Life looks quite different for the  Cyclone Regional Training Center and I know it does for all of you.

First and most importantly, all of our wrestlers and coaches are healthy and safe. We hope you and your families are, as well!

Since mid-March, our athletes have been at home -- in Ames or with their parents -- training on their own. We are hoping to resume training together sometime this summer. Currently we are waiting on updated guidelines for a safe return.

Before COVID hit, we were scheduled to take student athletes to two freestyle competitions: The UWW Junior Nationals in Las Vegas and the U23 World Team Trials in Ohio.

In addition, our post-graduate athletes Joey Palmer and Kyven Gadson were slated to wrestle at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Pennsylvania State University, with Willie Miklus competing in the hopes of joining them there. Nate Carr was coaching all three athletes.

As you know, those competitions were canceled, and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo were postponed until 2021.

Kyven and Willie remain on our staff. Joey Palmer decided not to continue his training and took a job back in Washington State. We wish him well and he did a great job for us.

In the midst of this, last month the  C-RTC celebrated its third anniversary!

Like most non-profit organizations, our donations have slowed down since mid-March. And we will regretfully have to cancel or reschedule our summer-time fundraisers. We are hoping to push back our Third Annual C-RTC Golf Event to August. Stay tuned for the exact date and for dates on a couple other socials we are planning to hold later this summer and early fall.

Because all of our wrestling and fundraising operations have been shut down by COVID, like many we have been forced to get creative to keep our C-RTC staff and athletes as whole as possible. Through the combination of the stimulus plan and filing for unemployment, we are plodding through these tough times.

BUT we do have some good news ahead! One of our most-generous donors will help us KICK OFF a new fundraising campaign that begins right NOW! This donor is an ISU grad and his father wrestled at ISU in the 1930's.

He will match all donations up to a total of $100,000 that come in starting NOW through the end of the summer. This DOUBLE DOWN Campaign will prepare us to keep the C-RTC thriving and strong. (You can watch my new VIDEO on the campaign HERE.)

We understand many of you may be facing financial challenges now. We don't know what those are. But if you are in a position to support us financially at this time, we appreciate it. We are on the path to building a top-ranked program and we still need your help.

Contribute any time between NOW and September 1, and your donation will be doubled by our secret donor AND you also will get our new WHITE  WE Will Wrestle Again T shirt (logo pictured below), in addition to our normal donor gifts listed HERE.

For all of you who got on our RTC tree last year, we want you to get on AGAIN. For those who didn't get on our tree, NOW is a great time. Your donation will be doubled (up to a total of $100k) AND you get extra swag!!

You can go online and donate HERE.

Or mail us a check at 3103 NW 89th Ave., Ankeny, IA 50023. Please be sure to specify your t-shirt sizes on your check.

Here is where our C-RTC Money Goes:

Post Graduate Athletes....We provide a monthly stipend to support these athletes. We also provide a place to live in our new C-RTC town homes, plus top-level coaching and administrative and fundraising support, travel expenses and entry fees, certified trainers, and necessary training and competition gear and equipment.

Current College Student Athletes...We provide top-level coaching and administrative support, some travel and entry fee support, certified trainers, and necessary competition gear and equipment.

So as I close, I want to remind all that it has been my goal since Day One when I arrived back in Iowa in February 2017 to make Ames a top spot for Wrestling prominence. While the current state of affairs may have slowed us down, I feel we have made a lot of progress in all areas and I can promise you the best is in front of us.

We again need your help moving forward. By getting on our tree NOW, and supporting our events later this summer and fall, we can hit the numbers to keep getting better.

Thank you and now its time to DOUBLE DOWN on Cyclone Wrestling.

#It'sGonnaTakeEveryone

Coach Dresser