{"id":177638,"date":"2024-05-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=177638"},"modified":"2024-05-16T22:42:46","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T22:42:46","slug":"arctic-upbringing-helped-spur-soldier-wrestler-to-new-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=177638","title":{"rendered":"Arctic upbringing helped spur Soldier-wrestler to new heights"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Army Spc. Spencer Woods, a Greco-Roman style wrestler with the Army World Class Athlete Program, stands for a photo at Fort Carson, Colo. on March 12, 2024. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)
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FORT CARSON, Colo. \u2014 Spencer Woods couldn\u2019t pull his opponents or gain leverage without a sharp pain shooting through his arm.<\/p>\n

As a sophomore on his high school\u2019s varsity in 2013, the ailment hindered his movements.<\/p>\n

After getting examined by a doctor, X-rays returned negative. He continued to wrestle with injury and tried compartmentalizing the pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d said Woods, now a Soldier and Army World Class Athlete Program Olympic hopeful.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t extend his right hand and the pain limited his offensive shots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was pretty much just wrestling left-handed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A coach thought he couldn\u2019t handle the mental pressure of big matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe thought I was just folding,\u201d Woods said.<\/p>\n

That only made Woods train harder; setting him on a path that would make him one of the nation’s top Greco-Roman wrestlers.<\/p>\n

Molded in the Deep Cold<\/strong><\/p>\n

Growing up in the tiny Inuit village of Shungnak, Alaska, he aspired to be a collegiate wrestler. But he found the prospect daunting while living north of the Arctic Circle with limited access to training facilities.<\/p>\n

The son of a retired Soldier, Woods and other villagers in Shungnak depended on hunting and harvesting wild foods to survive northern Alaska\u2019s harsh winters. Located in the sprawling, sparsely populated Far North of the state, an area the size of Indiana, the region housed only 10,000 people.<\/p>\n

Woods spent most of his childhood in Alaska\u2019s vast wilderness. He hunted caribou, he fished, and also rode with his father\u2019s sled dogs.<\/p>\n

Woods and his family spent entire summers preparing for the winter, gathering firewood and packaging frozen meat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a subsistence lifestyle,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no Walmart or McDonald\u2019s \u2026 you have to secure your food, secure your firewood. Last thing you want is to be in the middle of winter at 70 below, and you don\u2019t have any firewood or meat in the freezer.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Woods\u2019 high school years, his family moved more than 100 miles west to Kotzebue, a town on the Baldwin Peninsula overlooking the Chukchi Sea. There in the coastal settlement of 3,000, Woods\u2019 wrestling future would change.<\/p>\n

Finding his groove\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n Spc. Spencer Woods lifts an opponent during a 2022 match. Woods, who grew up in the Arctic Circle, Shungnak, Alaska, said his upbringing helped instill a strong work ethic.
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At Kotzebue High, he happened to be coached by Mark Lane, a former collegiate national champion at Montana State University Northern and his wife, a former women\u2019s freestyle Olympian, Marcie Van Dusen. The couple spent hours in the gym with Woods and simplified his approach.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Lane\u2019s] national experience and [Van Dusen\u2019s] international experience really just lay down \u2026 more of just like the mental side of the sport,\u201d Woods said. \u201cIt’s going to be tough, but as long as you keep it simple, you can stay in control of your mental training. Whenever times get tough, you have the mental toolkit to overcome any kind of obstacle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, as he navigated his way through his sophomore season, something clicked. While Woods struggled to beat the elite wrestlers with his aching arm, he competed well enough to place fourth in the Alaska state tournament at 138 pounds.<\/p>\n

Eight months after suffering the arm injury, Woods had an accident with a snowmobile. He said he further damaged the injury. This time a second doctor reexamined his arm found a previous hairline fracture.<\/p>\n

He had wrestled his entire sophomore year with a broken right arm.<\/p>\n

Woods finally had surgery in March 2014. After his arm healed, Woods surged past his competition the next two seasons, winning the state tournament two straight years at 152 and 170 pounds, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized that I had what it takes to wrestle in college,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The injury] kind of taught me to just persevere in situations like that, it was just kind of eye opening what I could do. I couldn’t imagine doing it again.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Woods showed promise as a redshirt freshman going 16-17 his first year at the University of Maryland. However, he struggled in conference matches and opted to transfer to Northern Michigan University, which hosts a Greco-Roman program whose wrestlers get recruited for the U.S. National Team and World Class Athlete Program.<\/p>\n

Woods shifted from folkstyle, collegiate wrestling and found that the Greco-Roman style, which limits wrestlers to using upper body strength, suited his abilities.<\/p>\n

At NMU, located in Michigan\u2019s rural, Upper Peninsula, Woods would realize another revelation in 2019; he could compete with the nation\u2019s best Greco-Roman grapplers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I always had the pieces,\u201d Woods said. \u201cBut it took a while for me to figure out how to put them together. It wasn\u2019t until 2019 I kind of had a breakthrough moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woods became one of NMU\u2019s most prolific competitors, even earning an invite during his senior year to compete at the 2019 Olympic Team Trials at 77 kg. Woods dominated his opponents at the Bill Farrell Memorial International Open in New York City to qualify.<\/p>\n

