IOWA CITY – Officials don't award points lightly at the Olympic wrestling trials, and Mark Hall II was equally stingy with himself on Sunday. After his first Olympic trials experience, the Apple Valley senior graded his performance as a 6 or 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Still, Hall viewed that as a victory. At age 19, the six-time state champion is adjusting his mind-set, learning to value the fight as much as the reward. Hall won his first match in the 74-kilogram freestyle class Sunday, then lost to Andrew Howe, a 2010 NCAA champion and assistant coach at Oklahoma. Howe made it to the finals, while Hall went 1-1 in the consolation bracket.
Going into the trials, Hall's goal was to win. On his way out of Carver-Hawkeye Arena — and on to college wrestling at Penn State, plus national and international freestyle competition — he saw things differently, thanks to a weekend that lifted him to a new level.
"I think now, I'm starting to grow as a competitor and as a person,'' said Hall, who won a cadet world championship in 2014. "My goal from here on out is to just wrestle hard and not think so much about winning.
"If I just wrestle, I can go with the best of them. I know it. My coaches know it. My family knows it. I'm not disappointed at how this weekend went. I had a good competition.''
Hall won a 13-11 decision in his first match, against Logan Massa — a childhood friend from Michigan and a Wolverines freshman. He lost by technical fall to Howe, then beat Quinton Godley 11-5 before dropping a 14-5 decision to Adam Hall.
"I wasn't at my best, by any means,'' he said. "But I'm learning. That's the biggest part.''
Team USA named
In addition to awarding Olympic berths, the trials determined USA Wrestling's national team for 2016-17. The top three finishers at each weight made the team. They will receive stipends to fund their training and money to cover the cost of traveling to competitions.
