By Cody Goodwin
cody-goodwin@uiowa.edu

Perfection is supposed to be the impossible, the unattainable. It’s something all wrestlers strive for, but can never achieve.

Even the great Cael Sanderson, who drew up the blueprint for the undefeated collegiate career, will admit to his flaws. His record may showcase perfection, but that doesn’t mean he has never lost. He has.

But rather than focus on the numbers, the great Cael would point to the technique and attributes of a wrestler. He would rather make fun of his wrestlers for the fact that they can’t hit a perfect blast-double-leg takedown before he admits to their perfect season — one that probably included an NCAA National Title. (Cough, cough, David Taylor, cough, cough.)

He places a ton of emphasis on the technique of a wrestler, much more than the average Division-I wrestling program. If more coaches emphasized technique the way Cael did, the U.S. would bring back 18 gold medals from every World Championship tournament.

Very few wrestlers outside the Penn State program focus on their technique as intently as the Nittany Lions do. They’re dispersed and widely spread around the country, and show off their talents and make headlines along the way.

Ellis Coleman (NYAC) is one of these wrestlers. And his technique may not be perfect, but certain aspects of his repertoire have been claimed to be. His gut-wrench is a prime example.

Coleman doesn’t practice his gut-wrench until he gets it right; he practices it until he can’t get it wrong. And considering how important a gut-wrench is to a Greco-Roman wrestler (remember: no legs here), it makes the 20-year-old phenom that much more lethal.

This perfect gut-wrench — and yes, Coleman has it perfected — was put on display in his first match on Sunday night, during his best-of-three Olympic Trials finals bout with Joe Betterman (Sunkist Kids) for the 60-kilogram Olympic spot. Coleman clinched the first period with a push-out on Betterman and stellar defense, winning 1-0. The second period saw both athletes go to the clinch.

Betterman started down, due to Coleman winning the first period. Coleman elected to start in the normal par terre position — he began the final 30 seconds of the period by tapping Betterman’s back.

It was a struggle to begin with, but Coleman eventually locked up his gut-wrench. Once there, it wasn’t a matter of how Betterman would lose; it was a matter of when.

It took Coleman about six seconds. He dug his left knee into Betterman’s side and elevated his arms upward and to the left, driving Betterman at a 45-degree angle. Betterman was about to hop over and cause a scramble situation.

But Coleman’s perfect gut-wrenching-instincts kicked in — he quickly planted his feet, arched his back, and drove Betterman up and over his own arms, landing his shoulders to the mat and rolling him through for 2 points.

Coleman watched as the clock ticked down, and the scoreboard read 2-0 in his favor. That gut-wrench was not only a take-the-breath-out-of-the- crowd moment, but it was also done to perfection at the most opportune time.

It secured Coleman’s first victory, and placed him just one win away from the 2012 London Olympic Games.

DI reporter Cody Goodwin was a three-time all-Missouri wrestler and won a state Greco-Roman championship in high school. Follow him on Twitter.