Off the Mat with Anthony Biondo
12/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
The Michigan wrestling team has enjoyed a recent trend of success with individuals climbing to higher weight classes -- the result most evidenced last season when four different Wolverines claimed NCAA All-America honors at a higher class. With the departure of All-American Nick Roy and two-year starter Casey White, Michigan's 197-pound weight class was up for grabs in 2007-08, creating an opportunity that convinced sophomore/freshman Anthony Biondo to bump up two weight classes from 174 pounds.
Despite being undersized compared to a majority of his competition, Biondo has fared quite well so far at the new weight class, most recently at the Cliff Keen Invitational last weekend (Nov. 30-Dec. 1) in Las Vegas, Nev. In a tournament largely hailed as freshman Kellen Russell's emergence onto the national scene, Biondo also made people take notice, posting a strong 4-2 record en route to a seventh-place finish and, as a result, his first career national ranking.
In the midst of the final week of the fall semester and preparation for Wolverines' final dual before the holiday break, Anthony took a moment after a practice devoted to lifting and conditioning to chat about his jump to 197 pounds, the closeness of the Wolverine team and a self-characterized "loose cannon" wrestling style.
On his transition to 197 pounds ...
"I thought it would be a lot tougher than it actually has been. I'm trying to stick with a lot of the stuff I did before when I was smaller, and I think it's been working well. I've been gaining a lot more confidence lately. At first it was a little rocky, but the size doesn't seem to be too big of a difference. Ten pounds would probably help me out. I think I can scramble better than a lot of other guys. My quickness is to my advantage. That's one of the things we talked about when I decided to move up -- we thought that would be a plus."
On trying to eat around the clock ...
"I try to as much as I can, but it's hard because I have class. I have a pretty busy schedule during the day. It's so nice and it's different being able to eat whatever I want. Last year I didn't cut anything, but prior to that, in high school, I cut quite a bit. That wasn't a lot of fun."
On facing opponents who outweigh him ...
"I think I could still put on another five pounds before March. When those guys tire out, I don't feel their strength as much. But in the first period, I definitely feel it, especially when they get in on shots. I try to be smart with it, and I try to pick and choose with my shots. I just try not to get caught underneath. I can ride guys, which really helps me. If I couldn't ride, it'd be a lot tougher. When I do shoot, I think I have pretty good efficiency with my takedowns. But I'm really confident on top. I think I turned about every guy I wrestled last weekend. I put myself in weird positions sometimes, but I feel comfortable and always feel like I can get away since I'm so lanky. I've been wrestling like a loose cannon and little bit, but it seems to be working."
On his Las Vegas performance ...
"The first kid I wrestled was ranked 11th, and I think he was a match away from placing one year at nationals. I beat him and went to overtime with him the second time we wrestled. It's hard to beat someone twice in the same tournament. I did a lot of stupid things in that second match. The other kid I lost to 7-5 was also ranked. So it gives me a lot of confidence to wrestle these top kids toe to toe. I think I did a lot of good things in Vegas, and I think I did a lot of stupid things that are easily correctable. Three months from now, when it matters, I think I'll be fine."
On Michigan's strength outside its four returning All-Americans ...
"Those four guys are going to score us a ton of points. But if some other guys can score some points, it would be huge. If we can have six or seven All-Americans, I don't think there's any reason we shouldn't win nationals. I knew Kellen [Russell] was good, but I didn't think he'd be this good this fast. I knew [Jeff] Marsh had a great attitude, and I think [Chris] Diehl could do really well."
On the strength and depth at 197 pounds this season ...
"I think in the Big Ten it's pretty tough. Everyone is pretty solid, and a number of them are ranked pretty high. So the dual season should be really tough. But I don't think any of them are that far out of my reach. I'm looking forward to wrestling them."
On being a long-time Michigan fan ...
"I grew up a Michigan fan. My mom went to Michigan State, and my cousin -- who is my best friend -- wrestles at Michigan State. So it's been a little weird. I've known Ryan and Josh [Churella] since I was a little kid, and they came here, so that kind of made my choice a little easier. Josh's grandpa and my grandpa are best friends, so I've known them forever. We used to come watch them all the time."
On his "welcome to Division I wrestling" moment ...
"There's a lot of them. Steve Luke beat me up a number of times last season. But I'd have to say my moment was last year over the holidays. I drove back to Ann Arbor from home and did a 12-minute go with Ryan Churella. It was the worst thing that's ever happened to me. I went home that night and told my parents that I was really starting to doubt myself. It was just terrible. It was good for me though, because I took a step back and thought, 'I either have to get with this or get off, because I don't ever want that to happen again.' For me, my biggest adjustment was wrestling on bottom, because in high school nobody could really ride me. But he's so good on top. So he'd take me down and, for the next 12 minutes, I was getting pinned. And he's not nice about it either."
On the best thing about wrestling at Michigan ...
"It's undoubtedly been the coaches and the guys on the team. I couldn't have asked for a better coaching staff. I love all the coaches and look up to them. Everyone has something different, and I feel like I've taken away something from each one of them. In addition to them, wrestling guys like Steve Luke and Tyrel Todd have made me so much better. If you don't feel like getting killed every day, you have to make adjustments and make yourself better. The guys on the team are just so close, and I get along well with everyone. That's probably the best thing by far -- the closeness of the team."
On his favorite class at Michigan ...
"I think I'm going to apply to the business school, and if I don't get in then I have no clue what I'll do. I kind of put my eggs in that basket. I want to go to law school, so I guess it really doesn't matter what I major in. I want to be a sports agent or work in the front office of a sports team. So I might even major in English or communications. As far as my favorite class, I've taken three German classes because of the language requirement. I've done really well in them, and they've been pretty fun. The teachers are laid back, and they're a lot of fun."
On what makes wrestling unique ...
"I like that it's just me out there and I can't blame anyone else. It's something I do for myself and know that all these years of training and hard work I put in for me. I like the respect after you win. Like Andy [Hrovat] always says, 'Winning is pretty fun.' The cool thing about wrestling is that everyone has a different style. The kid that Josh [Churella] wrestled in Vegas has a crazy style; there are brawlers, and there are unorthodox styles. In wrestling, everyone is just so different, and I don't think you really see that in other sports."
On his wrestling style ...
"My style has kind of evolved over the last couple years. In high school I was really technical and wasn't flashy. I was just pretty solid. But now, my body size and the way I'm built doesn't really allow me to do that, because I'm not really overbearing. I think now I just lay it all out there. I'm a good scrambler. I don't know if I really look for big moves, but I do some stuff that other people won't do. That backfired in Vegas a little bit, like when I tried to guillotine a kid for no reason and got reversed. But I guess you live by the sword, you die by the sword. It makes it fun for me. I like doing that type of stuff and wrestling wide open. I think it drives the coaches a little nuts, but that's just how it is. It's been working for me. I just try to develop my own style and do things that work for me. I have to at this weight I'm at. I try to use my quickness and ride guys tough on top."
On what he would do if he were head coach for a day ...
"For some reason, I think I would take pleasure in putting guys through a hard workout while I just sat there. So it would be just a ridiculously hard practice, and I'd take pleasure in their suffering -- which sounds pretty terrible."
Players Mentioned
