SCMAT Exclusive Wrestling Article 3-2-21

10 wrestlers from South Carolina that inspired our state ...

... and influenced the SCMAT record book

Day #8 - Isaac "Ike" Anderson

This is the 1988 USA Olympic Greco-Roman team with SC wrestler Ike Anderson (front row, second on left).

"Ike" was the inspiring start of SCMAT.

The ideas and concepts around SCMAT were constantly forming for five years before the web site launched ... I was always thinking, how could we move beyond verbal stories and share the history of SC wrestling with everyone?

I am reminded of when Luke, the physician by profession, decided to write Theophilus ... along with others that took the time to write in that era ... there would be a fourteen hundred year transition from verbal stories being shared from scrolls to the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed books in the West.

And Ike Anderson's accomplishments in 1988 inspired the launch of SCMAT.com in the mid-1990's ... an amazing short journey of verbal stories and printed materials, to the Internet arriving and being available to everyone to see our SC wrestling history.

In 1986 I was back in South Carolina after graduating from college and working in Texas for a year. I had a great opportunity to coach Middle School and JV wrestling at Highland Park Dallas TX for a year under Coach Tim Marzuola, which gave me a chance to coach against some Texas greats, like Brandon Slay.

I started volunteer coaching back at my alma-mater, Irmo High School. Coach BD LaPrad was telling me an Olympian wrestler from SC, Ike Anderson, would be coming soon to hold a summer wrestling clinic. I remember being stunned and unaware that SC had produced an Olympic wrestler. By the time the clinic arrived, I felt lucky to meet the Olympian from SC and had to get a photo (see below)!

Even though January 1, 1983 is considered the official birthday of the Internet, we did not have the Internet in our lives back in those days ... not until the early/mid 1990's. And SCMAT was launched with the inspiration from this clinic by Ike Anderson at Irmo.

In the last few weeks, Katie LaPrad posted a photo on Facebook described as "A cool photo for many reasons!" ... her dad, her husband, her son and several other wrestlers (thanks for sharing Katie!) ... not only did Katie's photo resonate as being cool, but it brought back another photo to my memory (below) that has always been cool for many reasons to me. Four wrestlers with their high school careers covering the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's all in this photo ... including Katie's dad and brother.

SCMAT has done several articles over the years (2 links below), and I will add several other story lines and a video of the Olympic Trials match that Ike had with Buddy Lee.

SCMAT's 2005 Article - Where are they now? Ike Anderson

SCMAT's 2007 Article - I want to be like Ike ... GOLD in Baku, Azerbaijan!

Wrestlers At The Trials (book/2 pages covering Ike Anderson)

Video of Ike Anderson winning the Olympic Trials in Greco-Roman Wrestling

Ike Anderson and Buddy Lee are in the recordbooks for having the longest American overtime wrestling match: 19 min. and 58 sec. - at the 1988 Olympic Trials. Highlight moments for Ike in this video were at the 3 minute mark and the 7 minute 30 second mark. Ike would go on to finish 6th in the 1988 Olympics (Greco-Roman).

2012 Olympic Wrestling Team Media Guide - Ike Anderson

USA Wrestling Black History Month Special - February 15 with Ike Anderson

Here is a brief list of accolades for Ike Anderson:
1975 State Champion from Lower Richland
1979 NCAA Qualifier at Appalachian State University
3 years finishing National Champion (1st) at the U.S. Senior Greco-Roman Championships (1988, 1989, 1990)
4 years finishing 2nd at the U.S. Senior Greco-Roman Championships (1986, 1991, 1992, 1993)
1998 Olympian in Greco-Roman - 6th place finish at Olympics
USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Developmental Coach, 1998-2012
2007 - USA team was World Champions in Greco-Roman while Ike Anderson was coaching team
Head wrestling coach of Castle View High School (Castle Rock, CO) for last 6 years
Ike has been coaching now for 28 years. The majority of those years on the International and Olympic level.
He coached on 5 Olympic teams (2012, 2007, 2004, 2000, 1996) and he continues coaching elite wrestlers at the Olympic Training Center in Denver, CO

To wrap this lengthy post up, I wanted to give some details on the 1988 Olympic Greco-Roman team that are often hard to track down.

1988 Seoul, South Korea

USA team members - 1988 Greco-Roman wrestlers in Seoul, South Korea

Mark Fuller 105.5 lbs. (did not place)
Shawn Sheldon 114.5 lbs. (did not place)
Anthony Amado 125.5 lbs. (did not place)
Ike Anderson 136.5 lbs. 6th place
Andy Seras 149.5 lbs. (did not place)
David Butler 163 lbs. (did not place)
John Morgan 180.5 lbs. 7th place
Michial Foy 198 lbs. (did not place)
Dennis Koslowski 220 lbs. 3rd place
Duane Koslowski HWT 8th place

Top 8 placers in 1988 Greco-Roman Olympics at 62 kg (136.5 lbs):

1. Kamandar Madzhidov URS
2. Jivko Vangelov BUL
3. An Dae-hyun KOR
4. Jeno Bodi HUN
5. Peter Behl FRG
6. Isaac Anderson USA
7. Gilles Jalabert FRA
8. Hugo Dietsche SUI

Here are the six Olympic matches Ike Anderson had in 1988, including only a 2-1 loss to the Gold Medalist from Russia:

Group A - Round One 1988-09-18 Anderson (USA) decision (3-2), Tracz (POL)
Group A - Round Two 1988-09-18 Anderson (USA) passivity (4:13), Hu (CHN)
Group A - Round Three 1988-09-18 Anderson (USA) passivity (3:21), Loksairi (MAR)
Group A - Round Four 1988-09-19 An (KOR) decision (2-0), Anderson (USA)
Group A - Round Five 1988-09-19 Madzhidov (URS) decision (2-1), Anderson (USA)
5th/6th Place Match 1988-09-20 Behl (FRG) decision (5-1), Anderson (USA)

The South Carolina wrestling recordbooks have many entries with Ike's accomplishments. Maybe one day you will meet him too, since Ike comes back to Columbia, SC to see family almost every year and he always volunteers to put on clinics and camps.

These historical articles at SCMAT will hopefully provide accurate facts though we may always have missed some data at some point. If you notice a correction, addition or just want to comment please send a reply to scmat@hotmail.com

thanks,

Mark Buford