Rise Above It: Talking Wrestling with Brian Roddy, Collin Palmer, and Jamie Clark. Part I of a two-part interview series.

(Ohio Wrestling Site Note: The following is a the first of a two-part interview series conducted by Tom Elmer, a.k.a. BigFan10, for Ohio Wrestling Site. Ohio Wrestling Site would like to extend a big thanks to Tom for this outstanding contribution).

“Rise above It” has been the motto of the vaunted Lakewood St. Edward high school wrestling team since it burst upon the national wrestling scene in the late 1970s. Bob Preusse, who covers the high school wrestling beat for Amateur Wrestling News, believes that St. Eds has been THE nation’s best team the last over that 25 year span, slightly edging out Blair Academy. The dual last season between these two high school wrestling titans was typical of the competition between these storied programs. Saint Edwards won by clinching the last match to edge Blair by two points. The win resulted in St.Edward capturing its 11th national championship and also ended Blair Academy’s 100-plus dual match win streak (dating back to a loss Saint Edward in 2000).

(above): In last year's state finals, Tyler Lambert found himself here in one of the worst places a wrestler in this state can be...underneath Collin Palmer. Palmer won by major decision for his second straight title. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News.

While their latest National Championship Banner has yet to be raised in the rafters of the St Ed’s gymnasium, this year’s squad faces the challenge of replacing half of its starting line up – Three time State Champion Sean Nemec, plus state champions Chris Honeycutt and Shawn Harris, and State Placewinners Dan Gonsor, Scott Elliot, Ben Rios, and Ben Kuhar. If Saint Edward is going to excel this season much of its success will depend on an outstanding trio of stars: the wrestler many feel is Ohio’s best- State Champion Brian Roddy Jr., two-time State Champion Collin Palmer: and state runner up/cadet national freestyle champion Jamie Clark. All three wrestlers are ranked in the top four nationally in their respective weight classes.

Ohio Wrestling Site: Can you describe what it was like starting your career as participating in the Ironman- the nation’s toughest high school tournament?

JAMIE CLARK: It was different as I was actually wresting in it and not watching it!

BRIAN RODDY: It was a little overwhelming. It was my first high school tournament so I was a little nervous about that.

OWS: I remember your match against Jared Platt from Blair at your first Ironman……

RODDY: That’s the match I would most like to do over again from my high school career. I was winning I think 4 to 1 and did something stupid and wound up getting pinned.

OWS: Collin – What about you?

PALMER: What I remember is was pretty sweet …a good experience as it was my first high school tournament and I did really well until the finals when I went in every direction that I shouldn’t have gone. Other than that, I had a lot of fun!

OWS: I remember watching you dominate Anthony Valles from Blair – who was rated pretty high despite the fact that you were unseeded…..

PALMER: That’s what is so great about the Ironman – no easy matches.

OWS: Let’s talk about the Beast of the East. Collin and Brian, you both wrestled there, what are your thoughts on the event?

RODDY: My freshman year I went 3 and 2. My sophomore year I was hurt and didn’t go.

PALMER: I won it my freshman year.

OWS: Do you wish St. Ed’s would have continued to wrestle at the Beast?

PALMER: Absolutely, yes. I hope we can go back and stop doing the Super 8. I don’t think we get the great competition at the Super 8 that we get at the Beast. You only get 3 matches and the last one is the tough one. When you go to the Beast You get kids from all over – everybody gets challenged quite a few times.

RODDY: The problem with the Beast is if you end up in the consolation bracket. I remember wrestling at 11:15 pm my freshman year.

PALMER: I just was planning to stay in the winner’s bracket [laughs].

OWS: Let’s talk about St. Ed’s schedule which is consistently one of the toughest in the country. Last year Brian I think you wrestled the majority of the nationally ranked 171 pounders.

RODDY: There might have been 10 or 15 nationally ranked guys I wound up wrestling.

OWS: And you beat them all after what had to be for you a disappointing Ironman.

RODDY: I don’t know what was going on when I came out to wrestle at last year’s Ironman. I wrestled pretty poorly but there was something about the loss (to Magrum) that flipped the switch and everything has been working out since.

(above): Jamie Clark lost a heartbreaker in the state finals here against Sam White in a battle of two of the nation's top five 103's. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News.

OWS: I’d say so – you didn’t lose again and you were signed in the summer by Northwestern. What about you Jamie? What did you think about the St. Edward schedule last year?

CLARK: I actually expected it to be tougher. My expectations were higher.

OWS: You wrestled the top 3 ranked l03 pounds in the country besides yourself –all from Ohio– and you expected it to be tougher? Had you wrestled David Taylor of St. Paris Graham before last year?

CLARK: No.

OWS: I remember your match against him at the Super 8. You ran out of time or you win in that one as well. Then you beat him at their home gym. What do you remember about that match?

CLARK: I didn’t put any pressure on myself and just went out and wrestled. I didn’t think about what was going to happen and I ended up wresting the best I could.

OWS: Didn’t you win in overtime?

CLARK: Yes, I took him down and got two back points.

OWS: What about you Collin? After a disappointing Ironman you also never lost again.

PALMER: Obviously I had another disappointing finish to start the season. I didn’t think I was challenged very much at all the rest of the season.

OWS: Let’s talk about the Blair match. Did the team think they could finally beat Blair after coming so close in the past?

RODDY: I think we came together as a group that match.

OWS: Without a doubt starting the dual at 160 was the best place to start that match for Ed’s. Brian– you were on fire against Peltier of Blair!

RODDY: I had wrestled him at the Ironman and beat him 10 to 7. I remember he was in an a shot at the end of the match and close to scoring. I didn’t really think about anything the second time – I just wrestled. I loved the situation. Our home crowd was going nuts. The gym was packed.

OWS: It was the first sell out at Ed’s in years.

RODDY: It’s real easy to get up for a match like that. The pressure being on us helped too.

OWS: You were ranked #1 and beat them at the Ironman. You knew Blair was coming for revenge. Jamie – you pinned Buxton which was huge. Had you ever wrestled him before?

CLARK: No.

OWS: Collin – I remember you wrestled Stanzione at last year’s dual against Blair.

PALMER: I really wanted to get bonus points in that match.

OWS: Let’s talk about the State Wrestling Tournament. Jamie, how did you feel heading into the States?

CLARK: Actually I was more nervous for the matches at States than any other.

OWS: Was that because you felt the pressure of having to be a four-time State champion?

CLARK: I thought too much about what was going to happen – if I didn’t do this.

OWS: More so than Fargo? In the State finals you took on someone who you beat at Ironman – Sam White – but who upset you at Medina and knows you really well as he spent some time living at your house and training with you. What happened?

CLARK: I didn’t do what I was taught. I thought too much and I didn’t concentrate on the match.

OWS: Brian – What memories do you have of the State tournament your freshman year?

RODDY: There was a lot of pressure to win. My goal as a freshman was to win States four times. I didn’t do it my freshman year – losing in the semi-finals.

OWS: But as an upperweight you placed the highest of any freshman before you.

RODDY: I wound up getting hurt in the quarter finals match freshman year.

OWS: What do you remember the first time you faced Kilgore in the finals?

RODDY: I warmed up too early. I put a lot more into that match than I think I needed to.

OWS: He kept hitting that fireman’s carry and I kept waiting for you to counter it. You seemed to be almost out of it.

RODDY: I just remember walking out there and being completely overwhelmed by everything that was going on. I have been going to the State tournament since I was a little kid. Finally to be out on the floor in the finals, it was overwhelming.

OWS: Where was the pressure coming from? The fans? Your coaches? Inside you?

RODDY: Not so much from other people, but interior pressure. I put a lot of pressure on myself to win. I think even going back to last year’s Ironman I was still doing the same thing. After that match, I lost to Magram I just didn’t do that (put pressure on myself) any more.

OWS: Certainly your match against Kilgore in the finals last year was one of the best I watched last season. You seemed so much more relaxed then the first time you wrestled them.