Woods would eventually follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who both served in the Army. However, Woods would wear the uniform in a different capacity; as a member of the Army\u2019s WCAP program. Now he trains to compete for a spot to reach the ultimate pinnacle: the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

Giving his all<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n Spc. Spencer Woods, left, a Army World Class Athlete Program Soldier-athlete, discusses technique with Sgt. Ildar Hafizov, right, and Spc. Timothy Young, middle, at Fort Carson, Colo. on March 12, 2024. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)
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Spencer Woods sits inside a darkened room near the entrance of the WCAP wrestling gym at Fort Carson, Colorado after a strenuous morning session. The 25-year-old Army specialist has expended so much energy grappling with teammate Spc. Timothy Young that he struggles to speak as he leans back in his chair.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gives 100 percent every time,\u201d WCAP Greco-Roman coach Spenser Mango said. \u201cHe\u2019s not holding anything back or trying to save himself. He\u2019s working on his body. He\u2019s working on his mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woods\u2019 Alaskan upbringing continued to his workout regimen as a WCAP athlete. Woods recalled long days helping his family at their modest home in Shungnak. The Inuit village had no roads and used snowmobiles for transport.<\/p>\n

Like the people of Northern Alaska, Woods didn\u2019t take any shortcuts. Mango, a former WCAP Greco-Roman wrestler at 55 kg said Woods stands out among his peers for his ability to adapt to his opponent and his relentless work ethic, which helped him make two Senior World Teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in Alaska definitely helped out my work ethic because, you don’t just sleep in and sit on the couch all day and expect to have a full freezer, or get the dogs fed,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you want something, you have to work for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a member of the WCAP program, Woods trains full time to compete internationally at the Olympics while maintaining his qualifications as a 12K plumber.<\/p>\n

During the practice match with Young, several coaches and fellow wrestlers gathered to offer Woods advice including fellow wrestler Ildar Hafisov, and Dremiel Byers, a former WCAP World Champion.<\/p>\n

And Woods listened to each of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a real fast learner,\u201d said Mango, who scouted Woods at NMU. \u201cYou don\u2019t really see him make the same mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in his career, Woods struggled to beat two-time Olympian Ben Provisor, losing to the Wisconsin native six straight times. One of the nation\u2019s strongest grapplers at 82 kg, Provisor posed a daunting challenge.<\/p>\n

However, when he faced Proviso at the 2023 U.S. Open wrestling championships, Woods would use all the knowledge he had gathered from his WCAP coaches.<\/p>\n

After trailing 3-1 with 1:40 remaining in the final period, Woods scored points off a foul by Provisor and a technical point to take the lead 4-3. Woods held on during the final seconds for the win.<\/p>\n

After the victory, Woods let out a loud yell.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since then, you can see the confidence building within him,\u201d Mango said. \u201cIt\u2019s his discipline when it comes down to match strategy. I believe that\u2019s why he\u2019s been able to rise so fast.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Woods, currently ranked second in the nation at 87 kg, went on to win Pan American Games after winning the U.S. Nationals in December and qualifying for a World Team.<\/p>\n

Woods\u2019 said the advice of the WCAP coaching staff helped him overtake Cuban wrestler Daniel Gregorich, a former Olympian and four-time Pan American champion in the semifinals of the Pan American Games in Acapulco, Mexico in February.<\/p>\n

After trailing 3-0, Woods remained calm and rallied to win 6-3.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew exactly what he was going to do before he was going to do it. And now it’s because of the WCAP coaching staff. And I was able to stay a move ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, despite holding the early round bye at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials at Penn State, Woods\u2019 Olympic dream crumbled.<\/p>\n

In the championship final, Woods fell to 22-year-old Payton Jacobson in a best-of-three match to finish as the runner up.<\/p>\n

Jacobson, the seventh seed, took the first round, 8-2, then Woods bounced back to win round two, 5-2 before Woods lost a tight 3-1 final round.<\/p>\n

If Woods career has proven anything, he will return stronger. Mango recalled at international wrestling camps that Woods will single out the toughest competitor in the room and challenge him.<\/p>\n

Often, Woods will struggle in his first match going against some of the best in the world, but he will make mental notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not afraid to [take on] the toughest guy in the room,\u201d Mango said. \u201cYou\u2019ll see him get beat up and then a couple days later it\u2019s a match.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED LINKS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Army WCAP<\/a><\/p>\n

Army News Service<\/a><\/p>\n

ARNEWS archives<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Army Spc. Spencer Woods, a Greco-Roman style wrestler with the Army World Class Athlete Program, stands for a photo at Fort Carson, Colo. on March 12, 2024. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom) (Photo Credit: EJ Hersom) VIEW ORIGINAL FORT CARSON, Colo. \u2014 Spencer Woods couldn\u2019t pull his opponents or gain leverage without a sharp pain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177640,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=177638"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177644,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177638\/revisions\/177644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/177640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=177638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=177638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=177638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}