Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State overtakes Ian Miller of Kent State.The way Cornell wrestling coach Rob Koll sees it, there is no longer much choice to be made between attending the Midlands Championships in Chicago or the Southern Scuffle at McKenzie Arena.
“I like the fact that you’re not wrestling in a blizzard,” Koll said when comparing his sport’s top two midseason events, which are both staged the week after Christmas.
“I like the fact that they make you feel special here instead of acting like they’re doing you a favor letting you in. This is a very warm, welcoming city. Why wouldn’t you want to come here?”
Koll isn’t just any coach. He’s guided the Big Red to 11 straight Ivy League titles and four top-five finishes in a row at the NCAA tournament. He wrestled in Chattanooga as a collegian for North Carolina in 1985 and at the World Cup in 1993. And former Baylor School standouts Jordan Leen and Corey Manson have wrestled for Koll at Cornell.
“To see how this city has transfomed itself since 1985 is amazing,” he said Thursday afternoon during the semifinals. “The downtown is incredible. We’ve taken our kids to the Aquarium and Lookout Mountain. I wish they’d make it a three-day event (instead of two) so our kids and their families could do a lot more.”