was asked to stick around Ames and become the Strength and Condition coach for the Cyclones. Along with the wrestling team, Ben also works with gymnastics, men’s and women’s cross country and track and field. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy, Ben Durbin!

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John is from Parkersburg, IA and was an all-around athlete for the Falcons. He was 2x all-state in football and was a 4-year letterwinner in soccer. He had the most success on the mat, where he was a 3x state placewinner on some tough A-P teams (shoutout Dirty Bird Wrestling Club!). John would go on to wrestle at UNI for 3 years and even competed in jiu-jitsu and MMA. Nowadays, John lives in Waterloo and coaches the running backs at Union High School. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy, John Simon!

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LJ is from Bismarck, ND, where he was a 5x state champion for Bismarck High School. Almost a year ago to the day, LJ stamped his name among the top wrestlers at his weight when he won a Super 32 title at 165 lbs. and earned MOW in the HS division’s upper weight. Over the summer, LJ competed for Brazil at U20’s and won a bronze medal, the countries first men’s medal in freestyle wrestling at the world level. LJ is now gearing up for his freshman season at the University of Nebraska. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy, LJ Araujo!

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