Extending their reach

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Neuqua Valley wrestler Alex Cizek is accustomed to competing against foes from Waubonsie Valley or Glenbard North.

Cizek occasionally has the chance in the offseason to grapple against wrestlers from across the state and country.

This summer, however, Cizek and a host of local wrestlers will have the rare chance to go up against wrestlers at the international level.

The unusual dual meet will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Neuqua Valley High School when wrestlers from Team Overtime School of Wrestling in Naperville host wrestlers from the Beroe Wrestling Club, located in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.

"It is not like you get a chance to wrestle an opponent from a foreign country every day," said Cizek, who will be a junior at Neuqua this fall. "I'm really looking forward to the opportunity."

Sean Bormet helped organize the event. Bormet operates and coaches at Team Overtime, where he and other coaches help train wrestlers from across northern Illinois and northwest Indiana. Bormet has wrestled, trained and coached with USA Wrestling.

"It is an important ingredient to have exposure with foreign athletes, especially for our athletes who are trying to aspire internationally," he said. "I'm trying to integrate our athletes to train and compete with foreign opponents at an early age. This is a great chance for the wrestlers on both teams to get exposed to new opponents and different styles of wrestling."

The event will feature 15 to 18 matches displaying freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling styles, which are more commonly found internationally and are used at the Olympics.

Americans are most accustomed to folkstyle - or scholastic - wrestling, which focuses on control. The freestyle and Greco-Roman styles place less emphasis on control.

Another difference is that in freestyle wrestling, an athlete can score points without having control of the opponent.

"This will give exposure to the average fan about the different styles of wrestling that the sport has to offer," Bormet said.

The meet is part of a 10-day training camp. The Bulgarians arrived Monday and are staying with host families while they train twice a day with the Team Overtime wrestlers in Naperville.

The coaching staffs on both teams each run practice sessions so the athletes from both countries get to experience how wrestling is coached in the other country.

"They wrestle using speed and flexibility," said Matt Cavallaris, who will be a junior at Neuqua this fall. "It's been great to share how we wrestle here with how they wrestle back home. The styles are different."

Bulgarian wrestler Nikolay Stanchev agreed.

"It is great for us because we get to learn and practice with wrestlers from another country and that is great experience," said Stanchev, who participated in a foreign-exchange program in Idaho during 2003-04. "I've been to the United States before, but for some of the athletes on this trip this might be their only chance to come here."

The doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students. Children 5 and younger get in free.