EXCEL WRESTLING NEWS

Clum Defies Odds to Qualify for Third NCAA Tournament Dan Clum qualified last weekend through the Big 10 Conference tournament, en route to his third NCAA Championships appearance. In St. Louis this week at the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships, Clum will be competing at 174lbs for the University of Wisconsin and looks to step on the podium as an NCAA All American in his senior year. Clum hasn't had the smoothest journey on the mat over the past ten years. He has had to overcome far more challenges than he ever thought possible. As a Colorado High School State Champion his junior year of high school, Clum endured witnessing the only defeat of his brother Tom in four years as Tommy lost his state finals match in his senior year of competition. "It was almost impossible to step on the mat that night after watching Tommy. I knew I had to do it though, and I had to win", said Dan. Dan's next season, as a high school senior, he dislocated his kneecap in the semi-finals of the Colorado state tournament. Unfortunately, this began a never-ending injury for Dan Clum that has haunted him to this day. In six years, since his senior high school season, Clum has undergone 5 knee surgeries. Despite many who at various times throughout his college career, said he won't make it or he just plain shouldn't compete, Dan Clum is competing and competing well. Out of high school, Dan was recruited to the University of Wyoming where somehow between knee surgeries, he managed to qualify for the NCAA tournament twice. In his junior year, because his older brother Tom was at the University of Wisconsin and they truly wanted to wrestle together, Dan transferred to the University of Wisconsin. In his very first match for the Badgers that year, Dan dislocated his kneecap again, tearing meniscus, which ended another season. After hundreds of hours of rehabilitation, even doctors and trainers discouraged him from ever competing again. Needless to say, very little stops Dan Clum. He has survived through another season and is now on his way to the 2008 NCAA Championships at 174lbs. Tommy Clum, now an assistant at Wisconsin, winning 2 Big 10 titles and twice earning NCAA All American honors said, "There is no doubt in my mind, Dan would have far exceeded what I was able to accomplish, had he ever been healthy through his college career. Unfortunately, he just wasn't able to put as much time in as he would have liked. I'm proud of him though, for how tough his is and his ability to endure so much", said Tom. Tom went on to say that at the end of last year, every trainer and every coach who advised Dan, told him he shouldn't wrestle this year. UW trainers had no confidence in the stability of his knee, but Dan insisted that he wrestle, even despite his mom and dad telling him it's probably time to cash it in! Now, before every practice and every competition, Clum gets his knee taped and braced and he never goes a day without rehab, regardless of whether it's match day or not. Dan's NCAA tournament begins Thursday morning, March 20th. On behalf of the Excel Wrestling Board of Directors and Coach Knight, congratulations Dan for the courage you have shown and we wish you the very best at the NCAA's this year