WVU’s Felix to Compete at Chicago Cup
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (November 12, 2009) – West Virginia University assistant wrestling coach Danny Felix will be one of seven Team USA Men’s Freestyle Team members competing against top-ranked Russia in the Chicago Cup. The international-friendly dual is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 15, at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago, Ill.
Felix made his first U.S. World Team earlier this year and competed at the 2009 World Wrestling Championships in Denmark in late September. He will face Russia’s Nariman Israpilov, a 2008 Junior World Champion and a 2009 European champion, at the 55 kg/121-pound bout.
“They're the No. 1-ranked team in the world,” Felix says of Russia. “Their lineup is going to be solid. He (Israpilov) very well could have been at the World Championships, but Russia didn't take him for some reason. I'm going to have to be on point, wrestle a smart match and carry what I've gained from the World Team training camps into this match. It's going to be exciting.”
Before competing at the World Championships, Felix worked out with the World Team and is just one of three members on the prestigious squad who will be competing this weekend. The two other teammates from the World Team are Trent Paulson and Tervel Dlagnev, both also teammates of Felix’s from the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club.
“The confidence that I gained in those three-and-a-half months of training put me at another level,” Felix admits. “I'm a different wrestler than what I was when I made the World Team. I'm a lot better and my confidence is high. The combination of the two makes me a hard guy to beat. I look forward to a tough match. This guy is real aggressive. He's not a typical international wrestler who lays back. He likes to attack and score points.”
After returning to Morgantown from the World Championships, Felix continued his rigorous training regimen with the Mylan Olympic Development Program, where Felix has been now for four years.
“It’s a great honor,” Felix adds of being able to wrestle at the Chicago Cup. “To be able to represent my country and be the No. 1-ranked guy in the United States is a neat feeling. It’s a feeling I’ve been waiting for, for a long time. Now that it’s here, it’s going to be mine for as long as I want it to be. To be able to wrestle in the Chicago Cup is an honor, but I’m happy to participate and be one of the World Team members and represent my country.”
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