TRENTON- Rio gold medalist Kyle Snyder has done more in his time on the wrestling mats than almost anyone on the planet. The kicker? Snyder is a 20-year-old college junior. Snyder, the reigning World Champion and newly-crowned Olympic Champion at the 97 kilogram weight class, was in Trenton this weekend to give a clinic for the Trenton Youth Wrestling...
TRENTON- Rio gold medalist Kyle Snyder has done more in his time on the wrestling mats than almost anyone on the planet.
The kicker? Snyder is a 20-year-old college junior.
Snyder, the reigning World Champion and newly-crowned Olympic Champion at the 97 kilogram weight class, was in Trenton this weekend to give a clinic for the Trenton Youth Wrestling program. The Ohio State student-athlete was joined by his Buckeyes coach Tom Ryan, the 2015 NCAA National Coach of the Year.
Snyder's statistics in his short career are mind-boggling. He was 179-0 in high school, and was taken down only one time (in his junior year while he was up 14 points in a match). In the last year-plus, he has become a Pan American champion (2-05), the youngest American to win a World championship (2015), won the NCAA title in overtime over a wrestler that carried an 88-match winning streak into the final (2016), and beat Azerbaijan's Khetag Gazyumov 2-1 to bring home the gold.
While it has been a whirlwind tour since Snyder returned from the Rio Olympics, he is glad to be back on the mat doing what he loves to do best: wrestling. The fact that he gets to help area kids learn a few moves is something that Snyder cherishes.
"It is always exciting," Snyder said. "Most of the time I do clinics, it is with kids from a lot of different areas . I kind of get the feeling that most of these kids here today are from this Trenton area, and they are trying to develop something special here wth the Trenton Youth club, and growing the sport.
They are trying to turn people into men. That is exciting when you can be a part of that, and influence them in a positive way."
Kyle Snyder vs. Khetag Gazyumov: Gold medal wrestling match
With 75 wrestlers on the mats learning the key moves that continue to win Snyder tournaments all over the world, area kids got 90 minutes of teaching from those at the top of the sport. The Buckeyes talisman hopes that his newly-found notoriety can help the sport grow in Trenton, and in fact all around the country.
"That would be cool, I hope so," Snyder said. It is a great sport. I think people can learn a lot from it. I think that anyone can do it, so it would be cool to see it grow from the inspiration kids got from my competition."
Snyder is the overwhelming favorite this year to repeat as NCAA champion, although he will once again wrestle a light schedule for Ohio State, as he travels around the world for major competitions.
But how has it changed in campus for Snyder, now that he is known throughout the world as an Olympic gold medalist?
"The wrestlers have been the same with me," Snyder said. "We are all just friends. It doesn't really matter what we do, we are still friends, and we treat each other the same. The students are a little different. They want to take pictures more, and they know who I am, so that is pretty cool.
"I am going to pick and choose my matches, because I am going to go overseas a couple times as well. I will be wrestling in the tougher dual-meets, but I will be in the big tournaments internationally."
Olympic champion Kyle Snyder to headline weekend festivities in Trenton
While the weekend event was a boost to the Trenton Youth Wrestling program, there were many other groups that played a big part bringing Snyder to Trenton. Wrestlers in Business, Beat the Streets Philadelphia, and the City of Trenton all came together to give area wrestlers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train with the greatest American wrestler in a generation.
But there was another great wrestler in attendance this weekend, one that had a promising career cut short in his prime.
Rob DeMasi, who is the founder and President of the Muscle Movement Foundation, came out to support Canaan Bethea's event. Bethea recently joined forces with DeMasi, who provides financial and emotional support to families living with neuromuscular disease.
DeMasi, a four-year varsity wrestler at St. Mark's High School (DE), was misdiagnosed for years with a variety of conditions, including anxiety and depression, before he was finally found to suffer from Myasthenia Gravis. He has partnered with some of the biggest high school and college sports programs in the country, to help "Play with a purpose to end muscle disease".
"This is very important to be out here in Trenton this weekend," DeMasi said. "I think that every time I speak about some of the weakest times in my life, it definitely brings back vivid memories of some of the things I go through. But I am taking a stand for over one million Americans that are fighting these diseases, and most importantly, if I can inspire any wrestler to embrace this opportunity to win on and off the wrestling match, that is truly something special.
"It was very frustrating before I was diagnosed," DeMasi said. "This illness that was misdiagnosed happened for not one year, or tow year, but three and a half years with the symptoms. You expect to get help when you go to the doctor. So when you don't, it is truly a scary moment for you because you don't know that to do."
Teaming up with Bethea and Trenton Youth Wrestling should help get the message out, although there is still no cure for many of the muscle diseases that DeMasi deals with, including his. But the MMF helps the families of those who have been devastated by the effects of neuromuscular diseases, which include Muscular Dystrophy and ALS.
'That is where awareness comes in," DeMasi said. "Obviously, some of these diseases are very rare, but they are all too familiar to the families affected by them. I know before I was diagnosed, something that I didn't embrace in full was my health. The number one thing in this life is your health in this life. I want these wrestlers to be able to embrace the opportunity of their help."
"Awareness is key. There was just a breakthrough in Duchene's Muscular Dystrophy a couple of months ago. The more awareness you get, the more light you bring to it, will help the fight."
Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean