<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Lincoln ? Nebraska wrestling head coach Mark Manning will take his talents half way across the world next week, as he will travel with the U.S. delegation as an assistant coach to the 2007 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sept. 17-23. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
“To be able to go to the World Championships is a great honor,” Manning said. “It is a great privilege to be able to go and watch the best wrestlers in the world compete. My job is to go there and help the U.S. bring back seven gold medals and a team title.”
Manning has his share of international experience. He was selected as the head coach of the U.S. team for the 2001 World Championships. He also coached in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics as an assistant.
International wrestling differs slightly from collegiate. In international competition there are five weight classes instead of 10, and wrestlers can choose from two divisions in freestyle and Greco-Roman. Manning will focus his efforts on the freestyle team, while two of his former wrestlers, Brad Vering and Justin Ruiz, will compete for the U.S. in the Greco-Roman division.
Manning is entering his eighth year as Nebraska’s head coach in 2007-08, having compiled a 118-63-4 dual record. He returns six national qualifiers from a squad that finished 16th at the 2006 NCAA Championships, including sophomore Paul Donahoe, who claimed a national title at 125 pounds last year.
The country of Azebaijan, where the World Championships are being held, is located north of Iran and east of Armenia.