Monday, Sept. 9, 2013 | Volume 209 | Number 10 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890. | A 2010-11 ACP Pacemaker Award winner
REVERSAL of
B
By Alex.Halsted @iowastatedaily.com
FORTUNE
utterflies lingered in Kevin Jackson’s stomach, and confidence gave way to anxiety as he looked at the screen of his computer Sunday morning, watching as the International Olympic Committee made a decision about the sport he has dedicated his entire life to. Jackson had felt this anxiety before, but that was when he walked out to the mat for his gold medal match in Barcelona at the 1992 Olympics. Now, he was watching, hoping that other wrestlers could continue to dream for the same thing he achieved. “I got nervous; my nerves kind of got to me,” Jackson said. “I was kind of surprised how it took me over at that moment, because prior to it, I wasn’t feeling that way, that level of anxiety.” “It felt a little bit like walking out into your Olympic Games finals match.” Wrestling’s proverbial arm was lifted into the air Sunday when the IOC announced the sport had defeated baseball/softball and squash to earn its place in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. The wrestling community was jolted in February when the IOC announced its decision to
drop wrestling as a core Olympic sport following the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In the seven months leading up to Sunday’s vote, wrestling icons around the world sprang into action. In May, the IOC narrowed a list of eight sports to three: wrestling, baseball/softball and squash. One would have the opportunity to gain reinstatement in Sunday’s vote. “When we got dropped, it felt like a loss,” said Jackson, who won his gold medal match in 1992 and has coached ISU wrestling since 2009. “I know any wrestler would tell you, you always learn more from losing than winning.” When threatened in February, the wrestling world learned it had work to do. International wrestling body FILA revamped its organization in the months following the announcement. FILA gained new leadership, added women’s weight classes, and altered rules to make the sport easier to understand and more entertaining. The threat of losing wrestling as an Olympic sport hit close to home around the state of Iowa, which has a rich history with Olympic gold medalists and hosted the 2013 NCAA Championships for wrestling in Des Moines. Iowa State has had six Olympic gold medalists in wrestling, most recently Jake Varner at the 2012 Olympics in London.
We came close to death, now we’ve got to do everything we can to show our appreciation for living.” Former ISU wrestling coach Bobby Douglas
Varner was wrestling in Bulgaria when he heard wrestling had been dropped. That announcement, he said, came as a punch to the stomach just months after he had brought back Olympic gold. Sunday’s announcement gave him comfort that other children can share his dream. “When I won, it was kind of a feeling of, ‘You did it.’ It was just one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had, knowing that I accomplished something I had been working for pretty much my whole life,” Varner said. “We got [wrestling] back at least through 2024, hopefully forever. “Every kid should have that opportunity to reach the highest goal, the highest level of their sport.”
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Retreat helps students learn how to LEAD at Iowa State Participants say program teaches how to reach out and network Editor’s note: Courtesy of Miranda Fair
Senior Daniel Hekter, center, runs for the army physical fitness test at Leadership Development and Assessment Course. Cadets perform in a variety of physical fitness strength tests.
Excellence in leadership ROTC battalion achieves greatness in course tests By Michelle.Schoening @iowastatedaily.com The Cyclone Battalion achieved high honors at this summer’s Leadership Development and Assessment Course in Fort Lewis, Wash. Twenty-seven cadets from Iowa State, Grandview, Buena Vista and Drake, which make up the Cyclone Battalion, took part in this summer’s LDAC. During the 29 day course, cadets were assessed on their leadership ability, performance with small and large units, land navigation, physical fitness, administrative challenges and an additional 17 dimensional attributes. Cadets must also be able to react as leaders by completing the Field Leader’s Reaction course. The course is an obstacle that requires an in-depth thinking process which assesses cadets’ ability to be an agile and adaptive leader. The Cyclone Battalion triumphed during the overall category at LDAC. The battalion received the highest Army physical fitness test, with a score of 292.40 out of
a possible 300 points, for the second year in a row. “It speaks volumes of our program and how we perform as athletes,” said Steven Brown, cadet battalion commander and senior in finance. The battalion also had 44 percent of the cadets receive an overall E ranking, which means they exceeded the standard. Also, 37 percent of the cadets were top five in their platoon. Each platoon contains roughly 48 cadets from across the country. Additionally, 10 out of the 27 were ranked in the top 10 percent in the organization. This final grade is determined primarily by their leadership evaluations, but also by two peer evaluations, their physical training score, their GPA, land navigation score and a teacher, assessor and coach evaluation. Throughout the course, cadets are assessed by captains, lieutenants and noncommission officers from around the country. “These cadets have bought into the program. They bought into the culture of excellence, the culture of success and they want to do well,” said Lt. Richard Smith, professor and chairman of military sci-
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Two members of the Daily’s production staff were among the LEAD retreat’s attendees.
By Delaney.Vierkandt @iowastatedaily.com In effort to build relationships and grow as leaders, about 50 students attended a Leadership Enrichment and Diversity retreat at the Boone Y-Camp. Carly Taylor, general co-president of the Homecoming Central Committee, said her expectations were exceeded during her first experience at the retreat. “It was such an interesting experience to look at all of the people who participated in this retreat and think that we were all organizations and people trying to benefit Iowa State as a whole, and truly get the most out of our collegiate experiences,” Taylor said. Karl Kerns, general co-chairman of Veishea, said he felt building relationships with the other leaders while attending the LEAD retreat was very important and beneficial.
Courtesy of Timothy Reuter
Students build an airplane during the 2013 LEAD retreat in Boone, Iowa. Student leaders had the opportunity to participate in various team-building exercises.
“It was great to network with all the different bodies at Iowa State,” Kerns said. “From a Veishea standpoint, we like to include student groups so we can reach out to the students in an easier way.” The event hosted multiple speakers from within the university, giving the students the chance to hear from university leadership. “One of the most interesting things I will take out of this retreat was a comment made by Iowa State’s senior vice president and provost, Jonathan Wickert, and that was that if everything is a priority, nothing is,” Taylor said.
“I think this can translate both into life and every organization on campus. It is about focusing on what really needs to be accomplished, as well as focusing on particular goals.” The students participated in many different activities, including team building exercises, discussions on leadership, conflict resolution and group dynamics. There were also icebreaker activities and a bonfire. The students that attended this 24-hour retreat had to come up with something called an “elevator pitch” to share with
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