A Revere alumnus traveled to Russia with his college team to train with an Olympic wrestler from Venezuela in preparation for the upcoming wrestling season.

This past summer Baldwin Wallace sophomore Zeck Lehman, eight of his college teammates and two coaches from the Baldwin Wallace wrestling team traveled to Russia to train with Olympic wrestler Jose Diaz from Venezuela. Lehman wrestled in the 182 pound weight class during high school and was a three-time state qualifier and a two-time state placer. He is currently wrestling in the 184 pound weight class for Baldwin Wallace. The trip to Russia was proposed by Baldwin Wallace’s head coach Jamie Gibbs as a division three cultural exchange.

The team spent ten days in Russia on a military base about ten miles from Moscow, where they slept, ate and trained with the Russian and the Olympic wrestlers. Lehman described the schedule for an average day.

“We would wake up and eat breakfast in the morning around 9 am then head out to our first training session that started around 10 or 11, then we would come back and eat lunch and just relax until our next wrestling session that would start around 5 pm. We would come back and eat dinner and just relax, hang out with some of the Russian wrestlers, play cards, or go to some of the local stores to get some snacks and other items,” Lehman said.

Assistant coach for the Baldwin Wallace yellow jackets Mason True was with the team on the trip. He explained his impression of Russia while he was there.

“I had a much different impression of Russia after going there. Everyone said that Russians and Americans do not get along and that was not true. They were friendly and welcoming. The Russian people were very interested in learning about the American culture and the English language,” True said.

Baldwin Wallace’s 197 pounder Tyler Maclellan has wrestled on Baldwin Wallace’s wrestling team for three years. He went on the Russian trip as well, explaining his desire to begin training in a foreign country.

“I wanted to go to Russia because it was a way for me to further my wrestling ability and also for the cultural exchange. It was a once in a lifetime experience,” Maclellan said.

This is Lehman’s first year as a starter for Baldwin Wallace. He won his first collegiate match by pin in the first period. He explained the difference between college and high school wrestling.

“It is a lot more serious obviously, now in college everyone wants to be here so everyone is going to work hard so it is what you do extra and how much harder you push yourself than everyone else that will separate you. This is especially evident due to the competitiveness of Division III wrestling, There are more wrestling programs in Division III [with 93 programs] than any other Division in the NCAA, Division II only has 59 and Division I has 76,” Lehman said.

The Russians and Americans have always had a rivalry in the area of wrestling. Lehman explained some of the similarities and differences between American and Russian wrestling.

“Russian wrestling is a lot more precise and exact, they slow things down more and really focus on hitting moves perfect every time. They also do not do a lot of conditioning as far as cardio work like we do here in America,” Lehman said.

Lehman hopes to pursue a Division III state championship in the near future. He works hard and dedicates himself to not only making himself better, but also his team as well.