Angel Escobedo is one of the top contenders to make the U.S. Olympic Team in 2012. Larry Slater photo.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Angel Escobedo is ready to fight for a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team in freestyle wrestling.

And he has the battle scars to prove it.

Two weeks after fracturing a bone in his face that caused a huge amount of swelling on his forehead at the Sunkist Kids International, Escobedo was back on the mat sporting two black eyes for the New York Athletic Club International.

Slowed by shoulder and knee surgeries the past two years, Escobedo showed he is progressing toward his Olympic goal by winning the New York AC title this past weekend at 55 kg/121 lbs.

Escobedo defeated 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Hazewinkel and Kyrgyzstan’s Nurlan Makenaliev en route to winning the title. Makenaliev placed ninth in the 2011 World Championships.

“Angel looked good this past weekend,” U.S. National Coach Zeke Jones said. “He did a nice job of getting his body smaller from Sunkist, and was moving well out on the mat. He was moving his feet well, attacking and scoring points. I like how he’s wrestling and he’s definitely getting back to top form.”

The U.S. has a rich history at Escobedo’s weight class.

In 2004, Stephen Abas beat 2000 Olympic silver medalist Sammie Henson in the finals of the Olympic Trials on his way to capturing an Olympic silver medal.

In 2008, Henry Cejudo downed Abas in the finals of the Olympic Trials en route to winning an Olympic gold medal.

Another memorable battle is expected to unfold at 55 kg/121 lbs. at this April’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City. Escobedo’s win in New York earned him a berth in the Trials.

Cejudo is back wrestling again, and won the Sunkist event last month. Nick Simmons placed fifth at the 2011 World Championships, qualifying the U.S. for the Olympics at 55 kilos.

And don’t forget about Hazewinkel, 2009 World Team member Danny Felix and 2010 World Team member Obe Blanc. Escobedo lost to Blanc in the finals of the 2010 World Team Trials. Blanc recently won a silver medal at the Pan American Games.

“Our weight class will definitely be one of the most competitive weights at the Trials,” Escobedo said. “That is starting to be the trend at a lot of the weight classes in the U.S. Whoever wins our weight class is not only going to the Olympics to represent the U.S., but to win a medal. I’m looking forward to the challenge. It will be very competitive.”

Shortly after finishing second at the 2010 Trials, Escobedo suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for eight months. He returned for the 2011 World Team Trials, but suffered a knee injury that knocked him off the mat for another couple of months.

“It was real frustrating with the injuries,” he said. “I put a lot of time and effort into the rehab on my shoulder. To come back and get hurt again, it was tough. You work so hard and then it is taken away again.”

Escobedo, 24, a past NCAA champion for Indiana, hopes a change in scenery will boost his chances. Escobedo is now training in Columbus, Ohio, at the Ohio Regional Training Center.
 
He now spends his days battling three of the top U.S. wrestlers at 60 kg/132 lbs. – past World Team members Reece Humphrey and Shawn Bunch along with 2011 Junior World silver medalist Logan Stieber.

“It’s a challenge,” Escobedo said. “I have to be on my A game all the time. I have to go into practice ready to scrap. It’s a great situation for me. If I can beat Bunch and Humphrey, I feel like I can beat anybody at 55. Bunch is so fast and explosive, and Reece is obviously very tough.”

Escobedo is now working with Ohio State associate head coach Lou Rosselli, one of the top freestyle coaches in the World.

“Lou’s a great coach,” Escobedo said. “He pushes us to the limits. Having him in my corner, he knows what to say at the right time and he knows what I need to do to get better.”

Qualifying for the Olympic Trials was a big first step in Escobedo’s quest for a huge year in 2012.

“It’s a big relief,” said Escobedo, who competes for the New York AC. “Now I can concentrate on training and not have that pressure to qualify.” 

Cejudo, who is less than a month older than Escobedo, also is training in Columbus now.

“Even though Henry stepped away for a couple of years, you can’t underestimate him,” Escobedo said. “He obviously knows what it takes to win. If he gets back to his 08 form, that’s Olympic gold medal form right there.”

Simmons is now the No. 1 guy in the weight class in the U.S.

“Nick was fifth in the World – that’s really good,” Escobedo said. “I’m sure he has gained a lot of confidence. He was a match away from being in the finals at the World Championships. He’s a very tough wrestler.”

Escobedo, an Indiana native, said he first started thinking about wrestling in the Olympics when he attended a wrestling camp in Pennsylvania.

“I was real young, and I saw Kurt Angle’s Olympic gold medal at the camp,” he said. “It opened up my eyes and I thought, ‘I want to do that.’”

Escobedo’s Olympic dream became more realistic in 2007 when he made the U.S. Junior World Team. He competed at the 2007 Junior World Championships in Beijing, China. The Junior Worlds were held in the same venue that the Olympics were contested in a year later.

“I think I was a little naïve at the time,” he said. “I didn’t realize what level other people in the World were at. There are so many wrestlers out there from other countries who are very good. It was motivating and inspiring to go through that experience. The foreign wrestlers have a totally different style than a lot of the guys you see in the U.S. I learned a lot from that experience. I knew if I could make a Junior World Team that I had a chance to make an Olympic Team if I kept improving.”

Escobedo will receive a sneak peek at the 2012 Olympic wrestling venue in London. He is scheduled to compete at the Olympic test event for wrestling there in December.

“It’s a great opportunity, and it’s definitely going to be a motivator for me,” he said. “It will be very exciting to see it. I am going to soak it all in when I am there. I feel like if I dream it, I can do it.”

Escobedo said the U.S. performance at the 2011 World Championships is a sign of what may be on the horizon for the American freestyle squad in London. The U.S. placed third at the World Championships in September.

“It was great to see the U.S. do that well,” he said. “It makes you proud to be an American wrestler. At the same time, we weren’t that far out of first. We can do it, and we are capable of doing it. We have a lot of motivation to be the best team in the World at the Olympics.”

Escobedo said staying aggressive and active on his feet are key factors to him achieving his goals.

“The more offensive I am, the more I win,” he said. “If I’m offensive-minded, I think I have a great shot of making the Olympic Team and winning a medal. My goal is not to just win a medal – I want to win an Olympic gold medal. That’s what I’m shooting for.”