 Coach Romano Notre Dame College down here at the National Convention. You're gonna do some recruiting here at the C3. Sure First things first Nobody recruits better in division two than Notre Dame College. Appreciate that. Thank you Anthony left. Yeah, right and I thought a lot of people thought right it was gonna fall off a cliff And I know you've probably heard that of course right but you guys are runner-up this past year We wanted the year and you wanted the year after he left actually the year That's correct. The year he left a year before that in other words the beginning of the year We wanted that year so you won two out of the last five. We've won two of the last five I lose track here since 14 since and 16 we won in 14 We were second and 15 In 16 we were second 17 we won last year we won so you guys have been First or second. Yeah, since all last five years since 13 correct That's and then in 2013 the first year we were in we were third. That's incredible. We were never not won a trophy We've won Between first and second. We've had nine national championships for but four trophies Because time for a trophy and we also. Oh, yeah, we know we all be able to go to trophy every year every year That's incredible first. How do you sustain it? You know, I'm talking needed First of your 70 years old. Yeah, so many of the oldest oldest coach here at the convention, right? probably Probably how do you do it? That's a good question. I get up every day and I just try to do the same things I've been doing and try to keep enough energy the energy is the key level because you know as you get older You know as much energy, but I still have a passion for the sport and I still can run the practices to where I want and Show the technique to where I want so that's that's my big thing That's my big thing. Why didn't you fall off a cliff after Anthony after why have you by well in my system? I at the other day It's a really good question the other day I wrote down on a legal pad the number of Assistance I've had in the 12 years. We've had the program and I've had 18 18 different people have been my assistants and yet we still win or come second every year in whatever division We're in because in the NEI we won four times, too We also won the club national tournament It's recruiting and it's a lot of things. It's coaching. It's recruiting. It's just the whole program and how we present it and Very very fortunate. Yeah, you look at you were raised into the first CEO coach and yeah And I think NCA while I mean there were other NCA coaches, but the first high school CEO coach Yeah, Mike Mokovic right Mike Mokovic. That's right. He's your coach. You can you rustle in the greatest high school program? You know obviously player and say that's right You know which we talked about before but to put it on camera, you know when I was in high school We never lost to do me. I never lost to do me We never we never lost and big Mike had the you know a lot of things that I do, you know He was innovative at that time in the 60s. That's a long time ago and you know and the techniques to you know Things have evolved Things that were done way back then are they're still done today, but of course a lot more You know people weren't diving underneath each other back then people weren't doing certain things people weren't you know head outside singles People weren't doing that. I mean they would tell us way back then if you put your head on the outside on a single leg You know you the guy would cross face you and you lose the move and you know that doesn't happen anymore You know now guys are doing all this crazy dive rolling How have you adjusted well, you know I've I've evolved and watched it and studied it and fortunately, you know, I You know, I don't do too many camps anymore but in my lifetime I did over 400 camps all over the country and I got exposed to a lot of different people all over the country from Myron Roger gone down and You just have to adjust and you have to learn and you have to study and you have to you know Pay attention and not and not think you know everything because you don't no one knows everything They might think they do but they don't you have to always evolve and and have an open mind and say, you know Yeah, that looks pretty good. You know, you know, even though maybe you haven't done that before you guys are loaded coming back again Yeah, we are you've had how many times his teacher been a national fund. He's rustled tears in the finals tears Yeah, it's two for two. We second twice. He's got two more years. You got him back. Yeah, you got a lot of guys back We have a we have a guy at every weight. I think and score. It's a national tournament. Can you win? You know, I think we'll be in the mix. I think we'll be in the mix St. Cloud's very good. I think we're in the hunt We have a rogue a team coming back We have seven men on my team who at some point in their career have been all Americans in D2 Seven men including and including that the top one be being Cameron who second twice We have two thirds coming back three thirds coming back who took third we have a good Ivan McClay graduate. He was national champ two years ago and third last year and we have a kid back in him I'm named Campos who's pretty tough kid We have we've we've pulled in My count for maybe five major recruit we pulled in Rodriguez from Ohio State who want to match at the Jose Rodriguez, so he's gonna make it to him. Okay, it's 41 pounder. So here's my question the real question for you and You coach at the Division one level at Penn State and wrestling is dying at the Division one level They're not adding that's for sure you guys are adding and I would like to say an alarming rate for you in Ohio, right? Yeah, Urbano, right? So so looking at teams this year, you know Notre Dame College is a newer program in the last decade Lake Erie College newer program That's tiffin. Yes, so