Les Sigman, of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club (NLWC), won a spot on the 2010 World Freestyle Team (120 kg/264.5 lbs.) and will be representing the U.S. when the World Championships are held in Moscow in September. In qualifying for his first World Team Les defeated 2009 World bronze medalist Tervel Dlagnev. Les is coached at the NLWC by Cael Sanderson and Casey Cunningham. Les wrestled collegiately at the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he won 4 National Championships.
Les, I understand you started wrestling in the second grade. What got you interested in wrestling at that point in your life?
My father was a State Champion and he got me started in wrestling and really helped get me to where I am now. He put a lot of time in on the road taking me to tournaments and altering our lifestyles so that I could have the chance in the sport of wrestling.
Tell us about your hometown-Sturgis, South Dakota.
Sturgis is known nationally for the Bike Rally and people still ask me "so did you go to the rally???" And I always say..... well, it is hard to miss it if there are 700,000 people in a town of 6,000. Other than that week it is a small town and they have been known for the wrestling team. They have won many state championships in recent years and the football team is known for the opposite…. They lost over 70 games in a row.
Talk about your high school and college wrestling careers.
In high school I didn’t make the varsity team until I was a junior. I wrestled 135lbs my freshman year and 160 my sophomore year. My junior and senior years I wrestled 189 and lost in overtime my junior year in the finals and won states my senior year. I went to college at the Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha and wrestled 197 my redshirt year and then the next year I injured my knee, had surgery and got a medical redshirt. Then I went on to win 4 national titles and compiled a 179-7 record in my last 4 years.
Describe the process that led you to Penn State.
When Casey Cunningham was hired at Iowa State he was the connection in getting me there to join this staff that I have been working with the last two years. It has been a blessing to be able to work with these guys and, when Cael and everyone else made the move to Penn State it was an easy decision when he asked me to join them. I have had to make sacrifices and they have all paid off.
Talk about living in the State College (Pa.) area.
State College has become an easy place for me to live. I have met and made friends with a lot of great people and it has made the move very easy. Every now and then I get out on the golf course and golf with Andrew Harpster who has a large dairy farm close to town and I have met a lot of people through him and his family.
Why is the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club a great place to train?
The Club is a great fit. We have so many people to train with here and all of the coaching staff from PSU is committed to helping us and making sure we are doing the right things training. The Club has a lot of supporters and we wouldn’t be able to reach our goals without everyone’s support.
The NLWC is a great place to train for many reasons. We have world-class training partners and a motivated and skilled coaching staff. The facilities are the best in the country. We have everything an athlete needs to become the best in the world. -Cael Sanderson, Penn State head coach
Talk about the competition you will face in the World Championships in Moscow like Russia's Beylal Makhov and Iran's Fardin Masoumi.
Everyone that I will face at the world championships will be a tough competitor but these two are the two finalists from last year. I know that I have what it takes to compete with and beat them. We have scouted them along with many others of the wrestlers I could face, so I feel real good going into this tournament and preparation has been great.
Les is wrestling to be the world champion. He has to beat the best in the world on the most important day of the year. He has faced many of the best wrestlers in the world throughout his career and has done well. He beat a returning world medalist just to make the team. He is ready. He is as good as anybody. He just has to go make it happen now.
Les needs to make sure he is rested up and excited to go. At this point, getting plenty of sleep and recovery is huge. Technically he just needs to wrestle in his areas of strength. He needs to move his feet, be physical with hands and get his head up immediately on his shots. If he does that he is going to win.
-Cael Sanderson
Les, what makes wrestling such a great sport?
Wrestling has given me so much in life, and I have been very blessed by being surrounded by such great people in the sport who have helped drive me to the top.
I know that I have what it takes to compete with and beat them. We have scouted them along with many others of the wrestlers I could face, so I feel real good going into this tournament and preparation has been great. 