All American Wrestling Academy

Of the 113 medals won by Team USA in the #TokyoOlympics, 47% of them were won by athletes who have lived or trained in Colorado Springs: : 20 of 39 (51.3%) : 17 of 41 (41.5%) : 16 of 33 (48.5%)

How others treat you is about them, not you! How you treat others is a reflection of you!

Good luck to the Magic Man, Olympian David Taylor! Pictured is David at the Reno Worlds with Joe Seay and the Great Danny Hodge (Olympic Silver Medalist).

If you end up watching any of the women’s wrestling competition at the Olympics this week, you should know that the entire sport owes its existence to this litt...le girl, 9-year-old Tricia McNaughton of Ann Arbor. Back in 1975, when this photo was taken at EMU’s Bowen Field House, Tricia was one of the best young wrestlers in the state. The McNaughton family was a legendary wrestling family in Ann Arbor and at U-M, so she certainly had the bloodlines. In 1975, though, Tricia didn’t have anyone to wrestle against, because girls weren’t allowed to compete. The Amateur Athletic Union, which controlled the sport at the time, felt it was too dangerous for girls to be able to wrestle, so they didn’t allow it. They wouldn’t allow girls to compete against boys, and girls’ wrestling wasn’t a thing. So as good as she was, little Tricia McNaughton had nobody to wrestle. So in 1975, Tricia took the AAU to federal court, and she prevailed. The judge ruled that she be allowed to compete in the state meet, saying that because EMU was a public facility, it couldn’t bar girls from competing there. Wrestling against all boys, she took an impressive fourth place, and a year or so later, she beat all the boys and won the state championship in the bantam division. Because of little Tricia’s success both on the mat and in court, the AAU and the sport’s other governing bodies finally decided that girls’ and women’s wrestling needed to be a sport. And Tricia became the best in the world at it. Tricia (who was now Tricia McNaughton Saunders) competed in the FILA Wrestling World Championships five times, winning four golds and a silver. She became the first woman inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2004, when women’s wrestling became an Olympic sport for the first time, Tricia was one of the coaches of the U.S. team. Anytime she walks into a women’s wrestling tournament anywhere in the world these days, she’s hailed as a hero. So if you catch any women’s wrestling on TV this week, you should know that it’s all because of this badass little 9-year-old girl from Ann Arbor who not only beat all the boys, but beat the system, as well. Way to go, Tricia.

We call this "The Man Maker"

Zlatan Ibrahimovi: "Sports in the US are too expensive. My children play in a good team and I paid $3,500 per child. I don't like that because not everybody has the money and sport should be for everyone because it unites people regardless of their origins."

Head Coach Vargas on top of the podium after winning regionals

Head Coach Vargas placing fourth at the Illinois State Championships