USOEC, Olympian Mango beat Japanese grapplers

Area wrestling fans enjoyed international action on Tuesday night in Albee Hall, where the United States Olympic Education Center took on Japanese grapplers from Gunma University.

The Japanese squad traveled 26 hours from Tokyo to Oshkosh in order to take part in the event, which was a fundraiser for the UW-Oshkosh wrestling team.

The dual meet, which was won by the USOEC, was a way for both teams to improve their skills and prepare on an international level.

Yoshimaro Yanagawa, the head coach of Gunma, has ties to the Fox Valley after attending Fond Du Lac Goodrich High School in 1994 and competing in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association State Wrestling Championship.

During his time at Goodrich, Yoshimaro was coached by current Oshkosh assistant coach, Larry Marchionda, which was a factor in the team coming to Oshkosh.

This was the Japanese's second time in the area after competing in a meet last year in Freedom.

Many governments are advocates of these international matches because they expose their wrestlers to different coaching and wrestling styles, according to Titans head coach Mike DeRoehn. 

Coach DeRoehn also said that hosting Japan's wrestlers benefits his squad.

"Our guys had a chance to learn from these guys a little bit, and they're at a very high level so it's a great opportunity," he said. "We've taken a ton from this experience having them on our campus."