For Frank Molinaro, May 11 and Mountain View Country Club will be forever linked to his Olympic wrestling memories.
That was the day and the place Molinaro, the 27-year-old Penn State assistant wrestling coach, found out that his rollercoaster ride to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic games had just crested another summit.
Molinaro had more ups and downs in a month’s time than most athletes can cram into a lifetime.
He won the Olympic Trials at 65 kilograms/143 pounds on April 10 as the No. 9 seed. But because the United States hadn’t qualified that weight for the Olympics, Molinaro had to place in the top three at a tournament in Mongolia on April 24 or in the top two at tournament in Turkey on May 8.
He went 1-1 in Mongolia, but bounced back with a 4-1 record in Turkey, finishing third, one agonizing place short of an Olympic berth. However, rumors swirled in Turkey about doping violations at his weight that could open the door for Molinaro to squeeze in.
The next three days were agony, he said.
“It was really tough actually. I had to kind of refocus my perspective. I was trying to stay balanced and, to be honest, I didn’t do a really good job with it. I was staring at walls and not sleeping much. I kept praying and I really believed that I was going to get it, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up,” Molinaro said May 16 at the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex.
“It was really emotional going from being really high and really low. I really had no stability throughout the whole process until I found out, so that’s obviously why I believed.”
Molinaro, who said he’s “getting better” as a golfer, was trying to relax on the links on May 11 and was ignoring his phone. He had just parred four holes in a row when his phone rang and he answered it.
“I picked up my phone and my friend said, ‘You’re the man!’ I thought, ‘Why did he say that?’ I hit menu on my phone and my phone died. I sprinted back to my car and plugged it in and I had 20 messages. I was pumped,” he said.
It ended a whirlwind month in which Molinaro experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows.
Molinaro thought his Olympic dreams had died on May 8 after a 5-2 quarterfinal loss to Boris Novachkov, of Bulgaria, in the second World Olympic Games qualifier at the Bagcilar Sports Complex in Istanbul, Turkey.
“That was probably a defining moment in my life. After that happened, I was crushed. I was just completely broken down. I can’t even really describe the feeling. I’ve never really felt that before,” he said.
However, he dug deep into his well of mental resolve to somehow shake off that loss and post two more wins for a bronze-medal finish.
Whispers of doping violations at two previous tournaments meant there was a sliver of hope that Molinaro’s gutsy finish would be enough to earn him a coveted spot for the Rio de Janeiro Games in August. Three days later those whispers became fact.
“It’s really special to represent my family, Penn State wrestling and God. It’s really, really a privilege and I’m extremely grateful to be given the opportunity when it looked like it was over. I’m just trying to stay focused on what I have left but also enjoy the whole process of becoming an Olympian,” Molinaro said.
Molinaro’s improbable journey to the Olympics started on April 10. He was the ninth seed at the U.S. Olympic Freestyle Trials in Iowa City, Iowa, but roared to the championship in what is arguably the U.S.’s deepest weight class.
The U.S., however, had not qualified the weight for the Olympics, so Molinaro had to place in the top three at a World Olympic Games qualifier in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on April 24. He went 1-1 and was eliminated from medal contention.
His last chance came in Turkey two weeks later, but he needed to finish first or second to qualify the weight for U.S. He won two matches and then fell to Novachkov, a three-time NCAA All-American for Cal Poly.
“I went into the backroom and was laying down and I was just crying for like 45 minutes and (U.S. national freestyle) coach (Bruce Burnett) came up to me and at this point I hadn’t even thought about wrestling. I don’t know why. I was just thinking about how I didn’t win,” Molinaro said.
“He said, ‘I love you kid, but if you have any chance of qualifying you have to get up and win these two matches.’ It was Belarus and Khazikstan. I was taking my shoes off when he was telling me this. So I’m like, all right. I’ll put my shoes back on. He’s like, ‘Yeah, hustle up, too. You’re on deck.’”
Burnett and Cody Sanderson, Penn State’s associate head coach, who had traveled with Molinaro to Mongolia and Turkey, had heard rumors of doping violations and knew a slim chance remained that Molinaro could earn a wild card berth. But he had to finish third to be considered.
“Not to sound dramatic but I felt like like at the time I couldn’t even stand up, couldn’t even stand up and walk back to the place where we were sitting. Then we got my stuff back on and Coach Cody just kinda reminded me that I was tough and I’ve trained hard and that I’d be fine, and he kind of — the biggest thing was just being there for me. Knowing that they felt the same pain that I felt. They knew how bad I wanted it,” Molinaro said.
Molinaro gathered himself and defeated Dauren Zhumagazyyev, of Kazakhstan, 4-1, to get into the bronze medal match against Azamat Nurykau, of Belarus. Nurykau had earned a reputation as a dirty wrestler and did nothing to dispel that reputation against Molinaro.
“Then the one for bronze, that was the Belarussian and that was a fistfight, for bronze. It was probably the ugliest wrestling match I was ever in. Everybody kind of knows that guy has a reputation; he’s dirty. He scratched my eyeballs and he was head butting me and doing everything he could,” Molinaro said.
“I kind of needed that match, especially with where I was at mentally and physically. I think his biggest mistake was getting me fired up because I like to wrestle those matches any day.”
Molinaro scored the only takedown of the match, received a point on a pushout and got two points when Nurykau was penalized twice for illegally striking Molinaro in a 5-2 win.
Three days later, word came down of his Olympic berth.
“It’s great to see his hard work and discipline pay off. It doesn’t always pay off. It’s an ultra competitive world and when it does you definitely have to be happy and celebrate,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said.
“With him, he’s always worked hard and always been committed. I think he just dedicated himself more to making the team this year. From where he was in December, to where he was in March, to where he his now, it’s really a great testament to him and his toughness and dedication to being the best that he can be.”
Both Molinaro and Cael Sanderson pinned a lot of the credit on Cody Sanderson.
“That’s one of Cody’s strengths for sure (getting to know people). He’s just a guy that you trust and are confident in. He understands the mental side of it. I know when I was competing he was right by my side,” said Cael Sanderson, who won an Olympic gold medal in 2004.
“He was right by Frank’s side as they traveled the world multiple times. He brings that kind of calmness and confidence because that’s just who he is. The loyalty and trust is big.”
Molinaro has a full schedule between now and August. He has training with the U.S. team in Colorado Springs, tournaments in Germany and California and only a few weeks in State College with his wife, Kera, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child. Kera is due to give birth in August.
He said he hopes his second child arrives two weeks early, like his son did, so Kera can travel to Rio to watch him compete. He’ll just have to wait and see. Until then, he can visualize what the Olympic experience will be like.“I think it’s going to be pretty incredible, just kind of thinking about how hard it was go to get to that point, how much hard work it took and how many obstacles I had to climb and how many times I had to bounce back from failure,” he said.
I’m really going to be excited and grateful and really excited to wrestle. I really love competing now and I’m in a really good place mentally for preparation. I feel like I’m really starting to figure out what works for me and my system.”
