Las Vegas residents see wrestling as way of life

At 116 pounds, 35-year-old northwest Las Vegas resident Meghann Marchello recently made history after taking home a gold medal at the 2015 Veterans World Championships' first women's division.

Marchello, along with two other local wrestlers — her husband, Rustin Marchello, and friend Kevin Pine — competed in the championships that were held Oct. 13 in Athens, Greece.

"Competing in this sport and making history was amazing because women really grew this sport," Meghann said. "I had no idea what to expect, but I thought life is short, and you have to take those risks."

A record 700 wrestlers from 41 countries competed during the six-day event, which was designed for adult wrestlers 25 or older to compete in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Team USA brought the largest delegation with more than 120 athletes, followed by Iran with 100, Turkey with 90, and Russia with 60, according to unitedworldwrestling.org, a website for the first international federation for the development of wrestling and weight lifting.

The USA team has won six medals in freestyle.

In the first year of women's competition at the Veterans World Championships, the U.S. had a pair of champions who won their weight class uncontested, including Meghann in Division A and Marie Ziegler of Kenmore, Wash., in Division B.

"It's the challenge of wrestling that I really enjoy," Meghann said. "There wasn't as much competitor tension. It was more just everyone embracing different wrestling styles and learning from each other. The thing that I like about wrestling is that it's not only controlling your own body but someone else's body."

While Meghann competed most of her life as a gymnast, she found her passion for wrestling late in life. It wasn't until she met her husband of 16 years, Rustin — or Rusty — at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colo., that she was introduced to wrestling.

Rusty, a three-time state placer and a Western Junior place winner in freestyle and Greco, has been wrestling since he was 9. Last year, at 152 pounds, he won at the USA Veterans National Championships. He recently competed in the United World Wrestling Championships in Athens, Greece, and ranked seventh in the world.

"It's been awesome being about to wrestle alongside with my wife," he said. "Competing in the world championships couldn't have happened in a better place. The history of the sport began in Athens, Greece, and being around all the different countries with the language barrier didn't interfere with the camaraderie among the athletes."

The couple plan to compete this year in the Veterans World Championships in Poland.

In the meantime, the couple, who are also wrestling coaches at Arbor View High School, plan to continue training with their students.

Competing at an older age isn't the same as competing as a high school or college student. Besides eating right, they said it's equally important to train regularly and gradually.

"I'm not college age anymore. I can't train five days a week. I have to be realistic and train smart," said fellow wrestler and Summerlin resident Kevin Pine. "It takes a while to heal, and wrestling hurts anyways."

Pine found his passion for wrestling when he was in second grade. With three older brothers, the Washington state native said he had plenty of opportunities to practice.

"I'm still a student of wrestling," Pine said. "I always want to be growing."

He's won the U.S. Veterans Nationals Wrestling Competition 11 times, and throughout his five years of participating in the world championships, he has received one silver and four bronze medals in freestyle and Greco.

Now he spends his time volunteering to coach wrestling at Palo Verde High School, where his son and daughter attend.

"It's fun competing," Pine said. "It's not just a bunch of old guys wrestling. It's competitive. It makes me feel like I'm a kid again.

"Wrestling, it's never the same. It's kind of like life. In life, there's always someone out there or something trying to keep you down. That's the thing about wrestling: Someone is trying to hold you down, and you just have to keep on battling. Sometimes, it's fun, and sometimes it's hard, but you can never give up."

— To reach North View reporter Sandy Lopez, email slopez@viewnews.com or call 702-383-4686. Find her on Twitter: @JournalismSandy