Brandon Slay: Shooting for the ultimate goal

Slay, a two-time NCAA finalist and '98 Penn grad, has his sights set on making the 2000 Olympics in freestyle wrestling. He's not your typical Wharton grad. No, Brandon Slay, of the Wharton class of 1998, is not grappling with risk management, leveraged buyouts or the perils of the investment banking world. Instead, Slay is grappling -- literally -- with some of the best athletes in the nation in order to gain a spot on the 2000 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team. After graduating from Penn, the two-time NCAA finalist moved to Colorado Springs, Colo., to be a part of the Freestyle Residency Program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. While his Wharton brethren are dealing with the demanding Wall Street grind, Slay has a different set of priorities. His coach at the USOTC, Olympic gold-medalist Kevin Jackson, said Slay's days are indeed full. "He trains twice a day, 8:30 in the morning till 10:00," Jackson said. "Sometimes it might be weight training or conditioning. Other times, it'll be wrestling or working on technique. "Then the afternoons we're definitely on the wrestling mat at 3, getting an hour and a half or two hours of actual competition or combat." It doesn't stop there either. "We also do some cross-training," Jackson said. "We swim on Wednesdays and we do some other cross-training on Saturdays and Sundays." Slay also manages to work part time for Charles Schwab in between practices. But Jackson said that despite his grueling routine, Slay never lets up. "Brandon's a horse," he said. "He trains like a champion daily. He comes into practice motivated and he does everything full-tilt." Doing everything full-tilt is nothing new for Slay, the most successful wrestler in Penn history. In fact, he had to go full-tilt in high school in Amarillo, Texas, just to be the most successful Brandon on his team. At one point coach Johnny Cobb's Tascosa High School wrestling team sported three wrestlers in back-to-back-to-back weight classes named Brandon. They were all state finalists. "It became known throughout the two or three states where we competed as 'The Killer B's,'" Cobb said. "And they were all just really studs." Such competition led folks in Amarillo to doubt whether Slay, who had success in junior leagues before high school, would even make it as a varsity wrestler. "He did well when he was in some of the heavier weights when he was a kid, then when he got to high school I know lots of comments were made, 'Well he's really going to find out what it's like to wrestle those really stud heavier guys,'" Cobb said. "As it turned out, he just kept winning and winning, proving everybody wrong." It didn't take Cobb long to realize what he had in Slay. After competing at the varsity level as a freshman, Slay advanced to the Texas state championship finals -- a feat almost unheard of by a lowly frosh. "I can assure you that no one at that time had any idea he was going to turn out to be the wrestler he became," Cobb said. After losing in the finals his first year, Slay rattled off three consecutive state titles. And that's when Slay's life took a major turn northeast. Courted by a number of prestigious wrestling programs across the Midwest, Slay could have easily gone to a school closer to home. Instead, Slay opted for Penn. Choosing the school both for the quality of its wrestling program and the quality of its academics, he landed himself in West Philadelphia -- a bit of a change of pace from Amarillo. "It was a tough deal for him to go that far away in the beginning, but he's a tough kid and was very focused on what his goals were," Cobb said. Penn wrestling coach Roger Reina said that while Slay came a long way from home, he did a lot of growing up at Penn. "Brandon grew in a lot of different ways, wrestling being a part of it," Reina said. "Brandon grew tremendously academically and intellectually here. Personally and socially this was a very different environment than what he was used to." Slay made steady progress as a Quaker, rising to become one of the nation's elite. In his freshman year at Penn, he qualified for the NCAA championships but did not win a match. His sophomore season yielded the same results. He finished off his Penn career with two straight appearances in the NCAA finals, coming up short in both. Last year, Slay lost a hard-fought, 7-5 decision to Iowa's Joe Williams. Slay knew the next step was to move back into freestyle wrestling -- used in international competition -- as opposed to the collegiate style he competed in at Penn. "He's always been more successful in the international style as opposed to the collegiate style," Reina said of Slay, who competed on three world age-group teams before even coming to Penn. "The reason for that is Texas high school wrestling is not very strong. He naturally had a lot of success there very easily, therefore his skills in that particular style weren't as challenged." In addition to feeling more comfortable in freestyle, Slay also welcomed the move back to the Midwest, which put him a lot closer to home than Philadelphia. In less than a year at Colorado Springs, Slay has already made significant progress. Last October, Slay placed third in the Sunkist International tournament, followed by another third-place finish at the Winter Classic at Colorado Springs in November. But Slay's most impressive feat came on December 7. Where? Sydney, Australia. Where else? In what Slay called "one of the best freestyle performances of my career," the 167.5-pounder pinned three of his four opponents en route to a resounding tournament victory. On the way to the top of the medals stand, Slay beat the 1996 Olympics bronze-medalist from Japan and in the finals pinned a wrestler from Poland who is currently ranked No. 6 in the world. For his efforts, Slay was voted outstanding wrester of the tournament. "[The win in Sydney] was definitely good for my visualization and good for my confidence," Slay said. In March, Slay will do more globe-trotting, as he is scheduled to appear in tournaments in Poland, Bulgaria and Italy. Slay said he didn't mind all the traveling, but welcomed the opportunity to see so many different parts of the world. "I'm 23," Slay said. "I don't mind living out of a bag." They are all preps for Slay's biggest test, however, which will come in April at the National Open Championships in Las Vegas. The results of that tourney determine the seedings for the World Team trials in June. The top three place-winners will represent the U.S. in international competition in 1999-2000 year. They will be considered national team members and receive a salary. In the spring of 2000, the National Open will set the seedings for the Olympic Team trials. The winners then travel to Sydney. "He has the proper work ethic, he has the physical and mental abilities to accomplish his goal [of making the national team]," Jackson said. "It's just a matter of myself and USA Wrestling giving him the ideal situation where he can work to improve his overall wrestling skills, his conditioning and his power base. "I definitely see a champion in him." Cobb also said Slay has a legitimate shot at making the National and Olympic teams. After all, he has seen people underestimate Slay before. Cobb said that Slay's style suits the freestyle brand of wrestling perfectly. "Brandon's style works real well for him in freestyle," Cobb said. "He's got a gut wrench in freestyle -- I don't know anybody he hasn't turned with it." Reina agreed that one of Slay's biggest advantages in competing for the Olympic team is his comfort zone in freestyle wrestling. "The scoring and the length of the match favors more explosive and powerful wrestlers [like Slay]," Reina said. "In collegiate style, the matches are a little bit longer and are about maintaining control as opposed to being explosive and powerful." Another edge for Slay is that the Olympic Team trials will be held in Dallas. Slay was thrilled to learn he would have the home-mat advantage in such a big tournament. "Now one of the most important events in my career is in my home state," Slay said. Slay may need any advantages he can find, because a likely opponent at the Olympic trials is none other than Williams, who has been training with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. But for some reason, it seems the wrestler who had Slay's number throughout their college careers may have more than a crowd against him. Slay has already captured a win in Sydney and the trials are in his backyard.

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