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The Kings Mountain Herald
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‘August 21, 2008
-
Dremiel Byers’ gold dream falls short
but look for him again in 2012 Olympics
The Olympic gold medal
dream of Kings Mountain
native Dremiel “Bam” Byers fell
short last week in Beijing when
he finished 7th following a third
round upset to a Swedish
heavyweight in the Greco-
Roman wrestling competition.
Byers won his first two
matches before losing and even
outscored his opponent in the
match that he lost.
A newly-adopted rule from
2005 was Byers’ downfall, but
he didn’t make any excuses for
the loss. After winning the first
round 3-1, Byers lost the second
and third rounds when the trail-
ing Swede won the color draw,
took the down position, stalled
the final 30 seconds to keep
Byers from rolling him over and
was awarded a point for his
“defense.” In the second round,
even though the score was 1-1,
the Swede was awarded the
round because he scored last.
The third round was the same
outcome.
None of Byers’ opponents
were able to roll him and he
never trailed in any match. He
had a 5-2 advantage in points
over his opponents.
Byers’ wrestling coach at
Kings Mountain High School,
Steve Moffitt, watched the
match on the Internet and
talked to Byers by phone after
the match.
“I told him I was proud of
him and told him to keep his
head up,” Moffitt said. “I'm
sure he’s down. The scoring is
so much different now and it
doesn’t make any sense, in my
opinion. It came down to the
luck of the draw. Bam was
never turned and he turned
everybody he wrestled. Just
because the other guy’s color
was pulled and he was able to
stall and keep Bam from turn-
ing him he was awarded the
victory.”
Byers, contacted at his home
in Colorado Springs Tuesday
morning, said looking back he
realizes he can win the Olympic
gold in 2012.
“I lost because I just wasn’t
able to turn him in the last 30
seconds,” Byers said. “Looking
back, I know for a fact it's a
small tournament and on top of
that there’s not enough recov-
ery time between rounds. But,
definitely, it’s a winnable tour-
nament. I've been in tougher
tournaments than that.
“I can’t walk past a mirror
now without seeing who is to
blame for the loss,” he added. “I
can’t kick anybody but myself. I
had a lot of opportunities to
score and didn’t.”
Byers says not attempting to
go back to the Olympics in 2012
is not an option for him.
“I have to go,” he said, “espe-
cially when I know I can get the
job done. A lot of things are
going to happen between now
and then to make it happen. It
may be experimenting with
some things. But it’s too much a
part of my life to walk away
yet.”
Byers isn’t quite ready to get
back on the mat now, though.
Since returning home Sunday
he’s crashed.
“For some reason, I wasn’t
prepared for the time zone
DREMIEL BYERS
changes this time. They really
got me,” he said. “I slept all
night Sunday and all day
Monday. My bed and I have
gotten reacquainted.”
Soon, though, Byers said he
will get back on the mat to “fix
some things I did wrong.”
There are no major tournaments
until winter.
“I'm pretty much going to sit
back,” he said. “I'm going to lift
real hard and put on some mus-
cles, and do some drills and
work on things I didn’t do right
and improve on the things I did
right.”
Preparing for matches in the
Olympics is somewhat different
than other tournaments, Byers
said. “You get there and try to
stay away from people and get
in the groove,” he said. “When
you get to the competition
there’s no competition. That's
not taking anything away from
anybody because everybody
there can wrestle. But it’s small
competition compared to some
of the tournaments I've been
in.”
Byers said his strategy should
Educational Fund established
for the children of Greg Tate
The family of Greg Tate has
received an overwhelming out
pouring of affection and sup-
port from family and friends
near and far. For this, the family
expresses their sincere and
heart felt appreciation.
At the request of many of
these supporters, an education
fund has been established. Any
contribution made to the “Greg
Tate Memorial Education
Fund” will be used exclusively
for the educational pursuits of
his children, Kristen and
Brooks.
In order to provide custodial
care of any contribution to the
fund and to assure appropriate
disbursements from the fund,
the family has established a
dedicated account through the
Kings Mountain branch of
Wachovia Bank.
If you are so inclined, you
may make your voluntary and
tax-deductible contribution to:
GTMEE, c/o Wachovia, Kings
Mountain Financial Center,
NC1359, Attention: Elaine
Grigg, 125 Battleground
Avenue, Kings Mountain, NC
28086.
have been “to go one match at a
time...one move at a time...one
second at a-time,” he said. “You
have to break it down and hope
for the best. I got into a situation
where it was ‘I hope they pull
my color’ but they didn’t pull
my color in either of the last two
rounds. I didn’t score in the last
30 seconds and I lost. In that sit-
uation it’s too easy for the oppo-
nent to just shut it down. A lot
of people are developing that
style of wrestling. The responsi-
bility lies on the person that
didn’t score and I didn’t seize
my opportunities.”
After a short recovery period,
Byers said he will be going.all
over the United States on behalf
of the U.S. Army, talking to
youngsters about wrestling and
his experiences.
He hopes to visit Kings
Mountain in the near future, but
until he gets home he wants to
say hello to everyone. “I miss
them and I really appreciate
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their support,” he said. “Expect
more from me.”
Byers also wants to encourage
the wrestlers at Kings Mountain
High School to work hard.
Byers was state heavyweight
champion for the Mountaineers
in:1993.
“I want everyone wrestling at
Kings Mountain High School to
know that this is possible for
them, too,” Byers said. “I came
from the same place they're at
now and they re doing the same
thing in practice and matches
that I did. If they'll just believe
in themselves, train hard and
stay focused they can accom-
plish anything they want.”
One former KMHS wrestler,
Rodney Houser, made the trip
to China to see Byers perform.
Byers said he tried to make con-
tact with former Crest High
running star Travis Padgett, a
member of the 4 x 100 meter
relay team, several times but
missed him.
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