WIBN Ambassador Spotlight | Peyton Omania

MANHEIM, PA - We are happy to spotlight Peyton Omania this month! Peyton is one of our 150+ Ambassadors from across every college wrestling program in the country, and he, like them, is an exceptional student-athlete and leader within their program. What makes Peyton unique is that he is a member of USA Wrestling's National Senior Greco Team and will be competing in Oslo, Norway, this week. We caught up with Peyton before he headed over to Norway to learn more about him and wish him luck!

Peyton is originally from the East Bay area in California. How did he get started in wrestling? His father, who owns a t-shirt company, was delivering shirts he had made for the Community Youth Center (CYC) in Concord, Ca. While he was dropping them off, he saw a flyer advertising the wrestling program. He brought the flyer home and asked 5-year-old Peyton if he wanted to give it a try. The rest is history!

CYC isn't your typical youth wrestling club. It is a club that has produced some amazing Greco athletes (Robby Smith, Steve Gee, etc.) and is coached by legendary Mark Halvorson. Peyton gravitated to this form of wrestling, but he excelled in folkstyle, as well. He placed in the California state tournament three times in high school and claimed the title as a senior.  

After high school, he chose to attend Michigan State University. He appreciated the culture that Coach Roger Chandler and his staff had built, which was a critical factor in his decision. He really appreciated the honesty and low-pressure approach of the program, as well. Equally important, he was excited that Coach Chandler would fully support his Olympic dreams as a Greco athlete. That support certainly paid off!

Wrestling at the Trials last month in Omaha, NE, was an absolute meat-grinder. After a few tough matches, Peyton found himself in the finals wrestling against someone whom he had grown up respecting and emulating, Jesse Thielke. Jesse and Peyton had also been training partners in the past. Not only was Jesse a friend to Peyton, but he is a former Olympian and highly successful international competitor. Defeating Jesse wasn't easy for Peyton, and he had nothing but praise for Jesse as an athlete, competitor, and friend.

Peyton was ready for the Trials. He had spent four months prior to the Trials training as hard as he possibly could. He knew that he was physically right there with everyone in the pool. While he continued to work hard to become physically ready, he was equally, if not more, focused on preparing himself mentally. That mental preparation, combined with the physical preparation, paid off with him at the top of the podium in Omaha and on his way to Oslo to represent his country. While he is absolutely ready to compete, his focus will also be to have fun and enjoy the experience.

In addition to being an excellent wrestler, Peyton is also one of our impressive Ambassadors. It was great to hear how supportive he is with everything we are doing at WIBN to help our college wrestlers. He has been instrumental in spreading awareness to the Michigan State wrestlers and other programs across the country.

After his competitive days are behind him, Peyton is interested in running a program for young men and women similar to the one he experienced at CYC. He is deeply aware of CYC's impact on him as a wrestler and as a person, and he'd be humbled to have that same sort of influence on others.  

The WIBN staff, his fellow Ambassadors, and the entire WIBN community will be 100% behind him and cheering him on to a World Title! Best of luck, Peyton. You've got this!