RODDY: I wrestled more relaxed. I came out and got taken down twice right off that bat, but didn’t quit.

OWS: Watching the match it seemed as soon as you took him down the light switch went on.

RODDY: I had some doubts going into the match – I think anyone would – but, I put them behind me and just wrestled hard.

OWS: You had to think before the season started that Kilgore would be there at the end.

RODDY: Yea, I knew it.

OWS: So did you try to scout him and figure out his style or did you just do what you had to do to get prepared for the season?

RODDY: I didn’t really scout him to see what he was going to do. I wrestled my own style and worried more about myself getting better at my own technique versus worrying about what he was going to do.

OWS: Collin – let’s talk about your freshman year at the state tournament. Your brother Lance was going for his fourth title. You had to be feeling the pressure that you HAD to win to be able to duplicate that feat.

PALMER: There was a lot of hype and excitement going into States. I was really pumped up and just wanted to go out there and finish my year with that one loss at Ironman and that’s that I did. I won my first matches easily, wrestled a senior in the semi-finals and beat him 5 to 2 and wrestled solid in the finals to win.

OWS: It was as impressive as State tournament one wrestler has wrestled, especially a freshman. You were dominating especially since Fields was unbeaten with something like a 34 and 0 record.

PALMER: I had (Fields) in a front head lock quite a bit and then I caught him in a pancake. I kept scoring points until he went to sit out and sucked him back and pinned him.

OWS: What are your memories of last year’s state tournament?

PALMER: I just went out with the same attitude I had as a freshman, not thinking about anything. I wrestle a lot better if I keep my head clear and just go out there and have fun.

OWS: The final match took forever- or so it seemed.

PALMER: It was getting nuts with all the injury times and blood times. Then I had him in an arm bar and half and was talking him over and they stopped it.

OWS: What are you guys doing to get ready for the 2007 – 2008 Season?
Brian, you are playing football aren’t you?

RODDY: I am, but I have been wrestling often, after football practice and I’m training with a couple of different partners that I train with in the off season.

OWS: You didn’t go to Fargo this year? What happened?

RODDY: I was injured. I went though therapy and that really helped. They wanted to do surgery, but I knew that would ruin the end of my high school career. I’m glad the other stuff worked.

OWS: What about you Jamie? What have you been doing to get ready?

CLARK: Practicing. Trying to get better every day. I spent my summer at camp.

PALMER: I took three months off from wrestling after the season. I concentrated on lifting and getting stronger to put some size on. In August I started practicing once a week then twice a week.

OWS: Jamie, you have excelled at freestyle – do you like that better?

CLARK: A lot better.

OWS: After an incredible Fargo a year ago without a point scored on you…..this year, you didn’t win, but placed second, what happened?

CLARK: I lost in the finals to Alan Waters. He slowed me down.

OWS: Are there any matches you guys are looking forward to this season?

RODDY: I don’t really care who I wrestle.

CLARK: I want the chance to wrestle Alan Waters again.

PALMER: Colin Johnston.

OWS: What happened the first time you wrestled him at the Ironman?

PALMER: I wasn’t ready to go. I was not into the match because I didn’t get warmed up in the morning. The last time I wrestled him I teched him and pinned him at the same time. When he took me down I think it was in shock that I got taken down.

OWS: And Johnson lost to Boris (Novachkov) in the finals – a 103 pounder the year before winning the Ironman at 125.

PALMER: I thought for sure Valles would come out of the other side of the bracket but he got hurt. Things happen. You gotta just forget about them and move on.

OWS: How did each of you end up at St. Edward?

RODDY: I started off my freshman year attending Mayfield High School and was in Mayfield the first three days of school. It always was a decision between staying at my home school or going to St. Edward. I quickly realized Mayfield wasn’t the place for me so I decided to transfer.

OWS: A decision that caused some, shall we say, spirited discussion on Cleveland.com’s wresting forum.

