Ellenville wrestler joins national tournament in Fargo, North Dakota

Ellenville Excessive wrestler Olivier Rekuc is hoping the longest highway journey of his profession pays off in a giant manner.

Rekuc, 15, his father, Lech, and older brother, Nick, wanted two days to drive to Fargo, N.D., earlier this week so Olivier may compete within the prestigious seven-day USA Wrestling occasion on the Fargodome on the campus of North Dakota State College.

Rekuc is considered one of three wrestlers from New York competing within the 2022 Marine Corps Junior and 16U Nationwide Championships. He certified by ending second within the New York USA Wrestling Championships in Could on the 220-pound
weight class in Greco-Roman Wrestling, an Olympic model of wrestling. He can be wrestling at 195 kilos on the nationals.

“I’m very excited,” stated Rekuc, who can be a junior this fall at Ellenville Excessive. “That is my first time in such a giant event,
so I don’t actually know the best way to put together mentally. However I’ll exit and do my greatest. That is actually an awesome alternative for me.”

Rekuc is skilled and coached by his father, who coached varsity and modified wrestling for six years at Ellenville, and his 20-year-old brother, Nick, who had a promising wrestling profession lower quick attributable to a knee damage suffered throughout apply at Ellenville Excessive his senior 12 months.

Lech Rekuc, who emigrated from Poland 40 years in the past, coached Jerzy Choromanski, who represented Poland within the
1992 Summer season Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. The youthful Rekuc will symbolize the New York Nationwide group and Ellenville Excessive within the double-elimination occasion that runs by Friday, July 22.

There are 5,000 to six,000 wrestlers competing within the nationals, which is able to happen on 25 mats on the Fargodome. The motion can be streamed on FloWrestling.

Rekuc stated he bought began wrestling when his father enrolled him at a summer season wrestling youth program at Rondout Valley.

His father stated he knew immediately that his son might be a very good wrestler. His son began wrestling when he was 5 or 6
years previous.

“He all the time gave 120 p.c,” Lech stated. “He’s very bold. He was all the time very aggressive. He’s like a predator. I
may see he had a future.”

With about 100 opponents in every weight class, Olivier must win seven or eight matches to get to the finals in
Fargo.

“We expect he can end within the high 10,” Nick stated. “Technically, he’s very sound and we predict he can place very excessive. It’s all
about his psychological state. Fargo is the most important wrestling event on the earth.”

Olivier additionally completed sixth in freestyle wrestling within the state qualifier. Although he completed third in Part 9’s 2022 Division 2
wrestling championship at 285 kilos within the extra conventional folks wrestling model utilized in highschool competitors, Olivier stated he prefers the Greco-Roman model of wrestling that can be featured this week.

“Greco is simply higher physique,” Olivier stated. “People model is thru the legs. Extra pictures and taking pictures the legs. Greco is
extra throwing folks. I like Greco as a result of I’ve been doing it my complete life, so I do know it higher.”

The highest seven finishers in every weight class will obtain a plaque entitled the “Cease Signal.”

Olivier is hoping to convey that distinctive plaque again residence to Ellenville.