This website is dedicated to the family and friends of Kerry Regner. It is their support that enables Kerry to pursue his dream of becoming a World and Olympic Champion.
The Curb Man ·
On a Friday evening of January 22nd I received a phone call that took a blow to my life. I received a call from good friend and former roommate Cheney Haight that our other former roommate Jake Curby had passed away. Jake was one of many who was victim of the condition epilepsy. Jake was on a strict steadiness of medicine to prevent seizures. Jake had recently returned from Russia and with the time change and recent move to Boise, Idaho his body was at a heightened increase chance of having a seizure. On that evening Jake suffered a seizure and was unable to be revived. Jake had a history of health problems which he endured and conquered. In high school Jake was diagnosed with the most aggressive form of leukemia. He conquered the disease and bounced back to continue his great life he lived for 25 years. Jake’s ability to deal with severe health problems such as leukemia and epilepsy were true example of how strong Jake was.
I got the privilege in knowing Jake in high school when we both attended a wrestling camp in Marquette, Michigan. Little did I know that the occasional chat with a fellow camper would develop to be such a great friendship. Jake attended Northern Michigan University while training at the United States Olympic Education Center with me up to this past January. Jake was a year older than myself and I developed a friendship with him. Not only did I develop a friendship but he developed into a mentor. I had the privilege to grow up as a Regner and Knox, where work ethic was essential on both sides of the family. It is no different in the Curby house. Jake showed that daily by living a very controlled life. He worked hard daily, in his wrestling and school work, his accomplishments show this.
For the first five years of my career at the USOEC I was always a weight class below Jake. I was able to use Jake’s work ethic in my favor. I often wrestled with Jake, watched Jake and tried to mimic some of his wrestling and lifestyles. He even got me drinking coffee. Jake like me was a walk on at the USOEC and developed into a captain of the team his last couple years. As I continue to follow in Jake’s shadow, I have too risen to the top at the USOEC. The last two years Jake and I became opponents as I bumped up a weight class into his stomping ground. It was difficult task for me to change my views from a mentor to an opponent. As the records show, with Jake being 3-0 against me.
Jake was more than just a wrestling mentor. He was an extremely intelligent kid, his mind like a sponge. Jake could read or see something and he could remember it. This made him pretty good at trivia or useless knowledge (I often would make fun of him for this). So when it came to school and learning I also would look to Jake for advice or his personal opinion. As many of you know I am passionate person. I would often come home from class where teachers spill their liberal/postmodern mumble jumble at you. I would come home fired up even yelling at Jake, but not because I was mad at him, but my passion would spill over. Jake would often agree with me, however was great at helping understand the other side whether right or not. Jake and I were your typical male friends. Jake and I watched sports together, ate and learned together at man’s breakfast, fished and camped together, had a beer together, we even had a couple tussles and did many other very manly things together. Jake’s death has taken a toll on all his loved ones including his teammates at the USOEC, but as Jake would want it to be, I have taken a closer look at his life. I have begun to use Jake’s great attributes he used to succeed. And I thank Jake for that, the friendship and the mentorship he showed me.
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Croatia Dual- 3-4-10 ·
Hello folks! We traveled to Varazdin, Croatia yesterday to wrestle Croatia in a dual. It was their number one team, they are young but tough. They were the tougher team last night; winning eight of the ten matches including mine. I lost in two straight periods 2-0, 2-0. It was a great pleasure for me to compete in this dual. The gym was packed and the crowd was great for both countries. After the dual we treated by a traditional Croatian dinner which was terrific. Prior to the dual we got to visit the old part of Varazdin which was founded around 1,100 AD. It was a very neat town which included some beautiful cathedrals, buildings, and a castle with a moat. We will be traveling to Hungary tomorrow and compete in a tournament on Sunday. We will head back to the states on Monday. Thanks for all your support. That’s all I have for now. I’ll keep you posted and keep praying for my success.
Serbia Results/Slovenia Training. 3-1-10 ·
Well gals and guys, The losing streak continues. I lost my first and only match on Saturday. I drew an experienced international wrestler from Portugal. He beat me then took third place. Because he did not make the finals I had no chance of redeeming myself in the repeches. This puts my losing streak at six. I do not recall the last time I lost six in a row of anything. I am hungry for more, and will keep pushing through to try to get out of this slump.
We arrived in Murska Sobata, Slovenia last night. We are in a nice hotel, with a wellness center that is brand new. We used the sauna, cold tub and pool in the center last night. We will be here until Friday; we will then travel over to Hungary to wrestle in a tournament on Sunday. We also have a dual in Croatia on Wednesday. The dual is only an hour away from here so we will not be staying in Croatia through the night. Thanks for all your support. That’s all I have for now. I’ll keep you posted and keep praying for my success.
Belgrade, Serbia 2-24-10 ·
We just arrived in Belgrade, Serbia today. We are staying at a sports school/facility. It is similar to our Olympic Training Center. The accommodations are decent and everything has gone smoothly, besides losing luggage. Two of my teammates and I are waiting for our luggage to come. We do not have any change of clothes or any of our wrestling things. However, this is merely a test of our mental strength. I feel I must be able to function and train in any condition possible. I have let difficult circumstances get the best of me in the past but have learned from those times. We arrived to the facility, got settled in and enjoyed a nice sauna to get the traveling feel out of our systems. Tomorrow we have two practices with some of the foreign teams that are here. This is a small but difficult tournament, so it should be good competition. We will be in Belgrade until the tournament which is on Saturday. We will then travel to Slovenia for another training camp. Thanks for all your support. That’s all I have for now. I’ll keep you posted and keep praying for my success.
