Provisor hopes to be next great U.S. wrestler
In some instances, Ben Provisor reasons, he is merely a product of his wrestling environment. Few children interested in pursuing a sport, after all, have the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest athletes in the world.
"I just got lucky to have that type of wrestler in my town," Provisor said.
This statement, of course, sells short Provisor's own world-class skill. Provisor, a Stevens Point, Wis., native, won the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling trials April 22. At age 21, he is headed to the London Olympics as a member of the United States team.
"It's been a dream of mine to do this since I was a little kid," Provisor said. "I'm thankful for everyone that's ever helped me."
That thank-you list includes Dennis Hall, who has operated a wrestling gym in the town of Plover — a suburb of Stevens Point — since 1993. The 41-year-old Hall just happens to be a 10-time United States national champion, a three-time Olympian and a silver medalist from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He also was a world champion in 1995.
Provisor began his wrestling career at age 6 in Hall's gym. And he quickly developed into Hall's top protégé.
"The first day I saw him, there was something about him," Hall said. "I told people in the club, 'He's going to be good.' He's got the 'it' factor. It's just something you can't put your finger on, but you know it."
All of the skills Provisor learned during 15 years of training, from technique to mental stamina, were on display at the U.S. team trials in Iowa City, Iowa, two weeks ago. He defeated Aaron Sieracki, of Richland Center, Wis., in the 163-pound division.
Provisor actually lost the first match that day to Sieracki but won the final two to claim the best-of-three title and the U.S. championship with a point in the final minute of the final match.
"I knew in all my matches I needed to be the aggressor on my feet," Provisor said. "I can almost push anybody out, especially in the United States. That was my plan. It definitely helped me out in the final match when I was the aggressive one and they awarded me the point in the final 40 seconds. My whole plan was to attack and stay aggressive, and it worked out."
After so much time spent honing his skill set, the opportunity of a lifetime is finally around the corner.
Gaining confidence
For as dominating as Provisor has been on the Greco-Roman wrestling scene over the years — he was a 2006 national champion for his age group and won the 2011 U.S. Open — he found it difficult to match that same success at the high school level.
High school and Greco-Roman wrestling are two completely different styles of the sport. A high school wrestler can utilize his legs to trip up an opponent, but Greco-Roman wrestling is predicated entirely on use of the arms and upper body.
Provisor put much of his focus, even as a high schooler, into the Greco-Roman style and never won a high school state wrestling title. His top finish was third place as a senior, though he still ended his prep career 158-14 with four state tournament appearances.
"People might look at it like he never won a state championship," Provisor said. "He's not good at folkstyle. But I never liked folkstyle. It was never a passion of mine. Greco is a passion of mine. It's what I love doing."
Provisor said he became even more enamored of Greco-Roman wrestling after taking a home school year at age 13 and moving to Bulgaria, where he learned from one of Hall's old training partners.
Despite the differences in the two wrestling styles, Hall said there were lessons to be learned when Provisor competed in high school. Hall coached Provisor during his senior season.
"The biggest thing, I think he lacked a little bit of confidence," Hall said. "When matches mattered, he'd kind of freeze a little bit in the folkstyle arena."
Provisor said those moments helped him prepare for a wrestling career at the highest level.
"Back in the day, I wasn't used to the big matches," he said. "Ever since I won the U.S. Open in 2011, every match is the same now. It doesn't really change. The world team trial finals or the Olympic team finals, its not going to bother me."
Gold on his mind
Greco-Roman wrestling was included at the Athens Olympics in 1896, the first of the modern era. Now, the sport consists of seven weight categories. Since 1896, just three Americans have won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Olympics in any weight class — Steve Fraser (1984, light heavyweight), Jeff Blatnick (1984, super heavyweight) and Rulon Gardner (2000, super heavyweight).
Provisor will attempt to become the fourth American gold medalist.
With the start of the Olympics still three months away, Provisor's path toward that possible gold medal is only just beginning. He intends on competing in more tournaments to gain international experience and remain physically and mentally sharp.
Hall, who has seen the world's best wrestlers up close and personal for two decades, knows Provisor is capable of one of the great careers in American Greco-Roman wrestling history.
"As he's been progressing, I've told him personally, probably since he was 17 or 18 years old, I said, 'I believe right now you can get more medals than I've won at the international level,'" Hall said. "'You can be as great as you want.' I keep impressing that upon him because he's only 21, but at the same time, go after goals when you're 20, 21."
While Provisor was winning the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling trials two weeks ago, Hall was finishing his illustrious career. He did not succeed in his quest to reach a fourth Olympic Games in Iowa City and promptly retired after his final match.
Now, the torch of the best wrestler in Dennis Hall's Plover gym has officially been passed on to Provisor. And that could also mean a torch as the best wrestler in the country — perhaps even the world.
"The only goal on my mind is trying to win gold," Provisor said. "That's going to be on my mind for the next three months until I compete. That's what's going to drive me to work harder each and every practice."
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