International freestyle circuit

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Placing at the NCAA Division I tournament this past March was not enough for All-American wrestler David Bertolino. The former Iowa State Cylone and Buckeye Local Panther has a dream of taking his mat skills to the next level and is well on his way.

Now a graduate assistant at the University of Oklahoma, Bertolino has been spending a tremendous amount of time driving back-and-forth to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Bertolino, who is one of the youngest training at the OTC, was invited by former West Virginia University coach and current USA Wrestling mat mentor Zeke Jones. Heavily recruiting Bertolino to become a Mountaineer during his prep days at Buckeye Local, Jones knew a lot about the Mt. Pleasant native and believes he has the drive to make it at the international level.

"Coach Jones has me on a three-year plan right now which includes a lot of body testing," Bertolino said in a phone conversation. "He does a lot on things on paper to see how we are progressing throughout the year. Right now we are in a technical phase, seeing what the Russians and Europeans do now. We watch a lot of video."

The training has been more then beneficial as Bertolino recently returned from Armenia in the Middle East where he finished fourth. His bronze medal bout resulted in a loss to an Armenian Olympian on a controversial call.

Not satisfied with his outcome, Bertolino recalls stories from former Iowa State coach and Ohio Valley legend Bobby Douglas.

"Coach Douglas always told us how Americans never got calls and had to work harder for everything," Bertolino explained about his first hand experience. "When I got back into the states I told him and coach Douglas said, 'I told you, I told you. That last match was for prize money and they weren't going to let it leave their country especially to an American.'"

Being on the international freestyle circuit has taught Bertolino a lot about the sport as well as the world.

"Once you get over there you'll see a totally different mentality, style and positioning, which you need to be familiar with to be at the Olympic level. Even having the referees speaking a different language and people screaming in multiple languages is a part of the atmosphere," he shared about his experience. "It was 40 degrees in a wrestling room when I was trying to cut weight. Where in the US I would be in a warm wrestling room or go to a sauna and do it much easier."

While Bertolino's wrestling knowledge is evolving, USA Wrestling has been engaging in a shortage of wrestlers wanting to join the international level because of the lack of money. As only the top two guys are typically getting paid, the small amount earned is not enough to survive in the United States.

"Overseas they look at wrestling like we look at the NFL or NBA. It is their mainstream sport. Many times governments take care of their wrestlers and money is not an issue," Bertolino said. "We are losing some of our top wrestlers to mixed martial arts in the United States because the money is there right now. This is why many guys are no longer coming out after college."

Bertolino is now set for his next international competition in February as he will travel with USA Wrestling to Ukraine and Bulgaria. His 18-day extravaganza will consist of a three-day stay at OTC and two weeks in Eastern Europe.

"After leaving the OTC we'll get a chance to train in Ukraine for a few days, wrestle and head to Bulgaria," he explained. "I am pretty excited about it, but it's starting to become very expensive to get by on the limited funds."

As a graduate assistant, Bertolino is taking a few undergraduate courses this year to raise his GPA to get into Oklahoma's MBA program and gets a small stipend to live off.

"When coach Jones asked me to join USA Wrestling he asked me if I had funding and I told him yes because I knew it was too good of an opportunity to pass up," Bertolino said.

Focusing on his training, Bertolino is now focusing on funding so he can continue to train on the international circuit and tryout for the 2012 Olympic games in London.

"Without funding, I cannot go on these tours and learn the international style. The more competition the better for me," he said. "I am going with the theory I have the rest of my life to make money. I am going to give it a run while I am young and capable."

Apart of the Oklahoma wrestling foundation, Bertolino is taking sponsors to help him in his hopes of making the 2012 Olympic team through the Underdog Wrestling Club. Anyone wanting to sponsor or make a donation, which is tax deductible, can send it to Underdog Wrestling Club, 713 Hartman Drive, Norman, Oklahoma 73069.

Cook can be reached at bcook@timesleaderonline.com