Kiley decides to stay put amid controversy

BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer

It's one of the greatest fears of NCAA Division I college athletes, especially freshmen.

It's when their coach, who recruited them harder than anyone else and made sure they got a deserved scholarship package, who had the faith to put them into the lineup right from the start and to nurture their confidence, who became like an admired family member making sure they stay on the right path and take care of their schoolwork, leaves for a coaching job elsewhere.

Dave Kiley, of Brick, had that happen to him shortly after completing a creditable freshman season at Virginia Tech, where he was named the rookie of the year on one of the youngest wrestling programs in the nation. He learned that coach Tom Brands left the rebuilding program after two seasons to become head coach at Brands' alma mater, where he was two-time national champion - the University of Iowa.

Brands' replacement is another Hawkeye alumnus and All-American there - Kevin Dresser, who has coached at Christiansburg High School in Virginia for the past 10 years, winning five Group AA state titles and finishing second three other years.

And a replacement who knows nothing about Kiley or any of the other Virginia Tech wrestlers who can return in the fall.

"First thing is, no other coach is like Tom Brands," said Kiley of the 1996 Olympic champion. "Probably the most important thing was that coach Brands and his staff kept me mentally tough. I got nothing but the best training and I improved greatly."

Apparently, Kiley is not the only one to feel that way, and that's made for some controversy on the Blacksburg, Va., campus and some "hard feelings" from the school when Brands left, said Kiley. Five other wrestlers recruited by Brands looked to transfer to Iowa, but were not granted waivers by Virginia Tech, which would have given them immediate eligibility at Iowa. Only two wrestlers graduate from a team that won only one meet in one of the tougher schedules in the country with a rebuilding lineup.

Kiley, instead, is taking a wait-and-see attitude, and already has met with Dresser, who was appointed in mid-April.

"Obviously, we've got a challenge in front of us," said Dresser on the college's athletics Web site. "When I coached at Christiansburg, we had challenges and I think we met them.

"My first step is to get to know my team and make sure their academics are fine," Dresser said.

Kiley is not sure of his status - no starting spots are guaranteed.

Kiley says Dresser is a "great guy." But Kiley is uncertain whether he'll red-shirt this season after nearly red-shirting last season, or if he'll fight for a starting spot.

"I started off red-shirting last season and won two wrestle-offs [in practices] so my coaches wanted me to try it," said Kiley, who competed at 157 pounds, five pounds higher than when he was at Brick Memorial. Last season, Kiley finished eighth in the NJSIAA championships despite some painful injuries that he wrestled through.

He is home at Brick these days but plans to return to Virginia Tech next month to take summer classes and to start training again, which includes three workouts a week with 45 minutes of competitive wrestling on his own against his teammates. The season begins Nov. 13 with the Mat Jam Duals in North Carolina.

"I have to leave a [good] first impression and hope to do that, because you don't get a second chance on a first impression," said Kiley last Thursday.

"The new coach wants to win and to do what it takes to get a winning program," said Kiley. "I feel the program is in good hands and he'll give me every opportunity."

But Dresser also has been recruiting high school seniors and those athletes may get a more favorable view than Brands' leftovers.

"The thing is, some [wrestlers] looked to transfer and some stayed, and I would hope the school [Virginia Tech] would respect my decision to stay and give me my release if I [ever] decide to transfer," said Kiley. "It's a big decision to transfer. I figure I'll give it [at least] one more year, and either compete or red-shirt. If I like the way things work out, I'll stay. If I feel I'll get a better opportunity with the coaching at Iowa, I'll look to transfer."

But Kiley says he has had "a great time at Virginia Tech. It's a good Division I wrestling experience."

Kiley went 6-12, but like any outstanding, young wrestler, measures his effectiveness not only in wins but how well he wrestled in losses to very highly regarded opponents. He lost by a point to eventual weight class champion Codey Hamirhan of North Carolina State, 11-10, in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

He also well remembers a 6-4 overtime victory in a dual match at a packed Iowa State gym when he rallied back from a 4-2 deficit with eight seconds left in regulation with a takedown.

Kiley also speaks proudly of how, in his second meeting of the season with All-American C.J. Schlatter of NCAA champion Minnesota, he dropped a 7-4 decision. Kiley lost the first time on a technical fall about six weeks earlier in his first varsity match.

"I was in a position to win," said Kiley. "It was my training. I kept improving every day in practice."

Kiley said the transition from high school to college "was like night and day. It's a whole different ballgame," he said.

"You have to be 100 percent more dedicated. The competition is so much better and it's competitive in every match. Your strength and technique have to improve.

"You think you know a lot, and then you realize how far away you are," said Kiley.

Although Kiley said it was a lot of adjustment, he said he did not feel a personal turning point all season but "felt comfortable for the whole season. The big reason is the coaching staff. There are little details you never really realize that make you hit and hold your moves."

Always a well-rounded wrestler (that helped him win nearly 100 bouts in his high school career), Kiley said he is able to stay in better position now. And he avoided the scourge of injuries from a year ago, the greatest one being a big lump on his forehead that forced him to wear a mask until he would shed it later in matches so that he could see better peripherally.

And because he says he grew a little since high school, Kiley said he only had to drop about 8 pounds off his natural weight of 165 pounds to compete in his weight class. He plans on competing at that same weight class again when practices begin in October.