SE Illinois News

Zane Richards' fall schedule includes a trip to Turkey.

Richards, a Carbondale native and All-American wrestler at the University of Illinois, will compete for Team USA in the University World Championships, which will be held Oct. 25-30 in Corum, according to FightingIllini.com.

Richards won the title in the 61-kilogram class at the recent University Nationals to earn the right to go to Turkey.

| University of Illinois Athletics

“I thought about it in my couple weeks of down time after the tournament of, 'It's cool, I'm the guy and I'm representing my count and this is a great opportunity,' and you know maybe after my career's all finished it's something to reflect on, too,” Richards said the Southeast Illinois News. “But for the most part, it's mostly been … I'm getting back into the flow of training and feeling more excited that I'm getting better and that, you know, I have something to work for, to motivate me every day to get better and to keep me motivated, and help myself feel and see these gains I'm making.”

It's been a year of excellence for Richards so far.

This past wrestling season, Richards – a two-time state champion at Carbondale Community in his prep career – went undefeated during the regular season, was runner-up at 133 pounds at the Big Ten Championships and earned All-American status by finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships, according to FightingIllini.com. He ended the season with a 26-2 record.

These days, in preparation for the World Championships, Richards said he's been doing a lot of the same routine he used getting ready for the University Nationals – weightlifting for strength and running for conditioning. In a couple of weeks, he said, he'll probably add body-circuit exercises to keep up endurance. As far as wrestling, he's been working on specific positions, and increasing wrestling ability and skills.

“I'm not so much worried about live and grinding right now, but more about getting better,” Richards said.

There will be different techniques and positions common to other countries that he'll run into in Turkey. He said he'll soon have to start working on the counters for those.

“These other wrestlers, again, they're well-known for these things, so we've got to be ready to stop their positions, for one; and if we do get there, know how to get out and wrestle from those positions for my benefit,” Richards said.

Experience wrestling athletes from other countries is sparse for Richards, but he said he has taken them on in tournaments before. Also, he used to train with a wrestler from Bulgaria in a club.

“The feel is different, but overall, I wouldn't say I'm too experienced at that; but it's all wrestling,” Richards said.

The World Championships training could help Richards going into his final varsity year at Illinois, he said.

“I think it'll help as far as I'm already going to be in shape," he said. "I'm already going to be trained at a high skill level going into the season, so my jumping-off point for the season will be a lot higher than it's been in the past."