The wrestling community in Illinois has developed a way to honor the memory of Team USA member Jacob Curby, who unexpectedly passed away at the age of 25 this winter.

They are going to host an event called the Curby Cup, a Greco-Roman all-star dual meet featuring both nationally-ranked Senior-level wrestlers as well as bouts featuring Cadet and Junior level wrestlers from Illinois.

They will be doing exactly what Jake Curby loved to do. They will be wrestling.

The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 22 at Plainfield East High School in Plainfield, Ill. The Curby Cup will begin at 5:00 p.m. 

All proceeds from the event will benefit underprivileged wrestlers in Illinois who wish to participate in the ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet National Championships in Fargo, N.D. Tickets cost $12 for adults and $8 for students.

Many of those participating were teammates of Jake Curby when he trained at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan Univ. Others were friends with Jake during his years as a Senior-level Greco-Roman athlete. A total of 29 wrestlers in the event, representing all of the divisions, have a connection to wrestling in Illinois, the state where Curby went to high school and learned how to wrestle at a high level.

The Senior matches will include many stars, including 2008 Olympian and 2009 U.S. World Team member Spenser Mango (St. Louis, Mo./New York AC). Two other members of the 2009 U.S. World Team will also participate: Faruk Sahin (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) and Chas Betts (St. Michael, Minn./New York AC).

The age-group matches feature past Cadet National champions Jahwon Akui (Maywood, Ill.), Mike Sojka (Winnebago, Ill.) and Zane Richards (Carbondale, Ill.), as well as numerous USA Wrestling All-Americans on the Cadet, FILA Cadet, Junior and FILA Junior levels.

There will be one freestyle match on the card, featuring FILA Junior National champion and Junior Nationals runner-up Nick Dardanes (Oak Park, Ill.).

Some of the special highlights of the event include:
• Jake's coaches, Mark King from Lyons Township High School and Ivan Ivanov from Northern Michigan Univ. and the Suples WC, have been named honorary coaches. 
• Two of Jake’s teammates and friends, Cheney Haight and Jake Fisher, will give a technique demonstration narrated by two-time Olympian Jim Gruenwald, who was one of Jake’s coaches at Northern Michigan.
• Internationally-respected announcer and Illinois resident Sandy Stevens will serve as the public address announcer.
• Retired National Greco-Roman Resident Coach Anatoly Petrosyan will represent the USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman coaching staff.

“Bryan Medlin and Mike Powell have put together a great card of matches,” said Dave Curby, Jake’s father and a leader in the Greco-Roman community. “We are hoping for a full gymnasium. It promises to be a great evening to celebrate wrestling and the life of Jake.”

The event flyer for the Curby Cup captures the spirit of the evening. It reads:

“In recent years, Jake had been working as hard as he could to attain the ultimate goals in Greco-Roman wrestling – Olympic and World champion. Jake was taken from us early and was unable to complete his quest, but he remains a champion in our hearts. We will honor his career with some great wrestling matches.”

Anybody with questions should email NCurby@psd202.org

Those that can’t attend but wish to donate should make checks payable to IL/USWA and send them to “The Curby Cup,” c/o Plainfield East Wrestling, 12001 S. Naperville Rd., Plainfield IL 60585.

CURBY CUP
At Plainfield, Ill. May 22

Senior-Level Matches
Faruk Sahin (Colorado Springs, Colo.) vs. John Paun (Thornwood, Ill.)
Chas Betts (St. Michael, Minn.) vs. Nate Patrick (Naperville, Ill.)
Andy Bisek (Chaska, Minn.)  vs. Ryan Hope (Glenbard, Ill.)
Pete Gounaridis (Leominster, Mass.) vs. Octavious Bellamy (Oak Park, Ill.)
Spenser Mango (St. Louis, Mo.) vs. Lilshaun Coleman (Oak Park, Ill.)
Mark Stenberg (Lockport, Ill.) vs. Joe Rau (Chicago, Ill.)
Ellis Coleman (Oak Park, Ill.) vs. Joe Manzello (Leominster, Mass.)
Max Nowry (Wheeling, Ill.) vs. Jake Bellis (Bloomington, Ill.)
Brett Robbins (Bloomington, Ill.) vs. Tanner Andrews (North Aurora, Ill.)
Josh Castellano (Fenton, Ill.) vs. Dylan Reel (Washington, Ill.)
Corey Hope (Glenbard, Ill.) vs. Joey Moorehouse (Marengo, Ill.)

Cadet and Junior Level Matches
Freestyle – Nick Dardanes (Oak Park, Ill.) vs. Bo Schlosser (Bettandorf, Iowa)
Nick Drendel (North Aurora, Ill.)  vs. Rodrick Smith (Proviso, Ill.)
Zane Richards (Carbondale, Ill.) vs. Ben Whitford (Aurora, Ill.)
Sterling Hecox (Harlem, Ill.) vs. Josh Marchok (Schaumburg, Ill.)
Sammy Brooks (Oak Park, Ill.) vs. Jahwon Akui (Maywood, Ill.)
Mike Sojka (Winnebago, Ill.) vs. Charles Lewis (Thornwood, Ill.)
Luke Smith (Wheeling, Ill.) vs. Dillon Cowan (Harvard, Ill.)