10

Thursday, July 5, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

On Friday, there was an 
airplane hovering somewhere 
over the Midwest. This is not a 
shocking revelation, but what 
was in that plane makes the 
story intriguing.
Sitting 
inside 
was 
285-
pound wrestler Adam Coon, a 
recently-minted Michigan alum 
who had just qualified for the 
Senior World Wrestling Team 
— a glorious position paired 
with elite company.
For any other wrestler that 
weekend, it could be assumed 
that they would’ve been flying 
back home to celebrate or rest 
after their showing at the World 
Team Trials in Tulsa, Okla. But 
Coon is not any other wrestler.
After 
downing 
long-time 
opponent Robby Smith in the 
Greco-Roman 
World 
Team 
Trials, 
Coon 
couldn’t 
let 
himself celebrate. He had to fly 
to Bethlehem, Penn. to compete 
in the Freestyle World Team 
Trials. Attempting to qualify 
for both squads, Coon had to 
consistently remain in attack 
mode in order to see his goals 

realized.
Coon would then go on to drop 
the two matches — essential for 
making the team — to another 
former opponent, world bronze 
medalist Nick Gwiazdowski, in 
the Final X event at Lehigh.
It was a weekend to remember 
for the heavyweight with highs 
and lows, and, as he described 
it, the longest sleep of his entire 
life.
Coon’s 
two 
showdowns 
arose 
under 
very 
similar 
circumstances, but would end 
with two drastically different 
outcomes.
To kick things off, Coon began 
his World Team qualification 
campaign against a man he had 
just lost to in the U.S. Open, a 
tournament prior to the World 
Team Trials — four-time Greco 
World Team member and 2016 
Olympian Robby Smith.
In the U.S. Open, Smith was 
able to set the tone early and 
cruise to a 5-0 victory over the 
Michigan man. But since being 
named an NCAA All-American 
automatically qualified Coon 
for the World Team Trials, a 
rematch seemed inevitable.
Closing the gap set during 

the Open, Coon looked like a 
new man on the mat and out-
muscled Smith for a 3-1 first 
round win in a best-of-three 
series. Looking to put things 
away and earn his spot on the 
World Team, Coon entered into 
an impeccably close second 
match. Narrowly trailing late 
into the bout, Coon laid it all 
on the line and slammed the big 
man down for a last-second pin 
to put Smith away for good.
“It was a little different 
strategy 
that 
goes 
into 
wrestling with him,” Coon said. 
“I made some small adjustments 
in strategy, and it worked on 
a bunch of small positioning 
things that took a lot of work. 
And it was just that small 
change that ended up leading 
to a pin. I mean he’s a fierce 
competitor, so it was great to be 
able to take a couple away from 
him, but I know he’s gonna be 
able to come back very strong, 
so I have to make sure I’m ready 
to go when he comes back.”
Coon 
also 
found 
success 
in his ability to pummel with 
Smith and hold his position, 
which ultimately led to the 
victory. Being able to set your 

position against a guy with 
the command and upper-body 
strength of Smith is no easy 
feat. In fact, it had seemed 
almost impossible for Coon 
until the Finals.
Coon couldn’t revel in his 
achievement, though, as he had 
a plane to catch.
During his travels, Coon 
had to completely switch gears 
while 
attempting 
to 
avoid 
fatigue. Switching from Greco 
to Freestyle is a tall order as 
leg attacks are forbidden in 
Greco. Adding on an entire 
half of the body as a target can 
certainly throw a wrench in any 
wrestler’s approach.
“Once Greco was done, it 
was just a quick transition, (I) 
didn’t really have much time 
to celebrate,” Coon said. “Just 
get to the airport and start 
thinking about Freestyle, just 
getting my mind ready for the 
leg attacks because in Greco, 
obviously, you don’t have the 
leg attacks. So, it’s just thinking 
about a different style as we’re 
travelling through and just 
change your mind and recover.”
In 
Bethlehem, 
another 
familiar opponent was waiting 

for him. This time it was 
two-time 
NCAA 
Champion 
Gwiazdowski, 
commonly 
referred to as, “Gwiz.”
The Final X was not the first 
time Coon saw Gwiz on the 
other side of the mat. The two 
squared off most notably in the 
2015 
NCAA 
Championships 
where Coon fell 7-6 to the then-
reigning champ. With a notion 
of how to best defeat Gwiz, 
Coon gave the best-of-three 
series everything he had before 
falling in straight matches 6-1 
and 6-1, respectively.
It was here that Coon’s plan 
— to become the first man to 
qualify for both the Greco and 
Freestyle World Teams since 
1981 — came to an end.
“He did a really good job 
defending my stuff,” Coon said. 
“I, on the other hand, let him get 
to his attacks too much. I didn’t 
do a really good job executing 
the plan we had in place while 
he did, so that just gave him the 
results that happened.”
There’s no doubt that fatigue 
was another huge factor that 
played into this showdown. 
With hardly any recovery time, 
the mountain just seemed a bit 
too steep for Coon. But never 
the one to make excuses, the 
Michigan alum gives all credit 
to his opponent.
“Exhaustion might’ve played 
a factor, but at the same time, 
I’m not gonna make excuses,” 
Coon said. “He was better than 
me that day, and obviously, if we 
wrestle another day, I’d like to 
go after him again, but on that 
day he was the better wrestler, 
so he’s the World Team guy for 
sure.”
Coon can’t be that upset, 
though, as he did make one 
World Team. From here, Coon 
will train in anticipation of 
the World Championships in 
Budapest, Hungary in October 
of this year.
“It’s been a few years since 
I’ve been on one of these 
world teams, so I haven’t been 
wrestling 
[wrestlers 
from 
other countries] for a long 
time,” Coon said, “So I’m really 
looking forward to testing my 
skills against the best in the 
world just to see where I fit in 
on that pecking order.”
Being able to focus on one 
style will be good for the 
heavyweight, and with any 
luck, the plane to Budapest will 
be the only one Coon will have 
to take in his time competing 
for a championship.

Coon makes one World Team but falls in another

JACOB KOPNICK
Summer Managing Sports Editor

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN / DAILY
Former Michigan heavyweight Adam Coon qualified for the Greco-Roman World Team but came up short in the Freestyle World Team Trials against Nick Gwiazdowksi

