Kolat A U.S. Olympic Wrestler Of Note
Rices Landing Native Bidding For Olympic Gold
By John E. Sacco

Joe Kolat woke one morning only to find a note from his 7-year-old son, Cary, lying on a countertop at the family's Rices Landing home.

"Dad, I quit wrestling," signed Cary, was all the note read.

"I laughed," Joe Kolat said recently. "And stuck it in my wallet."

What the world would have missed if the young Kolat had followed through on his threat. Cary Kolat's has become a magical name, not only in his native Greene County, but also in Pennsylvania, the United States and the world.

He is one of the greatest wrestlers on the planet.

His inventive, flashy, thrill-a-second style defined him as a schoolboy. His mature, physical presence and confidence defines him now as a U.S. Olympian.

Four years ago, after suffering one of his most difficult defeats, to nemesis John Fisher in the Olympic Trials, Kolat could not hide his hurt or his thirst to be an Olympic champion.

"Everything else is practice," he said. "I want to be able to look back and say I won the Olympics."

Now 27-years old, the four-time PIAA, two-time NCAA, multiple time national freestyle champion and two-time World Championships placewinner has his chance. Kolat recently qualified for the 2000 Olympics Games, which take place in Sydney, Australia, next month, defeating Bill Zadick of Iowa in two straight bouts. Kolat won, 4-1 and 3-0, in the 138.75-pound weight class at the Olympic Trials in Dallas' Reunion Arena.

"I think the (Olympic) Trial process and the Open are probably the worst part of this because you face the same guys so many times," Kolat said. "It's so much more personal. Guys like (T.J.) Jaworski, Zadick and (Terry) Steiner have been chasing my heels the last four years.

"Everybody is very excited. In Greene County, it's a big thing. My parents, my town is just very proud. I think everyone else is just real up about it. I always expected to be here because I really got after my goal. Making that Olympic team is something I had in my mind that was going to happen. I'm glad the process is over. Being on the Olympic team is a great thing."

When the Kolat family returned home from Dallas, Joe Kolat presented the 20-year-old note he had been carrying around in his wallet to his son.

"I vaguely remember writing that note," Cary Kolat said. "I think I misspelled every word except I."

Kolat compiled an amazing 137-0 record while winning four PIAA Class AA championships for Jefferson-Morgan High School. He went from there to Penn State, where he placed second in the country as a freshman and third as a sophomore. A loss in the NCAA semifinals his sophomore season was one of the low points of his wrestling career.

"That was a miserable year for me," Kolat said. "I didn't reach my goal for a second time, school wasn't going the greatest for me and I wasn't happy where I was. I bugged out for awhile, went in reserve and decided to go to Lock Haven. I flourished in that area."

Flourished might be an understatement. He won NCAA titles in 1996 and 1997.

Since then, he has wrestled internationally. Initially, he remained at Lock Haven as an assistant coach then, shortly after marrying his wife Erin, he accepted a job coaching at Lehigh. Shortly after that, the couple moved to Wisconsin.

After three months there, in early January of this year, the Kolats moved closer to home, to Westover, W.Va., near West Virginia University in Morgantown. WVU is just 20 minutes from the Rices Landing home where he was raised and his parents still live.

Part of Kolat's reason to move back was an offer to be an assistant coach for the Mountaineers. He has known WVU Head Coach Craig Turnbull since he was 8-years old.

The other reason was to be able to work out in a more desirable training atmosphere. All the moving was necessary before Kolat felt totally comfortable with his surroundings, an essential element in training during an Olympic year.

"West Virginia was on my mind when we were in Wisconsin," Kolat said. "I had trained there the summer before we went to Wisconsin. Within two hours working out there, I knew it's where I am supposed to be. It was nice being back home. And while I was making the last push, it was just kind of nice for everyone."

The media and some in the general public have misunderstood Kolat, partly because he does not open up easily to others. When he's competing for a big prize, he really does not want to be bothered. It's his way of getting ready and staying focused.

In Dallas, he stayed by himself while Erin and other family members stayed in another location. He did not communicate with them until his place on the Olympic team was secure. As far back as his freshman season at Jefferson-Morgan, he's shied away from dealing with anyone until the task at hand was completed.

"I like to keep to myself and keep my thoughts to myself," he said. "My wife and family were more comfortable not being around me. It's easier for them and helped me keep my mind on wrestling.

"I was never comfortable about giving out quotes until I actually had achieved something. I never wanted to be painted as being overconfident."

Prior to the Olympic trial finals, all wrestlers had to pose for photos and were asked a question as if they had already made the Olympic team. Kolat despised that exercise.

"I had to present myself and then they start asking how does it feel to be on the team?" Kolat explained. "I started laughing. To me, it was a stupid question. But they have their jobs to do. I still don't like talking about anything until it's done."

Kolat hasn't enjoyed a lot of pleasant moments on the world stage. In all three of his appearances in the World Championships, controversy has enveloped him because some unusual rulings have gone against him.

He believes someone from the United States will "get stung" again in the Olympics, but he refuses to let that thought consume him. He thinks he has put together a winning plan.

"It's definitely in the back of my mind, but the way to deal with that is to spread the point gap on guys," he said.

Kolat, while never seeming completely at ease, has come to grips with many things. He enjoys a certain level of tranquility.

"My biggest problem used to be that when I stepped onto the mat I was wrestling two guys, my opponent and myself," he said. "I would get frustrated if I wasn't beating a guy by 15 points by the end of the second period. If it was close, I was almost embarrassed because I trained so hard. I was really going for perfection. That's OK, but it has to be (kept) in perspective.

"I learned that winning the bout was the main thing. I learned to be happy with the outcome. I learned to love winning 3-2. I get more satisfaction out of a one-point win knowing my opponent broke before I did."