RODDY: I heard that I was recruited by St. Ed’s and whatnot. I remember telling Coach Urbas I wasn’t going to attend school there and he did not ask me any more questions. That was that. I came to him and said I made the wrong decision and he said no problem.

OWS: Looking back did you make the right decision?

RODDY: Absolutely. It was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.

OWS: So how did the Palmers end up at St. Edward?

PALMER: Lance was debating between Walsh Jesuit and St. Ed’s. He was actually enrolled at Walsh when he decided to go to Ed’s the week school started his freshman year. When I was a freshman, Lance was a 3-time State Champion so I figured at St. Ed’s I would have good partners and I have had good partners like Danny Gonsor, Sean Harris and Neil Birt to wrestle with. NOWS: most of these guys are gone, so it is going to be tougher to keep getting better. I think we need to get some lightweight coaches in the room.

OWS: Ok, lets end the discussion on the forums – Do the St. Ed’s coaches get on the mats and wrestle?

PALMER: Coach Hef does once in awhile.

RODDY: I’m not sure Lewis (Coach Urbas), knows how to wrestle [ everyone laughs].

(above): Roddy was on his way to a route against 3x state placewinner Dean Gaier here before Gaier injury defaulted. Photo Credit: Bob Tuneberg, Villager News.

OWS: Jamie, how did you get to St. Edward?

PALMER: His mom drove their car.

CLARK: Yea, my mom drives me to school every day. I was either going to Elyria Catholic or St. Ed’s.

OWS: Elyria Catholic? Do they even have a wrestling team?

CLARK: Erik Burnett was going to coach at Elyria Catholic so I tested there, but he didn’t, so I went to St. Ed’s.

OWS: How is the commute?

CLARK: The ride is only 30 minutes.

OWS: Tell me about your thought the first time you walked in the Ed’s wrestling room and saw all those framed bracket sheets of every State champ Ed’s had had – pretty damn impressive.

RODDY: To be honest, I didn’t think much about it.

CLARK: I thought I hope I don’t have to jump rope [ every one laughs]
Actually, I thought it was really cool.

PALMER: It does give you a lot of motivation to work hard by seeing all the State titles. Obviously, my brother Lance, was on the wall and in the room, so that helped a lot.

OWS: What are your personal goals for this season?

PALMER: One is to go undefeated this season and not have a match that I don’t win by at least eight points or a tech fall or pin.

RODDY: I think my goal is just to win … I just keep it simple.

OWS: Is a senior national title a goal?

RODDY: I am planning on going to Senior Nationals and Fargo.

CLARK: My goal is to get better every day, learn and to win every match.

OWS: Including a State Championship?

CLARK: Yes.

OWS: What about competing at the next level – college. Any goals for college?

RODDY: Same thing – just to win. Do I want to win an NCAA championship? There is no point to wrestle just to place in a tournament. You might as well set your goals high. If you are going to wrestle you might as well try and win it, or at least to think you are going to win it. If you don’t think you are going to win a tournament you might as well not wrestle.

PALMER: My goal is to stay healthy, to keep getting better and beat everybody I wrestle.

OWS: Does that include an NCAA Championship?

PALMER: Yea – a few of them.

OWS: Jamie, do you plan on wrestling in college or do you think you might pursue the freestyle track of the US Olympic Training Center like Medcaf did last season?

CLARK: I have thought of that and I might (pursue freestyle).

OWS: What do you want to do for your career?

RODDY: I haven’t declared a major yet. I am deciding between becoming a doctor or going into business. I haven’t decided which path I am going to take.

OWS: Jamie?

CLARK: Probably a dentist.

PALMER: You look like a dentist [laughs]

OWS: Collin?

PALMER: Business – maybe accounting. I would like to get into coaching. Maybe college coaching.

OWS: What about mixed martial arts? Wrestlers do pretty well and can make some money.

PALMER: Lance is looking at that.

This concludes part I of the “Rise Above It” interview series. Once again, stay tuned for part II, and a big thanks to Tom Elmer for this great contribution!

Please feel free to comment on this article on the message forum!

OhioWrestlingSite.com 2005