Discover who Matt Gentry is
Biography
Born: July 30, 1982
Family: Parents Bob and Phyllis, older sister, Kelsey and younger brother, Patrick.
Interests: Outdoor activities such as camping, backpacking, fishing, hunting, reading, world travel
I grew up in Grants Pass Oregon and started wrestling in grade 1. A lot of people ask me how I started at such a young age in a relatively obscure sport. I like to say it was because I beat up my younger brother all the time, but the truth is that I was small for my age and also extremely competitive. That combination made wrestling a great fit for both my personality and physical skills. I was and have been fortunate to have great coaching, starting with my very first day. I loved wrestling from the very beginning which has been responsible for much of my success. Wrestling is a physically intense and demanding sport, so enjoying it is key to being successful. I wrestled for North Valley High School at 100, 103, 119, and 135 pounds, and I finished 1st, 2nd, 1st in the state championships my last 3 seasons. However, I believe my biggest achievement in those years was placing 4th at the Greco-Roman Junior Nationals my senior year. I put a lot of hard work and belief preparing for that tournament and beat a lot of quality opponents. It also showed me the power of goal-setting.
In the fall of 2000, I left Oregon to attend Stanford University. Stanford is an amazing academic and athletic institution, and I am very proud to call myself an alum. I ‘redshirted’ my first season of University, which basically meant I was still a part of the team, but did not compete on the varsity squad. Because the intensity is so much greater in University over high school, this was an important year for me to grow and improve. That year, I finished 7-6 in open competitions. The only reason I mention this is because it showed how much better I needed to become in order to reach my goals. I worked hard over the next summer and the following season I finished 35-12, and was an NCAA Qualifier, Pac-10 finalist, Pac-10 and Stanford Freshman of the Year. My sophomore season was a defining year for my career, not because of the success I had, but because of the lessons I learned. I had a decent year and earned the #1 seed at the Pac-10 Championships, the qualifier for NCAA’s. I put a lot of pressure on myself and wrestled afraid to lose and finished in 6th place with a 1-3 record. That failed to even qualify me for NCAA’s, but I was given an alternate spot and 4 days before NCAA’s I received a call that another athlete was hurt and I was in. Before I received that call I had realized how much I enjoyed competing and how upset I was that I wouldn’t even be able to showcase my abilities. When I was able to compete, I decided that I was going to control the things I could control, namely myself, not worry about anything else, and have fun because I love to wrestle and I love to compete. I went out there and finished top-12 in the country, just missing All-American status with a tournament record of 4-2. I decided to keep that attitude and the next time I lost a match was 64 matches later in 2005 after winning the NCAA title in 2004 at 157 lbs. My senior season I let the pressure get to me and did not finish where I should have, but again, I learned a lot from those losses.
After I graduated from Stanford with a degree in Human Biology in 2005, I decided to train full time for the Olympics. Because I was born a dual citizen of both Canada and the United States, I decided to compete for Canada during my international career. I was offered a lot more opportunity and have built great relationships there and I know that without them, I would not have made it to where I am today. I compete for Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club right outside of Vancouver, and the coaches and work out partners are top notch. I made my first world team in 2006 and competed in Guangzhou, China. The next year, I won my first major international medal, a bronze at the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and competed in the world championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. This year, I made the Canadian Olympic Team in December, 2007 and then qualified myself for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China this August! I am pumped.
My goals are to get better every day. Time is the one constant that every single competitor has the same amount of. It is an equalizer and you can close the gap on your opponents if you use your time wisely. You have to be extremely smart about the way you train, recover, sleep, eat, and manage your life. To be truly successful at wrestling, you have to live a lifestyle off the mat that helps you on the mat. I truly believe this, and I’ve found it hard to follow at times, but I think the reward has more than made up for the sacrifice.
List of Accomplishments:
High School- North Valley Knights
2x Oregon High School State Champion (103 and 135 lbs.)
Fargo Junior All-American (4th Greco-Roman, 132 lbs.)
High School Class Valedictorian
University- Stanford Cardinal
2004 NCAA Champion, 157 lbs, 42-0 record
2004 Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year
Stanford Freshman (2002) and Junior (2004) Athlete of the Year
4x Most Valuable Wrestler, 3-year Team-elected Captain
3x Academic All-American
Career Record, 138-25 including a 64 match win streak (2003-2005)
International
2008 Olympian
2x Canadian Senior National Champion
2007, 2008 Pan-American Bronze Medalist
2006 University World Championships (5th Place)
2007 Canada Cup Champion, 2008 Sassari International Champion