State Press Sports editors Koki Riley and Alex Coil sit down with reporter Cole Bradley to discuss his story on Cohlton Schultz, a back-to-back Greco-Roman champion and freshman on ASU's wrestling team.
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ALEX COIL:
Hello, everyone. Welcome back to SP Sports Weekly, your weekly roundup of State Press sports content. Alongside Koki Riley, I'm Alex Coil, and we're the sports editors at The State Press.
KOKI RILEY:
Joining us on the show now is State Press sports reporter Cole Bradley to talk about his piece on ASU wrestling phenom, Cohlton Schultz. Thank you so much for joining us today Cole.
COLE BRADLEY:
Thanks guys. Glad to be on.
KOKI RILEY:
So, Cole just to start things off, what about the story intrigued you?
COLE BRADLEY:
I guess to start, you know, I've known Cohlton, I followed Cohlton for a good chunk of his life. We used to be pretty good friends. I always was drawn to his, you know, his charisma, his character as a person and as an athlete. And you know, when I heard about stuff that transpired with him this summer and just the stuff that's been going on since he's been in the program, he's obviously a very talented individual.
I really wanted to cover that. I really wanted to have people see or get insight into the character of Cohlton and I was glad to be able to do that. And he's just an awesome guy to be around. He's a really bright character, just kind of lights up a room. So, I wanted to give people sort of that perspective.
ALEX COIL:
Now, the first thing that really catches my eye when I looked at this story obviously is the headline. The quote that says, 'He makes everyone around him better.' Why is that? And how is that?
COLE BRADLEY:
Well from what I've gathered, and you know, what I've heard from the people, his teammates and people who've talked to me is they're all just thankful that he's there. And so I always wanted to say like, well, why are you thankful? And so, when I was able to ask that, they said just the, again, the energy and the positivity that he brings to a room, he says pushes a lot of his teammates to put forth their best and do what they can to get better, just like he is.
The vibe I got from him was that he's really in it not for himself, but for all of his other teammates also. So it just sounds like there's definitely a mutual agreement between the coaches, Cohlton and you know, all of his teammates, when it comes to success and they all feed off of that energy that he brings.
KOKI RILEY:
So, you talk about that energy with Cohlton, where do you think he gets that energy from?
COLE BRADLEY:
You know, it's tough to say. I mean, there was a kid in the article, Chad Porter, one of his teammates, said that he was a goof and I guess that's like the perfect way to describe Cohlton. I mean, nothing brings him down. I mean, he's just a very lighthearted guy. I honestly feel like he gets that from a lot of his friends and a lot of people that he's close with who, a lot like him, again, sort of have this positive outlook and a really strong way of how they feel about life and the sport of wrestling and things like that. So I don't know exactly where he gets it from, but if I were to guess I'd, I'd say it's often everyone that he's around.
ALEX COIL:
Now obviously, the year 2020 has been a lot of things for a lot of people. But, another thing in this story that you kind of touched on a little earlier in terms of what happened over the summer, but as you write here, in July, his younger sister Sammie was killed in a car accident in Colorado.
How was he able to get through that? Has he gotten through that? How has his family helped him? How has he helped his family in that, especially in the wrestling community?
COLE BRADLEY:
Yeah, so, you know, it's something I'm sure he's still recovering from, but again, it was the energy or the vibe I got from him that he's definitely accepted it, and he's definitely moving towards just again, focusing on wrestling. He said he studied a lot of film this year. He trained a lot to get away from that. He said wrestling was a huge distraction for him this year, as it's always been.
But like you said, mentioning the family and everything like that. He talked a lot about how his parents, you know, and again, his friends and even his teammates have all sort of rallied around him and told him it's going to be okay, been very positive and everything. And again, that just has helped him, I think, get through a lot of this and get to the point where he is now.
ALEX COIL:
What about the tattoo on his arm, how was that played and how did that come about?
COLE BRADLEY:
It was something where I actually first noticed it in a photograph that was taken of him and so when I went to sort of bring that up, he said I always want a mark or something to remember my sister by. I want to carry her wherever I go. And I thought that was very powerful. And so, he said that getting that tattoo was his way of sort of again, carrying the memory of his sister wherever he goes, which I thought was extremely powerful and inspiring.
KOKI RILEY:
So, Cole, we've talked a lot about Cohlton as the person, what kind of wrestler is Cohlton?
COLE BRADLEY:
I guess one word to describe Cohlton, or one term I'd say, is just, "No limits."
I mean he's extremely good. He's always training. I mean, anyone who’s read the piece knows that he takes pride in what he does, and he works a lot towards his craft, and you know, it shows. I mean, all the accolades he’s amassed at this point, winning back-to-back Greco-Roman championships and he's again, has yet to actually wrestle for Arizona State.
It’s sometimes hard to distinguish the person from the athlete, but you know, when it comes to performing or being on the mat, he's no joke. He's an animal. He’s very precise with what he does and he's going to be the mainstay of the sport for years to come.
ALEX COIL:
Now you mentioned, that part that he has yet to wrestle for ASU quite yet. He's obviously had this tremendous success in the amateur ranks. What can he bring to the ASU wrestling program that has had so much success, especially in recent years?
COLE BRADLEY:
Yeah, and I think it really starts with, you know, what has already been done. I mean, recently it was announced that they brought in once again, the number one pound-for-pound recruit in the nation from this year's recruiting class and he was the number one recruit from 2019.
So, I think it's really, he's already brought this energy and this list of accolades to this program and in doing so, that’s attracting a lot of other top talent, not to mention obviously Zahid Valencia who's probably one of the greatest collegiate wrestlers of all time, who just graduated. That says a lot about ASU’s program, and I know Zeke Jones, the head coach, spoke a little bit about it, and he said a lot of people see these names like Cohlton and Zahid, and they're like, I want to wrestle with those guys, I want to be with those guys. And he says, that's really what has contributed to them bringing in top talent that he says one day is going to win them a national championship.
So, I think already the talent has been brought up through the ranks and, with Cohlton at the helm, I suppose, there’s really no telling what ASU can do when it comes to a national title and stuff like that. But I definitely think that they're going to be a team to watch, at bare minimum, for years to come.
KOKI RILEY:
I think that's a perfect note to finish up this podcast on thank you so much for joining us today, Cole.
COLE BRADLEY:
Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.
ALEX COIL:
Thank you all for listening to SP Sports Weekly. For more State Press content, visit statepress.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @statepress and at @statepresssport. See you all next week for the next episode of SP Sports Weekly.
Reach the reporters at ancoil@asu.edu and kbriley@asu.edu and follow @anc2018 and @KokiRiley on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
