OVERTIME with Bettendorf’s Fredy Stroker

You are one of the top recruits in the country and have received a lot of interest from schools all over the country. Have you narrowed your choices down at all? Do you have a small list of schools that you are still looking at?

There’s a lot of great schools out there, and I’m very fortunate to have a wide range of opportunities. It’s a pretty tough decision. Actually, the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make. I have respect for a lot of coaches, wrestlers, and programs all over the country. In the end I’m picking a place where I feel academically I can prepare myself for a career after wrestling and athletically I can reach my full potential. I want to win NCAA individual and team titles.

Right now I have my list narrowed down to Lehigh, Oklahoma, Missouri, Penn State, Ohio State, Arizona State, Minnesota, & Cornell.

Did the Iowa schools reach out to you for your services?

No Iowa schools have contacted me since July 1st.

Do you have a timeline of when you’d like to make your college choice?

It’s going to be soon. Definitely well before the November early signing period.

What weight do you plan to wrestle your senior year of high school and what weight do you see yourself at in college?

I plan on wrestling 145 this high school season, but I’ll wrestle whatever weight gives our team the best chance to win another team state title. Most colleges are recruiting me for 149/157.

You’ve had a tough few months with injuries. I know that you hurt your leg at state last year and I’ve heard about a car accident before Fargo. How are you healing, and are you healthy heading into your senior season this winter?

I tore my meniscus in my right knee during my state semifinals match. I had surgery a week after the state tournament followed by about eight weeks of recovery and therapy. My right knee feels better than ever, and I’ve had no problems with it since. I also tore my meniscus in my left knee in early June. The tear wasn’t as bad as my right knee; however, the doctor said it will also require surgery, but as long as I could handle the pain and discomfort I could wrestle. I didn’t want to have surgery, chance missing Fargo and the great training opportunities I had planned for the summer, so I decided to rest it for a few weeks, and see how it felt. After two weeks of rest, I went to Nebraska for a camp, and it felt pretty good so I decided to continue with my summer training plan and Fargo.

As for the car accident, I was lucky to walk away without injury. I did end up totaling the family car, and I was pretty upset with that. I definitely learned a valuable lesson with the car accident.

I haven’t been on the mat since August 2, and I’m itching to get back at it but, I’m going to take a few more weeks off and start training again sometime in September. There’s a lot of great weekend training opportunities in October and November that I always hit before heading into the season. I’ll be healthier than ever and ready for my senior season. I’m excited!

You have already achieved so much in wrestling. What are your big goals in the sport going forward?

First, I want to finish off my high school career with my third individual state title, along with a third team state title. Next summer, I want to win a junior freestyle national title, getting fourth the last two summers haunts me! In college, I want to be a NCAA Champ and be on a NCAA Championship team. Ultimately, I want to win World and Olympic Gold medals.

You recently had the opportunity to travel to Arizona and wrestle against the best wrestlers that the United States has to offer. What was that experience like and what did you learn from it?

Getting the chance to go to Arizona to train with the World Team was a great experience. One day I called my dad and jokingly said, when I was working out with Ramos, I looked around the room and thought to myself I’m probably one of the worst wrestlers in the room, lol. I realized I was the luckiest wrestler in the country as I had the world’s best partners and coaches every day for 11 days, I was in wrestling heaven. All those top level wrestling guys where even better off the mat and a lot different than expected. I learned a lot from them and just thinking about it motivates and excites me. It was the best experience of my life and I look forward to being at this camp one day as a World Team member.

After, the World Team Training camp in Arizona I also had an opportunity to go to Colorado for a week to train with the Cadet World Team at the Olympic Training Center and after Fargo I went to Ohio and trained with the Junior World Tam for a week. I’ve been very fortunate to attend all these great training events with great people. It’s a summer I won’t forget. I also mastered the airport and traveling alone thing.

Who are your favorite wrestlers to watch maybe in college or internationally?

Definitely, David Taylor and Ed Ruth. They are offensive point scoring machines. I also got a lot of respect for Daniel Dennis, Matt McDonough, and Tony Ramos. They are three of the most focused, mentally tough, driven guys I know. The funny thing is I knew all of them before we even moved to Iowa as I attended a few camps in Iowa and Minnesota when I lived in Pennsylvania and they were my camp counselors. Ramos also trained in the summer when he was in high school in Pennsylvania at the same club I trained at so I knew him back then. I never imagined we would move to Iowa and when we did it was great as I got to train with those guys and follow their careers up close. I just saw and trained with Dennis in Ohio at the Junior World Team camp.

When you are off the mat I know that you like to spend time on twitter and that you are a big shoe collector. How many pairs of shoes would you say that you own? What other things do you like to do to relax off the mat?

I have about 30 pairs of shoes, but 10 pairs of nice Jordan’s and other basketball shoes. I like to play Xbox, listen to music, play my electric guitar, and watch Netflix.

When not cutting weight what is your favorite thing to eat?

When I’m not cutting weight, I tend to not think about food as much as what I do during season when I am cutting weight. But, I really like Whitey’s ice cream, Domino’s pizza, and mint Oreos.