Wrestlers overcome obstacles and support each other on Cleveland high school team

Leroy Sutton, a student at Lincoln West High School in Cleveland, is legally blind. His friend, Dartanyon Crockett, has virtually no legs. He lost them in a train accident in 2001. Neither obstacle prevents the two from competing, and doing well, on their high school wrestling team. It’s interesting to read how the two both support each other and lead the team in this article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Leroy Sutton bore a big smile last Saturday as his Lincoln West wrestling teammate, Dartanyon Crockett, carried him on his shoulders to his next match during the Senate Athletic League tournament.

Crockett, a senior 189-pounder, wasn’t carrying Sutton to help develop tree-trunk strong legs and endurance. Crockett — a state weightlifting champion — is already strong. He’s also legally blind. And he was carrying the 171-pound Sutton because his senior teammate has virtually no legs.

“I’m his wheelchair,” said Crockett, who said he can barely see enough shadows so he doesn’t stumble while walking. “He’s also my drill partner and teammate, and I’d carry him to his next match at another school if no bus were available.

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The Miracle on the Mat — Rulon Gardner wins Olympic gold in Greco-Roman wrestling (2000)

Rulon Gardner’s opponent in the gold medal round of the 2000 Greco-Roman wrestling competition was Russian Alexander Karelin, who was previously undefeated in 13 years of international competition. In the previous 6 years of his unbeaten streak, he hadn’t so much as given up one point. The winner of 3 gold medals, Karelin was noted for his reverse body lift in which he slammed his opponent on his head after lifting him off the ground. Opponents feared injury when they faced the big man from Siberia, Russia.

At birth, Karelin weighed in at 15 pounds, and throughout his life had been bigger and stronger than his peers. The last time Gardner had faced Karelin, Gardner came out on the losing end — 0 – 5. In Greco-Roman wrestling, that’s the equivalent of a blowout. Karelin’s nickname was “The Experiment,” which was bestowed on him by opponents who felt his super-human strength must have been the result of some scientific experiment. When asked to comment on his nickname, Karelin noted that his opponents didn’t understand the source of his strength, “”I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs.”

Born in Afton, Wyoming, Gardner’s strength was frequently attributed to chores down while growing up on a dairy farm. A 3 sport athlete in high school, Garner earned All-American honors wrestling at the University of Nebraska. The 2000 team was the first U.S. Olympic Team that Gardner had qualified for at age 29.

Many observers thought the Gardner-Karelin match was akin to Rocky Balboa taking on Russian Ivan Drago.

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