9th
Annual Wrestling USA / Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic Dual Meet
April 9, 2005, will mark two firsts in the history of the Wrestling
USA/Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic Dual Meet competition. It will
be the first time that the competition will travel to TEXAS, the
Lone Star State. It will also mark the first time the competition
will feature female wrestlers. Both will contribute to showcasing
the development of the sport in the state since the UIL (University
Interscholastic League) decided to adopt wrestling as an official
high school sport and also incorporate a girl's division.
The event will be a collaborative effort between Texas USA
Wrestling and the Wrestling Association of Arlington (hosts of
the Hilton Arlington / Cliff Keen Athletic Lone Star Duals). Dream
Team members will travel to Dallas, Texas, and be housed in the
Hilton Arlington (boys) and the Hawthorn Suites (girls) in Arlington,
Texas. These hotels are next to each other and right across from
the Ballpark in Arlington and Six Flags, 10 minutes from the Dallas
Fort Worth airport. Twenty minutes west is the Stock Yard area
of Ft. Worth and twenty minutes east is the West End area of Dallas.
Team members will arrive on Friday the 8th and get an opportunity
to absorb some of the local culture. Dinner will be held to allow
the competitors to meet.
On Saturday, April 9th, two competitions will be held at the
South Grand Prairie HS Warrior Coliseum (site of the Lone Star
Duals), beginning with the first ever Girls Dream Team versus
Texas' best at 5:30 PM. Hopes are high in Texas that the Lone
Star girls will be very competitive. Since the UIL sanctioned
the sport, the number of girls participating has skyrocketed and
the enthusiastic support on the part of the coaches has resulted
in a tremendous increase in the quality of the competition. Texas
wrestlers have joined the girls teams at Neosho College, Cumberland
College, Minnesota Morris, and Missouri Valley. With Bacone College
and Pacific adding new programs, we expect to see even more.
At 7:00 PM, the best senior boys in Texas will take to the
mat against the Dream Team. While Texas has had wrestlers on the
Dream Team in the past (Buck McLamb and Danny Ruiz), there has
never been a competition between Texas and the Dream Team. Will
Rowe's matches with Mike Poeta last year, and the success of wrestlers
like Brandon Slay (2000 Olympic Champion and 2x NCAA finalist),
Ben Heizer (2x Div I NCAA All- American and Runner-up), Mohammad
Lawal (NCAA Div II National Champion and Div I Runner-up), and
JJ Holmes (NJCAA National Champ and current Eastern Michigan team
member) demonstrate the depth of talent in the Lone Star State.
Wrestlers like Matt Sansone, James Aston, and Justin Wren are
likely Texas Team members and Texas native Olympic Champion Brandon
Slay has offered to assist with coaching the Texas Team. Actual
team members will be announced at a later date. We anticipate
a great competition and a tremendous opportunity for Texas wrestlers
to meet some of the best in the country. We are also looking forward
to the opportunity to expose the Dream Team members to Texas hospitality
and culture.
Many fans may have come to the Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex for the 2000 Olympic Trials and discovered that there are many things to do in the area. The location is terrific and the hotels will be providing great rates, so come down and enjoy the wrestling and support the greatest sport in the world. Tickets will be available on the Hilton Arlington/ Cliff Keen Athletic Lone Star Duals website (www.lonestarduals.com) and at Texas USA Wrestling website (www.txusawrestling.com).
USA Dream Team Coach
Coach VIRG VAGLE
Save for countless wrestling practices at Paynesville Area
High School
(Paynesville, Minn.), Virg Vagle has never personally recorded
a pin or
match win. Vagle, who was inducted into the Minnesota Wrestlng
Hall of Fame
as a coach in 1990, never wrestled. He captained his high school
basketball
team, as his school did not even have a wrestling team at that
time.
But after playing football at Augsburg College (Minneapolis, Minn.)
and
taking a teaching job at the middle school in Paynesville in 1965,
the Lake
Bronson, Minn., native became an assistant coach on the three-year-old
wrestling team.
In 38 years as head coach, Vagle took the Bulldogs to 17 state
tournaments,
won four state titles (1987, 1990, 1991, and 2000), coached 58
individual
placewinners at state, including nine state champs, and became
the
winningest wrestling coach in Minnesota in 1997. He retired in
2004 ranking
second in the state in career coaching wins.
In Vagle's 38 years as coach, Paynesville won conference titles
in wrestling
29 times, including an 18-year unbeaten streak in conference duals
from
1975-1993.
Among his wrestlers who competed collegiately, Pat Neu ('72)
won an NCAA
title at the University of Minnesota in 1977 and Brad Fenske ('92)
captained
the Army team at West Point and set numerous school records.
