A dream dies hard in Indianapolis for North Bergen’s MoccoFor the last six years, North Bergen’s Steve Mocco dreamed of getting a chance to represent the country in the Olympic Games as the United States’ heavyweight wrestler. It became so much of a motivation for Mocco that the determined young man, who captured the NCAA National Championship in 2003 while wrestling for the University of Iowa, took an entire year off from school to concentrate on training and working for the ultimate goal, a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
“I’m looking to become an Olympic champion,” Mocco said after winning the national title in March, 2003. “That’s the main goal now. I’ve achieved my goal of winning a national championship. Now, I want to take it a step further. I’ve reached this level. Now, I have to shoot for something bigger.”
So last week, Mocco took the mats in Indianapolis at the U.S. National Championships, looking for that elusive berth to head to Athens later this summer.
“I’m just here to wrestle,” Mocco told reporters before he took the mat as the No. 2 seed in the 120 kilogram (heavyweight) freestyle classification. “It’s exciting. It’s the biggest meet I’ve ever wrestled in. I feel well prepared.”
But it wasn’t meant to be. Mocco’s Olympic dream died in the semifinals when he lost a grueling 3-0 overtime decision to veteran Tolly Thompson.
“I didn’t attack enough,” Mocco said to reporters after the loss. “We both wrestled on our feet and were a little shy with each other.”
Thompson lost to Kerry McCoy in the finals, but both wrestlers earned berths on the Olympic team.
Mocco will apparently return to collegiate wrestling in the fall, although he has requested his release from the University of Iowa.
He will have to wait another four years to reach the goal of becoming an Olympic champion. The only way Mocco can go to the Olympics now if an injury befalls any of the top three wrestlers, namely champion McCoy, runnerup Thompson, or third place finisher Brian Keck.
Mocco will bounce back. Chances are he will win two more NCAA national titles before his collegiate career is done. It’s also common fact that wrestlers become better with age. Mocco is only 20 years old, facing wrestlers like Thompson, who is at least 10 years older. Bruce Baumgartner, who went from New Jersey to capturing the gold medal in the heavyweight division in 1984 and 1992, didn’t hit his prime as an international wrestler until after his 25th birthday, so there is always hope for Mocco later on.
As for the immediate future, who knows?
Mocco said there was a chance he would wrestle for the Hawkeyes again, but for now he wants to concentrate on training for international freestyle competition.
“I am not closing the door on Iowa,” Mocco said in a statement released by USA Wrestling. “I am going to do what is best for my freestyle career at this point. My goal is to become a world and Olympic champion and at this time in my career, I want to make sure I am in the best possible position for that to happen.”
Iowa coach Jim Zalesky said he fulfilled a promise in granting Mocco his release.
“I promised him two things when he came here and I don’t go back on my word,” Zalesky said. “My word is good and I promised him if he wanted to red-shirt, he could take an Olympic redshirt and if he wasn’t happy here, I would release him. He came in Monday, sat down and said he wasn’t happy, so I said, ‘OK, here’s your release,’ ” Zalesky said.
Mocco was released to consider nine other schools if he decided to transfer – Cornell, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Hofstra, Lehigh, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State, Rider and Rutgers. He is allowed to make five official visits before deciding.
“I chose these nine schools based on my specific needs to get better as a freestyle wrestler and my goal of earning a college degree,” Mocco said in the statement. “Iowa is an honorable institution and they remain a school I am heavily considering attending next year.”
Zalesky said he wasn’t sure what Mocco would do next.
“He’s got to figure it out,” the Iowa coach said.
Mocco lost in the NCAA finals as a freshman in 2002, then went 36-0 with 15 pins as a sophomore to win the national title.
Iowa has already made provisions to move on without Mocco. They recruited two heavyweights to replace him.
In any case, Mocco will continue to represent the township of North Bergen every time he takes the mat.
“I just want to be able to represent North Bergen and Hudson County on the international scene,” Mocco said. “I’m really proud to represent North Bergen. It’s my home. It’s where I’m from. Every tournament I go to, when they announce that I’m from North Bergen, it gives me a thrill. It reminds everyone of where I’m from.”
It would have been a thrill for everyone to hear Mocco’s name called during the Olympic Games in Athens. Now, that dream will have to be put on hold for a little while longer. -Jim Hague