Henri Deglane International 11-27-09 ·
I got the privilege to travel to Nice, France over Thanksgiving week to compete in the Henri Deglane tournament. Before and after the tournament I was able to spend some time sightseeing and enjoying Nice. Nice is in southern France right off of the Mediterranean Sea. This was a great trip in a beautiful city which was capped off by a great dinner hosted by the France Wrestling Federation. I finished 5th in the tournament which I have done now for the third time in overseas tournaments. I wrestled four matches defeating two Frenchmen and losing to Turkey and Moldova. I wrestled 11 periods which is a good amount for one tournament. I came just shy of the finals losing in the semi-finals in a very close match to the Turk. The tournament and trip was a refreshing change of pace and revamped my year. I was able to set new standards and guidelines for some of my training in hope that this will help me come home with medals in the future.
NYAC/Kit Carson Cup/Dave Schultz ·
It’s been a while since I have posted. I apologize for my lack of posts, which I know has led you astray. Even though these three competitions did not happen in order I would like to lump them all together, for the simple reason I have really underperformed at them all.
The New York Athletic Club Tournament was this past fall right before my trip to France. I was just coming off of the flu. I started off really well beating an opponent from Japan fairly easily. I then wrestled Uzbekistan. The match was a very tight one, in the end I had done what I needed to win but the refs felt differently. I then was not able to bounce back and lost another match in three periods to teammate Bo Beckman which knocked me out of the tournament.
The Kit Carson Cup was a special event which was sponsored by the Army Team. Four foreign teams Bulgaria, China, Japan and Uzbekistan were going to dual meet four American teams. I was splitting duty with Bo Beckman on the third American team. I was scheduled to wrestle two matches. However, Japan and China’s 66 kilogram wrestlers were injured, leaving me to one match. I wrestled a young Bulgarian, and lost in three periods. Our team finished 1-3 on the day against the foreign teams.
The Dave Schultz tournament this year was packed with foreign guys. Last year I placed second and was planning on coming home with another medal. I drew another Uzbekistan wrestler. I lost to him in another good battle. I then lost my second match in three periods and was knocked out of the tournament.
This last stretch of competitions for me has not gone in my favor. I grow more and more impatient and eager to redeem myself in the next tournament. I have added some additions to my training and life which has helped me lead a stricter life for wrestling. I believe this will help me in the end bring home the results I should be coming back with. Thanks for all your support. That’s all I have for now. I’ll keep you posted and keep praying for my success.
Silver Medal at Sunkist International 10-25-09 ·
Sunkist sure felt like the first tournament of the year, starting off slow. However, I ended up winning my first match by a fall after falling behind in the first period. In the second match, I continued my rustic streak but pulled off a victory in the third period. I ended up placing 2nd in the tournament losing to friend and teammate Jake Curby in the finals. At the end of the day I was feeling fortunate of my results in comparison to my performance. I will compete in a few weeks in NYC. As for now I return back to school and practice. Thanks for all your support. That’s all I have for now. I’ll keep you posted and keep praying for my success.
Sunkist International 10-21-09 ·
I just arrived to Phoenix, Arizona to compete in the Sunkist International Tournament this weekend. It is nice to leave 40 degree and rainy weather to arrive to 90 degree and sunny weather. This is the first tournament of this school year, and much has happened this year. The USOEC is under new coaching staff (Dennis Hall Head Coach and Willie Madison Assistant Coach). The former coaches (Ivan Ivanov Head Coach and Jim Gruenwald Assistant Coach) pursued different coaching positions around the country. It has been a smooth transition thanks to Dennis and Willie; they have done a great job to keep our program running as usual. This will be the first tournament I will be wrestling in over the next month. I will also be traveling to New York City and Nice, France. As for this tournament, I will be weighing in on Friday and wrestling on Saturday. The results can be found on themat.com. Thanks for all your support. That’s all I have for now. I’ll keep you posted and keep praying for my success.
World Team Trial Results ·
This was my fourth time wrestling in the World Team Trials Tournament. This was not my best finish by pure facts, I didn’t do as well as I had planned, however this was probably my best performance. I started off the day very well. I wrestled Matt Holt in my first match of the day and won in straight periods 1-0, 5-0. My next match was against 2004 Olympian Oscar Wood, again taking the match in straight periods 1-0, 7-0. Winning that match put me into the semi-finals against Mark Rial. I would lose a tight match with less than ten seconds remaining in the match (0-2, 6-0, 2-0). I would then lose my next match to CC Fisher. This eliminated me from the tournament leaving me in fifth place. I have continued to grow and get stronger. I am on the verge of reaching some of my major goals. I will break for the summer and return to Marquette in August to continue training and school. Thanks for all your support. That’s all I have for now. I’ll keep you posted and keep praying for my success.
World Team Trials- May 29, 2009 ·
I am currently in Council Bluffs, Iowa, for the World Team Trials. The winner of this tournament will be representing the USA in the World Championships held in Denmark. This tournament showcases the best wrestlers the USA has to offer. This will be a very tough tournament. I am focused, relaxed and ready to go. I will weigh in Saturday and wrestle on Sunday. If you are not busy on Sunday you can watch the tournament on the internet. Here is a site that can help you get to the coverage for Sunday (http://www.themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=20398 ).There will also be wrestling on Saturday, if you are a die hard you can check out both days. Thanks for all your support. That’s all I have for now. I’ll keep you posted and keep praying for my success.