Clarion's James Fleming
At the forefront of Clarion's resurgence is true freshman James Fleming. The Golden Eagle's 149lber is currently ranked 19th by D1CW and sports a 20-5 record. Fleming burst onto the collegiate scene at Cornell's Body Bar Invitational defeating NCAA Qualifiers Jon Kohler and Desi Green. After James missed placing at the Midlands Championships by one match, he scored bonus point victories in all three of his Virginia Duals matches. James recently spoke with D1CW about his freshman season...
D1CW: James, we are more than halfway through your freshman season, how do you feel it has gone so far?
James Fleming: I'd say relatively well. I'm a little disappointed with a few of the matches so far. I feel like now I've been wrestling fairly well. I'm going to have to turn it up as the level of competition rises, in order to meet my goals, which are to go into National's and All-American.
D1CW: You are in your true freshman season and already have a top 20 national ranking. What are some of the reason why you have had success so early in your career?
JF: Well I never feel intimidated. I was taught at a young age never to give anyone too much respect. If you do that you risk underestimating your own ability. I've been wrestling my whole life, I know that I can wrestle and win. You can watch the NFL and see rookies do well, so I don't understand why a freshman can't win in wrestling.
D1CW: Was there one time in a match or a practice which convinced you that you "belong" at this level?
JF: I don't know it there was one key point. Mentally I've always told myself that I can beat anyone. Slowly that has translated to the mat. I guess the first tournament (Cornell's Body Bar Invitational) was big for me. I beat Buffalo's Desi Green who was ranked around #12 at the time. Then I wrestled Matt Cathell of Kent State and lost a close match. It was a match that I could've won, but since then I have corrected the mistakes that I made.
D1CW: A bunch of your matches so far have been won because of your ability to wrestle in the top position. How do you get "tough on top"?
JF: It's an attitude! It doesn't really matter what moves you do, as long as you have intensity and the attitude that no one gets out at all. When I'm on top I like to inflict pain. You know that if the bottom guy is just thinking about not getting hurt, he can't be thinking of a way to score. After awhile you can tell that they "just don't want to be here" anymore.
I like to work from a front headlock. I feel like some of the things that I can do from that position have not been done before. I can tell that it frustrates my opponents and their coaches.
D1CW: Where have you had to made the biggest adjustments transitioning from high school wrestling to college?
JF: From my feet. My neutral is not where I want it to be. My coaches are constantly showing me videos of Russian's and their attacks. We're trying to figure out what are the best attacks for me to use. Really I've never best great from my feet; I have some takedowns that work, but they are not up to the DI level yet. From the beginning of the season until now I've made big strides.
D1CW: You are from Western Pennsylvania and were in an incredibly difficult 160lb weight class your senior season of high school. How does being from such as tough state prepare you for success in college?
JF: From a young age I had great coaching. When I was little and learned from Rob Waller. He's a tough guy and he taught me the fundamentals and stressed positioning. Everything that I do comes back to the fundamentals and positioning that I learned back then. The competition that I faced was incredible. You can't ask for more. I was able to wrestle a bunch of DI quality kids while still in high school.
D1CW: Coming out of high school, why did you choose to attend Clarion?
JF: In high school, I was coached by my cousin. I always knew that he would do anything for me. I felt like the coaches here would be the same way. I liked their push for academics. I know that they will not let me fail or slack off in the classroom. I know that there will be life after wrestling and this coaching staff will put me in the best position to improve as a wrestler as well as graduate with a 3.0 GPA.
D1CW: When and why did you start wrestling?
JF: It was halfway through the wrestling season in second grade. I've always been aggressive and at that age none of the kids wanted to play with me because I was too rough. I never really liked the non-contact sports like basketball. I was just too rough and got in too many fights. I guess it was partly because I have an older brother. He's four years older than me, so competing with him toughened me up. Well he joined the wrestling team, so I saw what I was doing and decided to join also. Once I got into it, I loved it and always stuck with it.