'It was super special': Iowa State's David Carr returns to Perry to wrestle Cleveland State
PERRY TWP. — David Carr doesn’t lack for accolades. The 2018 Perry graduate is a four-time All-American, four-time Big 12 champion, national runner-up and national champion for Iowa State.
He’s a five-time — yes, five-time — high school state champion and an Ironman and Fargo freestyle champion.
That said, there’s just something about coming home that matters the most.
The Cyclones senior got to do just that when Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser brought his team to Perry’s gymnasium to wrestle Cleveland State on Sunday.
The Cyclones won 43-3 and Carr pinned former Stow standout Daniel Patten in 1:47 in front of hundreds of fans.
“I have a lot of good memories here,” Carr said. “Being a senior and coming back here to create one more good memory in front all of these Ohioans, it’s pretty special.
“I talked to all the Perry wrestlers and all the young kids coming up and told them anything is possible. You just have to work hard and believe. Trust in God and he’ll do the right things. This was super special. It was awesome having my teammates here. Having coach Dresser and the staff put this together, this is something I’ll remember forever.”
Kyle Dake, Shane Sparks among stars who come out to see Iowa State national champ David Carr wrestle
The event was nationally televised with four-time national champ and Olympic bronze medalist Kyle Dake as the color commentator and the voice of NCAA wrestling Shane Sparks on the call.
If you were a who’s who in Ohio wrestling, you were in the gym to watch Carr. Well-wishers stood around afterward to talk and kids stood in line to take pictures and get autographs.
“What I love about wrestling is everybody has a story and it starts someplace,” Sparks said. “It starts at a local wrestling room and then a high school. You always remember where you came from. For David Carr to come back in the high school is super cool.
“It’s Sunday afternoon — who needs football when you’ve got this? We all love the 20,000-seat venue, but there’s something to say about this. David Carr has to have so many memories flooding back with his teammates and putting on the Perry singlet.”
David Carr's accolades are still being felt by Perry wrestling
Those teammates were there and so were the current generation of Panthers.
Nate Carr, the regional training center coach for Iowa State, was the coach at Perry, where his son won three of his five state titles.
“David is a great ambassador for the sport and a great son,” he said. “It’s come full circle. I thought it was great of Coach Dresser to come back here where David won a lot of championships. We’re excited to see him compete and see old friends.
"The younger wrestlers look up to David. He’s such a professional. I love to see him here. For me, I’m kind of in the background, but for me I’m very appreciative to Coach Dresser to do this. To David it’s really special.”
Senior and reigning state champ Aidan Fockler said he remembers watching David Carr win his final title when he was a sixth grader in the Perry system.
He was back in the gym to see Carr pay it forward.
Dresser, who also has his Cylones wrestle in his high school gym at Humboldt, Iowa, was happy to bring his standout home.
“This is just for David,” Dresser said. “He’s helped us turn our program around. He was the biggest recruit we got, and his goal was to make this program a national championship program. We keep climbing. We haven’t gotten all we want yet, but he’s a big part of it. We drove here this morning to work out and he said, ‘Coach, I just want you to know how much this means to me.’”
Greater Akron/Canton wrestlers were happy to be wrestling in Perry
It meant quite a bit to the Cleveland State wrestlers.
Ben Smith, who wrestled at Hoover, didn’t mind stepping into his rival’s gym.
“The last time I was here I won sectional,” he said. “To come back in this gym brings back memories. All of my family was here to watch me today. It’s a cool moment. It’s great to see everyone working together to grow the sport as much as possible. For David to come back for something cool like this, it’s awesome that it was able to come back full circle.”
Losing hurt a little less for Patten in the season opener against the No. 10 Cyclones.
“It’s great for the community and Northern Ohio,” he said. “I know growing up it was great to see high-level wrestling. I got to wrestle the national champ. When I was in high school or middle school that would have been cool for me to see.
“To come back here, it’s got the feel of a high school match. I remember when I was in high school I remember thinking I might get to wrestle him. To get the opportunity to do that today, I was excited. It was great to let if fly and see what happened.”
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: NCAA wrestling: Massillon Perry alum David Carr wrestles at home again
