George Mason's Sahid Kargbo (Alexandria, Va/Hayfield H.S.) is representing the USA at the Junior World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria August 13-18. He earned the spot on the team after winning his weight class (66 kg/145.5 lbs) at the U.S. World Team Trials in June. He has spent the past two weeks at the USA Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Sahid will share his experiences with GoMason.

August 17, 2013--Final thoughts

It's a little sad to think that it is all over. It hurts when you put in countless hours of work to achieve something and it doesn't play out the way you planned. I ended up placing 14th in the world, which is not what I wanted but definitely not something to hang my head over. What I am going to remember is the teammates that trained with me during camp and who competed with me. I knew them for a short time but the bond we formed cannot be broken. I will remember the coaches who only wanted success for us. I will remember seeing hundreds of athletes coming together for one goal. Most of all I will remember the pain I felt after getting knocked out of the tournament. That pain will drive me to train harder so that next time the results will be more desirable. Over all I am blessed to have gotten the opportunity to wrestle in a tournament of that magnitude. I would not have been able to do it without the strong support system that I have back home and most definitely wouldn't have been able to achieve that with out my magnificent coaches here at George Mason. I couldn't be more grateful for them and I hope to continue to make them proud.

-Sahid

August 11, 2013--Travel to Bulgaria

I woke up early this morning at 3:30 am to get ready to head over to the airport. We flew from Colorado Springs to Washington D.C. where we had a five hour layover. From D.C. we flew to Munich, Germany, and from there we flew over to Sofia, Bulgaria. After we landed the only thing on my mind was sleep. There is a seven-hour time difference from home and a nine-hour difference from Colorado Springs where I have been for the past two weeks. I was a little tired to say the least. Once we got in to the hotel we checked in and got our credentials. I then went to my room where I was astonished by my view of the city. At times it gets hard to get around in an unfamiliar place when no one understands what you are saying but at the same time it is also nice seeing different places in the world and observing different cultures. We are a few days out of competition and I can honestly say that I have never been more excited to compete in my life.

-Sahid

August 9, 2013-After two weeks at USA Olympic Training Center

The moment that I stepped in to my room at the training center I thought to myself, “This is going to be a long two weeks.” I couldn't have been any more wrong. We had a great two weeks of workouts that were run by astonishing coaches and memorable figures. The team trained hard. We all had our individual peaks and valleys during this short training cycle but the great thing is that we are all headed in to competition on a peak. The training was good and all but the thing that is going to stick with me the most is the fraternity that was formed. It is amazing how close you can get to a group of people in a couple weeks but then again it is easy when we all have the same goal. Although very few of us knew each other from the past we all bonded immediately. We did everything together and we all treated each other like brothers.

A quote above the doors entering the wrestling room gave the entire team a constant reminder, “Enter these doors with an unrelenting sense of urgency.” My first thought was that we have only two weeks together to train for what is undoubtedly the biggest and toughest competition of any of our lives. It was scary, quite frankly. But we did just that. Every day, twice a day, we entered those doors understanding fully that it is our job to represent the United States.

-Sahid

2013 FILA JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Sofia, Bulgaria, August 13-18, 2013

Greco-Roman Event Schedule
Tuesday, August 13
9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Qualification Rounds for Greco-Roman 50, 60, 74 and 96 kg
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. – Semifinals and Repechage for Greco-Roman 50, 60, 74 and 96 kg
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Finals for Greco-Roman 50, 60, 74 and 96 kg

Wednesday, August 14
9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Qualification Rounds for Greco-Roman 55, 66, 84 and 120 kg
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. – Semifinals and Repechage for Greco-Roman 55, 66, 84 and 120 kg
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. – Finals for Greco-Roman 55, 66, 84 and 120 kg

U.S. men's Greco-Roman roster
50 kg/110 lbs. – Tirso Lara, Poway, Calif. (Ultimate Warrior)*
55 kg/121 lbs. – Isaiah Varona, Miami, Fla. (USOEC/Northern Michigan University)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Hayden Tuma, Boise, Idaho (Suples WC)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Sahid Kargbo, Alexandria, Va. (Patriot Elite WC/George Mason University)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Geordan Speiller, Oviedo, Fla. (Florida Jets)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Lucas Sheridan, Bloomington, Ind. (CYC/University of Indiana)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. – Kevin Beazley, Howell, Mich. (HRWA/VBRTC/Old Dominion University)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Sam Stoll, Kasson, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
Coach: Mark Halvorson, Brentwood, Calif.Coach: Rodney Smith, Chicopee, Mass.