After his bronze medal victory in the 65-kg wrestling category at the Paris Olympics, Sebastian Rivera received a congratulatory message from the wrestling legend Jordan Burroughs. The 2012 Olympic champion didn’t hold back his praise for the Puerto Rican wrestler, who had overpowered Tulga Tumur-Ochir, the Mongolian standout. In his X post, Jordan Burroughs also acknowledged Rivera’s coach, Jeff Buxton, who had significantly contributed with valuable inputs to Rivera’s performance. “That’s wisdom and Leadership. Congratulations Sebastian Rivera!” remained the final line. Seriously, the inputs from coaches had been the key difference at the penultimate game in Paris.
The bronze medal match was tightly contested, with the scores between Rivera and Ochir tied. However, a review of a last-minute takedown gave the 26-year-old Rivera the edge. The challenge to review the decision came from Jeff Buxton and Donny Pritzlaff, Rivera’s coaches. Both Buxton and Pritzlaff have backgrounds in Rutgers wrestling, Rivera’s alma mater. Notably, there had been changes before the Paris Olympics, affecting the team dynamics.
After spending 10 years as the associate wrestling coach at Rutgers University, Donny Pritzlaff left the position. In June of this year, he took on the role of Andrew F. Berth Head Coach of Wrestling at Columbia University. This transition raised questions about Rivera’s decision to continue working with his Rutgers coaches. However, everything is now in place, as Rivera has announced that he will continue working with Pritzlaff.
In the podcast with Frankie Edgar, Sebastian said, “I don’t know if they handled the situation the best way they could have, nothing against him, he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do.” That might have been targeted at Scott Goodale, the head coach of the wrestling at Rutgers.
Sebastian Rivera said on Frankie Edgar’s podcast he is planning to go coach with Donnie Pritzlaff at Columbia.
He mentioned that he had love for Goodale and Rutgers, but added: “I don’t know if they handled the situation the best way they could have, nothing against him, he’s…
— Christian Pyles (@CPyles8) September 5, 2024
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