Columbus Monthly / December 2010 / Wrestling with an Olympic goal

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Wrestling with an Olympic goal

Opening the door to the wrestling room at Ohio State University’s Steelwood Athletic Training Facility near west campus, the sounds of bodies slamming to the mat with resounding thuds can be heard over rock music playing on the stereo. The nearest wall to the entrance bears a large display of blown-up photos of OSU’s 11 NCAA national champions—from George Downes in 1940 to the most recent, Mike Pucillo, in 2008. Also on the list of champs are Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman, both known for their fame in the UFC Octagon.

And then there’s Tommy Rowlands, who won the heavyweight title in 2002 and 2004.

Two years after graduating in 2004, Rowlands, who lives in Hilliard with his wife and two kids, started the nonprofit Ohio Regional Training Center (ORTC), renting the wrestling room at Steelwood to train with other OSU alums, a handful of current student athletes and grapplers from around the world. They all share a common goal: to be Olympic contenders for Team USA.

There’s an air of anticipation in the practice room today. While the OSU team is preparing for the start of its season in late November, Rowlands and company are heading to Vancouver for an upcoming tournament. As the grapplers warm up before practice, the heavyweight points out several of them. “That guy there in the blue [heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev] is a world bronze medalist,” Rowlands says. “That one there [J.D. Bergman] is the number one 211-pounder in the country. This one here [Shawn Bunch] is the number two 132-pounder in the country.” And the list goes on. Of the handful of wrestlers in the organization, six (including Rowlands) have their sights set on the 2012 Olympics in London.

The goal, Rowlands says, is to contribute an ORTC representative from each of the seven weight classes to the Olympic trials. As it stands now, they have four. But with current OSU assistant coach and former Olympian Lou Rosselli coaching the ORTC group and substantial financial backing from private donors, Rowlands says he’s more than confident. “We have a very viable chance of putting four of the six of us on the Olympic team’s roster,” he says. “That is the goal and we plan on doing so.”

When they’re not training or traveling to compete, ORTC members volunteer at the west side’s Holy Family Soup Kitchen, speak at high schools and put on free wrestling clinics for kids. “We like to think of ourselves as role models,” Rowlands says.

“The thing I love most about wrestling is digging deep to find out what you’re made of,” he says, adding that his biggest competition is the battle with himself. “It’s a sport where you’re learning more about yourself.”