you look at even just Ohio alone and you go nationwide Yes, D2's where it's where it's that enrollment driven is where it's at. You know D3, right? Yeah, why is that why is the future of wrestling maybe potentially in college wrestling D2 and D3? Well, because most of those institutions are smaller schools that are student driven. They want students They need students where in division one schools a huge, you know entities that are in the big 10 They don't need students. They got 40,000 or more students They don't need 30 more people on the campus But at a school like ours where there's only maybe 1200 people you had 30 or 40 students That's huge that that means a lot of money And so that's why that's happening and like you say we've added I think four teams Urbano Lander Davenport a school Wesleyan There's another one in there Kentucky Wesleyan. That's four and there was another one that I'm missing right now There's a ton. Yeah, it's it's amazing to see it's just growing even an AI Yes, you guys transitioned from an AI correct D2 Yes, so that was a kind of a transition when you look at but there's some teams that just stay on AI Yeah, that's right. Cumberland's I want to say a state and I have a good number, too There's probably you know 45 or 50 of those teams, too And so we're probably in the mid 60s or upper 60s before a year or so goes by and you know before it's over We'll probably have as many teams as division one, you know, because that's where they're adding for those reasons And it's a good thing. We just added more qualifiers now we're going to Going to six regions and three at each way class and before it was four regions four in each way class So now we got an 18-man bracket a 16-man bracket Mars lives, but yeah more is better So this is the first year and when we have our breakout meeting here at the convention will be told, you know Who's in our region? Where the site's going to be and etc. etc. So we're moving forward with more qualifiers, which is good. That's very good You know and so and it's a tough division You know not to be underestimated. There's some good kids in division, too. So I'm really good kids in division, too We added four Division one kids this year in our recruiting Zach Kelly came from Bucknell. He was a start of two years Like I mentioned Rodriguez from Ohio State He was in a national tournament one about a way Wade Hodges out of Maryland is on our team now And we picked up a St. Ed's kid who went to Missouri Jared Campbell who's going to be probably a 97 pounder. I'm excited. Yeah. Yeah, Jared Campbell's a monster He came at the beginning of last semester and he's eligible. We just didn't wrestle him because Missouri Was trying to get him big and so he came in real heavy Yeah, and he weighs probably about 270. Oh, wow And he was 220 pounder and then we he actually wrestled in Akron at the 213 weight He actually wrestled Colin Moore, Colin Moore. Okay. He took Colin Moore down once. Yeah I'm gonna be a couple duels this year. Yeah, we're gonna be at the Cleveland State We're gonna be at the matter of fact They'll how intercollegiate which is at Case Western, Ohio State's gonna be there with their whole team From what I understand and we wrestle Lake Erie College in a tournament there, Cleveland State I'll be at that. Do it. Yeah, Lake Erie College. That's always a barn burn. They got a new coach Yeah, he seems like a good man and you know, we added just found out this morning that the University of North Carolina Pembroke has joined our conference in the sport of wrestling as an affiliate So now our conference is getting a little bigger We only have only had three teams in the Mountain East conference that had wrestling teams So now we have four and then Urbana is adding wrestling. That's five. So we have five teams So we're getting close to having a conference before we know I've never been in a conference in in either NAI or D2 never been in the conference. It's always an independent schedule That's why I do so many open meets and then the second semester We do the national duels and then we do have some meets with Ashland Lake Erie and but those are all independent meets There are no conference meets with so we don't the only thing we have to shoot for is the regional championships in the national tournament Yeah, we have more kids coming in for recruiting here. Yeah, good. I'll be watching. Yeah, you got anything else for me No, it's really good I really appreciate all the hard work you've done and you stayed with it and you know the media and the way It's exploded with the sport of wrestling is fantastic. You know way way like just to throw it inside her This is really in my up my funny I got a copy the other day, which I had read in 1966 when I was a senior in high school And it was the front page of the amateur wrestling news in black and white It was the only media outlet in the sport of wrestling in a country the amateur wrestling that was it And you never found out anything until months later after like the world championships You find out a month later who won because no one knew you know unless you were there And so on the front cover was was Gables picture along with three other guys And they had listed the people with the highest winning percentage in the country and my name happened to be in there But Gables at the top and then I saved it and I thought look how far we've come from 1966 when black and white front page of the amateur wrestling news and that was the only thing that you read and it was just like small These are high school guys. They would say that's it That's it I went through every single name of the honorable mention everything and you know see if I recognize any of the names see if they Did anything after high school and some did and some didn't but you know the media is just like everything else exploded Which is help wrestling help wrestling a lot, which I like