| New area club coach Erkin Tadzhinetov discusses the team’s options with Carbon County Recreation representative Frank Ori. |
Area wrestling enthusiasts along with representatives from Utah Valley University have created a program to supplement Carbon High’s wrestling program during the long off-season.
“We are looking to do something so these kids can keep training during the off-season,” said new club team organizer Paul Martinez. “But we also wanted to give kids in the community a chance to have something productive to do this summer.”
The new club team will be coached by Erkin Tadzhinetov, assistant wrestling coach at Utah Valley University under head coach Greg Williams.
Tadzhinetov is a nine time national champion, three time world junior champion, two time Asian wrestling champion and two time UVU athlete of the year.
He plans to come down two to three times a week to provide instruction and training for the new team under UVU’s Wolverine wrestling. The team plans to start training right away and will provide assistance to all those who qualify through Carbon County Rec. and league organizers.
The team has at its core three of the county’s finest wrestlers in Wyatt Martinez, Kenny Wood and Bryce Jackman.
Both Martinez and Jackman will wrestle for Team Utah after qualifying for the prestigious team while wrestling for team Elite.
The team is planning to attend meets all over the western region including national meets in Fargo, ND; Denver, CO; Pocatello, Idaho and Salt Lake City.