How do two kids — Joe DuCharme of Pagosa Springs and Phillip Sheridan of Centauri — from small towns in rural Colorado make their way into the recruiting class of the University of Iowa, the 2009 NCAA wrestling champion?
Answer: Hawkeyes assistant coach Terry Brands and his connection to the Rocky Mountain region. Brands, twin brother of UI head coach Tom Brands, spent time at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and ran camps in Pagosa Springs, where he first caught wind of DuCharme and Sheridan.
“In some ways it’s a little hard to conceive,” Pagosa Springs high school wrestling coach Dan Janowsky said.
Both wrestlers won Class 3A titles in February, Sheridan at 140 pounds and DuCharme at 160.
“All they expect to do is work hard and take their knocks,” said Janowsky of the future college roommates. “It will all be worth it, no matter where it takes them.”
Jon E. Yunt, The Denver Post
