FORT LEWIS, Wash. - Anticipation, tension and immeasurable focus pulsed throughout the gymnasium as Soldiers and Marines prepared to do battle in one of the world's oldest arena, the squared circle. They said their prayers and took their vitamins hoping to gain any edge over their completion during the 2009 Fort Lewis Installation Wrestling Championship held at Wilson Gym, Fort Lewis, Wash., Nov. 18.
The 10 competitors hailing from parts unknown put up a valiant effort in hopes to earn the right to hang the gold around their necks.
"Freestyle wrestling is more about points than actually holding," Marine Sgt. Anthony Gaskill, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Landing Support Battalion, winner of the 264 pound weight class. "So you want to get the points, and in order to get the points you got to get them down on the mat and their back to the mat."
Gaskill, who was coaching the Marine team, said he emphasized the importance that training is with his team.
"I had them mainly work on their throws, on takedowns, pulling the legs and working on fighting and covering the leg," said Gaskill. "It's physical sports and just like anything else, wrestling requires a lot of endurance; it requires a lot of breathing and technique. There's two minutes of you not breathing out there, and you got to figure out whatever you can to beat that other guy.
"My matches were more of testing to see where they were at as far as wrestling skills," added Gaskill. "If I knew that they needed a little bit of help I would help them while I was wrestling. I could of taken them out but I didn't want to because I wanted to let them get the experience. It's no fun for me if I go out there, pin them and come back. It's more fun if I'm out there showing them what to do. "
Spc. Javier Noriega, 170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, was the victor in the 163 pound weight class. Noriega, who lost his first match, ended up in the loser bracket and fought his way through two slobber-knocker mat matches to clinch his title.
"It was all in my mind and I had to change my mind set," said Noriega. "I've been wrestling for a while now and I have been put in these types of situations before. So I just had to go back to the basics and have strong heart and mind."
Noriega said he his seven years of wrestling and tournament experience helped him create his gold-medal winning strategy.
"My old wrestling coach in high school used to teach me that there are three periods in wrestling," said Noriega. "So if you win each one whether it's by one point or 10, you win those three periods you win the match. So I took it period by period. I won the first period and I knew I need one more, so I stayed strong and didn't give him any room to breathe."
At the 185 pound weight class Sgt. Matthew Frost, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, laid the "smack down" to everyone in his way and earned the right to be called champion.
"I just imposed my will and kept the pressure going," said Frost. "I saw that my opponent was a little more tired than me, so I just kept going and going. I kept catching him making small mistakes, so I took advantage of that. During the championship match I had a one point takedown and then a one point out-of-bounds. After another one point takedown I continued for a two point near fall to his back followed by the pin."
Frost enjoyed his victory and was glad he got to participate in the tournament before his upcoming deployment.
"He's been doing this for a long time, even since we been together, said Aubrey Frost, wife of Sgt. Frost. "I get nervous sometimes especially when he gets bloody or when he gets slammed real hard but it is fun watching my husband wrestle."
For others, success on the mat was a prelude to the future success of a deployment.
"I am getting ready to deploy in the next couple of weeks and I just wanted to get back on the mat," said Capt. Dan Naab, 46th Military Police Brigade, winner of the 211 pound weight class. "It's been a long time."
Naab a former high school, college wrestler and all Army wrestling is also a five times Armed Forces European Champion were very good experiences and gave him the tools to win his match.
He added that wrestling and being a Soldier are very similar in nature. To many, being a wrestler and being a Soldier are a very close knit tag team.
"It's just about warrior ethos, getting the edge and training, said Nabb. "This is competition and competition always makes a better Soldier, win, lose or draw. Wrestling is essentially what we preach daily."