Besides wrestling, Vagle taught mathematics and physical education
for 35
years at Paynesville Area Middle School, served as the head football
coach
for the Bulldogs for 30 years, leading the Bulldogs to the state
semifinals
in 1979, and coached junior high baseball for more than 20 years.
He
retired from teaching in June 2000 and from wrestling coaching
after the
2003-04 season.
Vagle and his wife Pat have seven children; their five sons
all wrestled for
Paynesville, compiling a 462-149-11 record, a school mark for
a single
family. In semi-retirement, Vagle works as a financial planner
and enjoys
traveling, hobby farming, golfing, and hunting.
ADDITIONAL CHARTS (if needed)
Virg Vagle & Paynesville WrestlingBy The Numbers
The Road to 661 Coaching Wins
1st Win December 1966 vs. EV-W
100th Win December 1977 vs. Rocori
250th Win January 1987 vs. Sauk Centre
258th Win March 1987 (State Title #1)
328th Win March 1990 (State Title #2)
351th Win March 1991 (State Title #3)
400th Win January 1994 vs. Litchfield
465th Win January 1997 (State Record)
500th Win January 1998 vs. Austin
566th Win March 2000 (State Title #4)
600th Win December 2001 vs. Austin
661th Win February 2004 vs. Mille Lacs
State Team Titles
1987 Bulldogs (20-0) beat Plainview-Elgin-Millville 24-18 to win
the
team's, and the school's, first state championship.
1990 Bulldogs (24-0) beat Staples-Motley 23-20 to win a second
state
title in Class A.
1991 Bulldogs (23-1) beat Frazee 36-18 to win back-to-back state
titles.
Their only loss was 32-27 to Class AA champ Apple Valley, breaking
a
36-match winning streak for Paynesville.
2000 Bulldogs (31-3) upset Frazee 24-21 to win a fourth state
title and
avenging their only loss in the state finals, a 25-23 loss to
Frazee in
1992.
Individual State Champions
1979 Steve Fuchs (119)
1986 Gerald Garvick (HWT)
1991 Greg Schwartz (140)
1992 Brad Fenske (140)
1992 Scott Hoeft (152)
1996 Lee Hiltner (HWT)
2000 David Kerzman (125)
2001 David Kerzman (130)
2002 Marty Engen (189)
Vagle/Schwartz Family
The Virg and Pat Vagle Family ranks
first all-time in career wrestling wins
for Paynesville Area High School
with a combined record of 462-149-11.
Greg Schwartz ('91) 157-29-5
Troy Vagle ('87) 110-32-2
Ryan Schwartz ('83) 81-36-2
Jay Vagle ('85) 74-15-2
Shawn Schwartz ('90) 40-37
TOTAL 462-149-11
USA Dream Team (Boys)
103
Matt McNaughton (Oak Lawn, IL)
112
Brian Moreno (Santa Ana Foothill, CA)
119
Brad Pataky (Clearfield, PA)
125
Troy Nickerson (Chenango Forks, NY)
130
Adam Frey (Blair Academy, NJ)
135
Angel Escobedo (Griffith, IN)
Senior, 140 pounds, Wasatch High School, Heber, Utah
Cyler Sanderson comes from one of the country's most decorated wrestling families. He is the youngest of four brothers. His brothers, Cody, Cole, and Cael, gathered 11 state high school championships, 8 Cadet National place finishes, 16 Junior National place finishes, and all three were first team Asics High School All-Americans. After their high school careers, they were responsible for 6 trips to the NCAA finals, over 370 wins for Iowa State, and this past fall, Cael won an Olympic Gold Medal in Athens. A very nice legacy, but how would you like to follow that into college?
Cyler has learned to handle the situation very well. He is working on a nice set of credentials of his own. Cyler, as of January 25, 2005, has captured two individual state high school titles, 3 Cadet National places, and 3 Junior National places. His high school record at this point is 160 8. He is undefeated through his junior and senior high school seasons, including two Reno TOC titles, two Tiger-Grizz titles in the Pacific Northwest, and twice selected on the All-Tournament Team at the Minnesota Clash. In the three tournament final matches, he scored a combined 71 points. He likes to perform.
Cyler signed early to attend Iowa State University, where he will join with his brother Cael, who is on the coaching staff there. He is part of the #1 recruiting class for 2005. Cyler is ranked #1 at 140 pounds by most of the wrestling publications; he was rated as the 4th overall recruit by Intermat. He is coached by his father, Steve.
145
Brent Metcalf (Davison, MI)
152
Matt Coughlin (Mater Dei, IN)
160
David Erwin (St. Paris Graham, OH)
171
Alton Lucas (West Babylon, NY)
189
Patrick Bond (Great Bridge, VA)
215
Jared Rosholt (Ponca City, OK)
