University of Minnesota Athletics
Non-Freshman Friday: Josh Mora
8/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
As a 13-year-old in Albuquerque, N.M., Josh Mora made up his mind that he wanted to wrestle at the University of Minnesota. That year, he attended a 14-day J Robinson Intensive Camp, where campers are required to write down their goals. The No. 1 goal on Mora's list was to be a Gopher wrestler, but that aspiration wasn't wholly based on wrestling. "My main goal is to be a Navy SEAL," said Mora, adding that Coach Robinson's military background made him like Minnesota even more. One of the key traits of taught in the military is determination, and Mora has shown that simply by making it to the U. Though he began his college career at Augsburg in 2012-13, he persisted in chasing his dream of becoming a Gopher and, this year, joined the roster as a transfer. He showed that determination again when a freak injury sidelined him for the end of his redshirt season, leaving him to rehab with an eye towards next year. GopherSports.com caught up with Mora to discuss the jump from DIII to DI wrestling, how he's recovered from that injury and how he's spending his summer.
What were some of the challenges of moving up to Division I wrestling?
It was tough at first. Probably the biggest difference is the intensity level and practice partners. I feel like I got better throughout the year. I had a little hiccup at the end of winter when I dislocated my elbow. I was out for about a month, maybe two months. That put a damper in my training but I got back on it.
What happened when you got hurt and how did the rehab go?
I got mat returned, posted wrong and [my elbow] popped out. Tore two of my ligaments in my arm. I can still feel it, even to this day. Sometimes I gotta get it taped up, sometimes I don't, just depends on the day. Some days it's worse than others but it's getting better.
And you've stayed on with training despite the injury?
I've been able to train. I have to tweak some things around, like with weight lifting, but other than that I've been wrestling live for a while now, since the beginning of the [calendar] year.
You mentioned a big jump for you in coming to Minnesota was intensity level and practice partners ââ'¬" what's it like down in the Minnesota wrestling room?
Crazy intense. I think our level of intensity when we wrestle live, even when we drill, it's really intense compared to other rooms. I think that's why so many people strive to be at the U, and why we keep so many grad assistants and guys training here from Minnesota Storm, just because the level of intensity is so good. The amount of partners that you have is really big too, so that gives you a lot of options to work with.
How did you feel about your season this year?
It was kind of rough. Some opens I went 0-2; others I won some matches. That was cool. It's always nice to win some matches and see your hard work be rewarded. I think I only got like seven matches or something like that, so it was a pretty short season. A lot of it was the rehab and doing all that stuff with my arm. I'm excited to get back on the mat this fall.
Is there a moment from the season that sticks out to you?
I would say, just in general, the comradery with the team. I think it was the Bison Open, I got my first pin for the year and it was cool to have Chris Pfarr and Jordon Rothers in my corner. The match was recorded and you could hear them cheering for me and picking at my mistakes. It's cool to have your best friends in your corner. That's what's really cool about the opens ââ'¬" the guys that you wrestle with help coach you from the corner.
Have you been dabbling in any other styles this summer?
This summer is actually my first time wrestling freestyle. I've never wrestled freestyle. Back home in New Mexico, it's not really pushed a whole lot. Up here, a lot of guys did freestyle before they did folkstyle. It was definitely a rough transition. But it's nice because these guys are some of the best in the country ââ'¬" and even the world ââ'¬" in their weight classes so I have to learn quick.
What have you been up to this summer?
Just training. A lot more work outs. J brought us together and said it's gonna get hard. It's something that I'm ready for. That's why I came to the U. I didn't come for something easy. I knew coming in here it wasn't gonna be easy. I'm looking forward to that challenge. A lot of us have been doing extra work outs. We're excited, we're hungry.
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