Olympian credits hometown for work ethic

HOWELLS - Sporting a smile many in Howells have known for 25 years, Brad Vering returned to the place where his career in wrestling began on Saturday.

There he talked about the place where it will take him next: to Athens, Greece, for the 2004 Olympics.

He also thanked the people of Howells for instilling in him the work ethic to get there.

"I just took it for granted," Vering said to a crowd of nearly 200 at the Howells High School gym. "I'm proud to be from Howells, Nebraska."

Vering, who won three state high school championships at Howells and one national championship at Nebraska, will represent the United State in Greco-Roman wrestling at this year's Olympic Games.

His stop in Howells was one of a four-city, one-day whirlwind tour coming just before he leaves for an Olympic tune-up tournament in Poland.

Vering, who lives and trains in Colorado Springs, flew to Omaha for a stop before going to Fremont, where he competed in youth wrestling. He made a stop at his hometown before finishing the journey at Norfolk.

T-shirts and posters were on sale at all four stops. Besides serving as an opportunity for Vering to meet with his fans, the tour was also used as a fundraiser to help defray some of Vering's expenses while competing internationally.

Vering finished fifth in the world in Greco-Roman at the 2002 and 2003 world championships.

Vering first made a name for himself statewide while in high school, a level where he still holds or shares three state records. His 148 career wins is an all-class state mark, and his 116 consecutives victories is a Class D mark.

Howells coach Lee Schroeder, Vering's high school coach, agreed that Vering learned the work ethic from the people in his hometown.

"Northeast Nebraska and Central Nebraska, in rural communities, people get up and work hard every day, and I think he saw that," said Schroeder, who coached Vering to state championships in 1994 (Class D 160 pounds), 1995 (172) and 1996 (171). "I think he maybe didn't realize exactly the work ethic that was inside of him until he got to the higher levels of wrestling and saw people with maybe even more talent than he had that weren't willing to work that he could pass up.

"At the higher levels, you have to have a work ethic or you're just going to plain lose. He had that work ethic ... he's always had a work ethic that's just unbelieveable, and it's paid off for him."

Through Vering graduated from Howells eight years ago, the effect of his work ethic can still be seen in the high school's sports programs.

The Bobcats have won four straight state football championships, the wrestling team won the Class D state title, and the Howells boys and girls track and field teams each finished third in Class D at the State Track and Field Meet. In addition, the Howells boys basketball team was the Class D-1 state runner-up in 2003.

"It just shows you what hard work can do," said Michael Bayer, who graduated in May from the school. Bayer was an All-Stater in football and won his second straight state wrestling title in Class D at 215 pounds in February.

"He taught us that if you believe in yourself and if you really work for it that you can achieve your highest goals. Everybody looks up to him, and he's just a great person."

At Nebraska, Vering's highest point came in 2000 when he won the 197-pound national championship. He went 38-3 that year, with all three losses coming to Mark Munoz of Oklahoma State.

Vering won the title by defeating Zach Thompson of Iowa State.

The Howells graduate will take his trek to what he hopes to be a gold medal in Athens on Aug. 24-26.

But if the turnout at Howells and the other three places on his one-day tour are any indication, many people already consider him a gold-medal champion.

"It's a tribute to him that he thinks he learned (hard work) from us," Schroeder said. "And yet, to me, he's showed us so many things."