Carr vs. Metzger is the new “Bout of the Week” on USA Wrestling Members-Only website

<< Back to Articles
Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
04/27/2004


USA Wrestling has updated its new "Bout of the Week" on USA Wrestling's Members-Only website.    The featured match this week will be the Nate Carr vs. Andre Metzger Championship Series at 68 kg/149.5 lbs. at the 1988 Olympic Trials in freestyle wrestling.    The matches were held in Pensacola, Fla. Posted for your enjoyment are two matches, bout one and bout two, of this best-of-three championship series for a spot on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team. Both wrestlers were outstanding international freestyle wrestlers, among the best athletes of their generation, and fiercely competitive. Their two-match series featured tremendous action, many points, as well as individual emotion.    After defeating Metzger in this intense Olympic Trials series, Carr went on to his best international performance by winning a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Carr's only defeat came in the pool finals, when he was edged by Korea's Park Jang-Soon, 3-2. The start-sheets for that session had Carr wrestling well into the program, but a last minute change of the bout order had Carr and Park as one of the first bouts. In the bronze-medal match in 1988, Carr stopped Japan' Kosei Akaishi, 5-1. (Park won the silver in 1988, but went on to be an Olympic champion in 1992, beating American Kenny Monday in the finals).     Carr and Metzger were competing during the era dominated at their division by Arsen Fadzaev of the Soviet Union. Although Carr lost to Fadzaev at the 1990 Goodwill Games, Carr ended up as the gold medalist when Fadzaev fell to Canada's Chris Wilson. Among Carr's other international titles were a 1986 World Cup gold medal and a 1986 Pan American Championships title. Carr also placed fifth at the 1990 World Championships. He won three U.S. Nationals titles.    Carr was also one of the nation's best college wrestlers, claiming three NCAA titles for legendary coach Harold Nichols at Iowa State. He had a fierce rivalry with Oklahoma State's Kenny Monday, who he defeated in the NCAA finals two times. (Later, at different weights, they would be teammates on many U.S. teams).    Carr is from one of the nation's greatest wrestling families, the Carrs of Erie, Pa. His older brother Jimmy made the 1972 Olympic team while still a high school student, a legendary achievement in the sport. His other brothers achieved NCAA All-American status, including Fletcher, Joe, Michael and Solomon.     For many years, Carr was the assistant wrestling coach at the Univ. of West Virginia, where he received advanced graduate degrees. He then entered the ministry, and has been a pastor of a congregation in the state of Georgia. Wrestling fans may remember his inspiring sermon at the NWCA/FCA Breakfast during the NCAA Championships week. Carr was recently elected as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.    Metzger never made an Olympic team, but earned more World-level medals than Carr. He was a World bronze medalist at 62 kg/136.5 lbs. in 1979, then added a World silver medal in 1986 and a World bronze medal in 1987, both at 68 kg/149.5 lbs. He was also a medalist at a number of World Cups and won a Pan American Championships gold medal. Metzger added USA Wrestling national freestyle titles in 1984, 1986 and 1987. He was also a USA Wrestling Greco-Roman national champion in 1980.    Metzger made a big impact on college wrestling, as well, claiming two NCAA Div. I titles for the Univ. of Oklahoma (1981, 1982). He was a four-time All-American, with second and fifth place finishes the other two years. He had a wide-open style and was an inventive competitor, popularizing a cutback throw move known within wrestling as "The Metzger."    He was also a legendary athlete in high school from Michigan, setting the record at the time with five career Junior National titles (three in Greco-Roman and two in freestyle). That record stood for many years until Georgia's Sean Hage claimed six Junior National titles. Metzger also took a year off from his high school career to live and train in wrestling in Japan, getting an edge on his U.S. rivals and becoming an international competitor at an early age.     This popular feature will be changed on a regular basis, allowing members to enjoy many of the greatest matches in wrestling history.     Moving into the archived section of Bouts of the Week was last week's 2004 Jared Frayer vs. Eric Larkin men's freestyle match. Many other entertaining and historic matches are in the archive section for the Bout of the Week.     USA Wrestling has done a complete redesign and expansion of its Members-Only website, providing all USA Wrestling members with an impressive new resource stocked with interactive learning tools and entertaining features.     This on-line resource is available free of charge only to current members of USA Wrestling, one of the most exciting benefits of joining the organization.    USA Wrestling members will only need to enter the number from their 2003-04 membership card into an entry form, and the exciting new Members-Only page will become available to them.    RECENT BOUTS OF THE WEEK PLACED IN ARCHIVE  2004 Jared Frayer vs. Eric Larkin men's freestyle match  1987 Bill Scherr vs. Greg Gibson men's freestyle match  1992 Dennis Koslowski vs. Andrzej Wronski men's Greco-Roman match  1989 Jim Scherr vs. Makharbek Khadartsev men's freestyle match  2003 Sally Roberts vs. Marianna Sastin women's freestyle match  1996 Melvin Douglas vs. Mike Van Arsdale men's freestyle match  1988 Ike Anderson vs. Buddy Lee men's Greco-Roman match  1996 Tom Brands vs. Jang Jae-Sung men's freestyle match  2004 Eric Larkin vs. T.J. Williams men's freestyle match  1992 Rodney Smith vs. Cecilio Rodriguez men's Greco-Roman match  1988 Rico Chiapparelli vs. Lukman Jabrailov men's freestyle match  2003 Kristie Marano vs. Ewelina Pruszko women's freestyle match  1999 Stephen Neal vs. Andrei Shumilin men's freestyle match  2003 Cael Sanderson vs. Sajid Sajidov men's freestyle match