The key for Amos coming back down to Earth appeared in his pocket after returning to the Wisconsin Regional Training Center earlier in the summer. But ever since I’ve come back here, it has been great, both mentally and physically.” Getting used to that aspect of things was rough. I love the camps, I love the opportunities, but I enjoy training at home a little more. That part was tough because I was jumping time zones, jumping continents, and didn’t get in the room here (in Wisconsin) to train until over these past two months, to really hunker down and say, Okay, now it’s time to win a World Championship. You still have responsibilities to take care of stuff. “Even though you are getting all of these once in a lifetime opportunities, it’s still stressful. “For a while there, it was a lot to keep up with,” Amos admitted before taking a brief pause. Mix in a pair of other camps more recently, and one could only wonder the type of toll so much travel might take on the wunderkind. There was Olympic Team camp in May, with a trip overseas shortly thereafter. But - largely because of the impact he made as a Senior competitor - training has involved more opportunities than he had previously considered, and most of it has occurred within a rather compressed period of time. Following his blitz of activity in the spring, Amos’ summer has naturally centered around preparation for the Junior World Championship (freestyle starts Monday morning on FLO). That hardly means he has slowed down, though things calmed down ahead of his departure to Russia just three days ago. The Route to RussiaĪmos has not participated in a live, sanctioned match since late-April.
The only bouts he lost were on the Senior level. Amos doubled his workload at three events, winning three brackets whilst finishing second twice. Different styles are, technically, different tournaments. More fast-math: dating back to March 26, Amos has essentially competed in six tournaments. In Greco-Roman, all of his victories were recorded via tech, and all 46 of his points scored were due to offensive actions. Competing once again as a dual-style athlete, Amos soared above the field. The selection process for the Juniors delivered to Amos an opportunity to showcase his progression against suitable contemporaries. Hancock swept Amos, though the pair of defeats could not hope to diminish the youngster’s overall performance.
#Amos coming out on top series
One round later, he did the same to now-two-time National champ Nick Boykin (Sunkist/Ohio RTC), thus advancing to the Trials’ best-of-three series opposite G’Angelo Hancock (Sunkist).
#Amos coming out on top zip
Zip forward a week to the Olympic Trials, where Amos edged none other than Luke Sheridan (Army/WCAP) in the semifinal. Amos finished “true second” in leg-touch but won his Greco bracket on the strength of a thrilling decision over two-time World Team member Jake Clark (Minnesota Storm, and who entered the tournament at a spry 41 years of age). Most had assumed Amos would be in the running at the Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier - and were quickly proven correct after he indeed secured berths in both international disciplines. When the door finally swung open, he was ready. Amos was used to wrestling a lot of matches.
#Amos coming out on top full
His first full season brought forth a series of adjustments. The college season last year was not a competitive one for Amos, what with COVID, redshirt concerns, and a litany of other scholastic peripherals keeping him on the sidelines. He had put West Virginia back on the map during his Parkersburg South days, with numerous Fargo title runs helping the cause.
Amos, 20, was one of the nation’s most coveted college prospects prior to landing at the University of Wisconsin. That is what happens when such a talented wrestler in America maximizes the ability everyone was already convinced they had.
Not quite 150 days later, Amos is a changed young man. A quick glance at the calendar tells the story: just under five months. But the catapult responsible for Amos’ zooming ascension was not yanked until brittle brown leaves sought replacement by their lively green counterparts. You might suppose that it started well before the winter had transformed into spring, and in a way it did, for Braxton Amos (97 kg, Sunkist) was mired in grueling practices during the latter stages of the collegiate season. The whirlwind began towards the end of March.