SINGAPORE - Wrestling competition wrapped up on the podium for Team USA at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games as Mead High School's Jordan Rogers won silver in the -76 kg weight class. Rogers lost to Resul Kalayci of Turkey in the gold medal match, after a hard fall forced him to withdraw before the final minutes were up.
"It's disappointing to lose, but it's also a great accomplishment to be in the Youth Olympic Games," Rogers, 16, said. "I had to win a national tournament and a qualifier to get here. These are elite guys from each country, and it's amazing to be No. 2 out of all of the competition. This is my first time overseas, so it's all new to me."
Rogers made quick work of his first opponent, Victorin Kouagou of Benin. He followed with a close victory against Egypt's Amr Ali, and also topped Christopher Aguon of Guam to win his pool competition.
"He didn't win the match, but he had the opportunity to wrestle for a gold medal," head coach Mark Halvorson said following Rogers' medal match. "There are a lot of positives he can take out of this as well. Now, he's got a taste of what it's like to be in an Olympics and world-class competition. He's got a lot to be proud of winning the silver medal - it was a tough competition."
Rogers will be a junior at Mead High School in Spokane, Wash. He was a 2010 Cadet Nationals champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. Rogers also claimed a 2010 FILA Cadet Nationals title in freestyle. He was a 2009 Cadet Nationals freestyle runner-up and won Schoolboy National titles in both styles in 2008. He was a Washington state high school champion in 2009, but missed the 2010 state meet due to an emergency appendectomy.
Additional Quotes (courtesy of themat.com)
Rogers: "The first match, it felt nice to get that out of the way. Usually you're a little nervous for that first one, especially since I've never really been to international competition so it's a newer experience. Once I got that first match out of the way, I started feeling a little more comfortable and felt a lot more confident going into the next matches."
Rogers: "We competed early, so I've been focused on preparing for the competition. I've seen all that's going on, and I'm really excited to get involved in all of the activities. It's just a really cool experience to meet people from other countries
No Ratings Yet
