They call themselves Gladiators and they work wonders from inside their matted mecca in the mall.
“I’m not here working everyday to take second,” said Michael Mangrum, a three-time state champion wrestler from Auburn Riverside High. “I’m out here working my butt off to take first.”
Mangrum is one of several standout wrestlers who converge at the spacious Vision Quest Sport and Fitness wrestling area inside the SuperMall to train long and hard.
Good wrestlers go seasonal, but Mangrum and his cohorts work year round, determined to get faster, quicker and stronger on the mat.
Mangrum, who went 130-2 in his high school career, now competes on scholarship at Oregon State University. But he wouldn’t have made it to the Pac-10 Conference level without the support of his coaches, namely Tigart Davtyan, who has helped develop a successful program at Vision Quest.
Since the program was established six years ago, Vision Quest Gladiators have emerged as one of top clubs along the West Coast. The club has produced 48 state high school champions and 36 scholarship winners who either received aid at the Division I, II or junior college levels. Sixteen area high schools feed into the program.
In addition, the Gladiators’ Kirk White went on to post a second at the PanAm Games and a third in the Olympic trials. In fact, 19 club wrestlers have worn national crowns.
Winning tradition
The club has a long list of championship alumni from the Auburn area who excel at the collegiate level. Those include state champions Matt Sencenbaugh (Stanford), Shane Onufer (Wyoming), Eric Jones (Wyoming), Chase Smith (Wyoming) and Tyler Bowles (Arizona State).
Jake Swartz soon will join older brother Kurt on scholarship at Pac-10 powerhouse Boise State. The 189-pound Jake Swartz completed a record-breaking senior season, becoming Auburn High’s first three-time state champion with a 148-12 career record, the most wins in school history.
Wayne Swartz also competed on the collegiate level. The Swartz brothers, led by their father Brad, CEO and president of Vision Quest, continue to compete together successfully on the national freestyle stage.
On a given week, Vision Quest works with 100 wrestlers of all walks, ages and abilities.
The program continues to shape tomorrow’s champions, providing world-class coaching in a good, safe environment.
Above all, wrestlers are exposed to stout competition, while receiving proper training and advice, including nutrition, technique and treatment.
“A big part of my success is with my six years in the program,” Mangrum said.
Brad Swartz, who competed at Oregon State, wanted to provide a good, safe environment for wrestling, surrounded by good people. He also wanted to work with his sons
Many wrestlers do not have a place to go once the high school season ends. And finding good competition often is difficult, he said.
Vision Quest’s center succeeded in bringing aboard good personnel, including Davtyan, a former Armenian national champion who has trained a string of state, national and world champions. Davtyan is the backbone, the facilitator and motivator of the program.
“They’re awesome, they’re intense,” said the 141-pound Mangrum, a national champion who is training for the international stage. “They taught me never to give up … and to keep going.”
For Brad Swartz, the payoff is watching kids blossom over time.
“It’s taking a troubled kid with above-average talent, changing their life, training him for several years, getting him a full-ride scholarship and then getting a phone call from them at the NCAAs thanking you,” he said.
Brad Swartz got such a call from Onufer.
Wrestling, if taught right, can play a strong role in a person’s life, Swartz said.
His program embodies what the sport is all about.
“Once you handle conflict on the mat, you can handle other things (in life),” he said. “Like Dan Gable said, ‘Once you wrestle, life’s easy.’ “
