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Gutches �can�t wait to get it done� By Kris Henry The durability of Les Gutches� back may be in question among those in the wrestling community, but his will to win shouldn�t ever be in doubt. A recurring nerve problem forced Gutches to ask for an extension on his championship series for the 187.25-pound position on the 2000 U.S. Olympic wrestling team. A lifelong drive to excel should make the July 27 wrestle-off a positive return to the mat for the former South Medford High and Oregon State standout. "I�m wrestling on the 27th no matter what," says Gutches. "There�s no wiggle room there. I can�t wait to go get it done." Reigning national champions such as Gutches wrestle against whomever emerges from the trials bracket in a best-of-three series. The winner makes the Olympic team. Gutches injured his back while training for the trials at the wrestling team�s Olympic training site in Colorado Springs, Colo. Realizing the magnitude of his injury, Gutches took advantage of his right to move back the wrestle-off series. "I�ve had problems with my back since 1996," he says. "It�s been up and down, and I just happened to have a particularly bad down time before the trials. That�s the reason why we decided to exercise our option to delay. It just wasn�t getting better, and I wasn�t able to train like I needed to train." Gutches, 27, had surgery on a ruptured disc in his lower back in December of 1996. Although occasionally debilitating, the back injury didn�t keep Gutches from winning the world championship in 1997 and didn�t prevent him from attaining five straight national titles. With that in mind, the Medford native doesn�t expect his back to slow him down as he looks to put the final period on a distinguished wrestling career with a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. "Wrestling isn�t exactly the best thing to do when you�ve had something like this," he says, adding that anti-inflammatory drugs have resolved the problem in the past. "Every once in a while, you twist your back and the nerve will get irritated." The nerve will get a test from Charles Burton of Bloomington, Ind., in the wrestle-off at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. Burton defeated Lee Fullhart of Iowa City, Iowa, in a best-of-three series at the June 22-24 trials. A delay in their meeting would have played into Burton�s hands under the former two-day trials format. But now the trials are a three-day competition. Gutches feels he has even more of an upper hand heading into the wrestle-off. "Strategically, it�s probably even better for me to have the delay," he says. "Now I know who I�m going against and I know the sort of drills I need to do to prepare for Burton specifically.�� With Burton wrestling only one or two matches a day under the new format, he would "have a lot of time to recover." The delay also might counter the momentum built up by a challenger plowing through the bracket. "To be honest, the longer it got delayed, the better," Gutches says. "Having a month was great because I wanted the time to have confidence in my health and training. Mentally, it�s enough time to get focused and ready for the match." Gutches� last match was April 22, when he beat Burton at nationals. He�s not concerned by the long break. "I�ve been through quite a few big matches. I know what to do," he says. Having beaten Burton in each of their four meetings, Gutches has already broken down his opponent�s strengths and weaknesses. The two also watched each other wrestle on the collegiate level, albeit at different weights, in the Pac-10 Conference, with Gutches at OSU and Burton at Boise State. Gutches says the upcoming wrestle-off will simply be a matter of which wrestler is able to exert their will on the proceedings. "I don�t think either of us will surprise the other," Gutches says. "But even though there�s not going to be any surprise, he�s still got good techniques. He still has enough ability that he doesn�t necessarily need to surprise anyone. "The same goes for me. Most people know what I�m going to do. It�s just can you stop it. It�s just going to come down to who�s more prepared and focused for the match." To that end, Gutches moved from Colorado Springs to Corvallis recently to protect his back from the intense workouts with his peers and to help his mind-set. "I got a lot from Colorado Springs with good workout partners and good coaches, but there�s something to be said for being in your comfort zone before big matches," says Gutches. "Corvallis has all those things for me. "The plan was to come up to Corvallis and work the wrestling camps here for a change of pace, spend time with my family, make a little money and rehabilitate. It just proved to be such a good place for me that I decided to stay here during the trials." Gutches has never been one to rely on others pushing him to train. "I didn�t get here by being lazy," he says. "Motivation isn�t really a factor. "My training has been going good. I might not be able to train as hard as I could pre-surgery, but I feel like I train a lot smarter. I know what to do to win, I just have to be mentally and physically able to do it." The first wrestle-off session will be July 27 at 9 a.m., and the second session is set for 3 p.m. If a third match is required, it will be conducted during the second session after the athletes have received a rest period. Gutches, however, has his own schedule in mind. "It�s going to be a best-of-two," he says confidently. "I�m not looking at it any other way." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA