OTC wrestler Lampe fueled by loss to teammate Chun

One forgettable match, no matter how incredibly lopsided it was, regardless of how awful it looked and how painful it felt, isn’t nearly enough to derail Alyssa Lampe.

A while back, it undoubtedly would have crushed her. Nowadays, it motivates her – to be better, to wrestle harder, to meet her lofty expectations, to not settle for second place.

The Olympic Training Center resident suffered an 8-1, 6-0 setback last week against OTC teammate Clarissa Chun in the 105-pound finals of the New York Athletic Club Freestyle International, a loss that kept her from her third straight title in the prestigious event.

Lampe, 22, defeated Chun, an Olympian and world champion in 2008, in a best-of-three series at the U.S. world team trials in June in Council Bluffs, Iowa, later pinned by 2006 world bronze medalist Iwona Matkowska of Poland in her world championships debut in September in Moscow. Lampe is ranked first nationally at 105, and Chun is second.

Developing consistency remains a struggle for Lampe, who began wrestling as a child so her brother, Anthony, would have a practice partner, then made history by becoming the first female wrestler to qualify for the Wisconsin high school state championships, where she was runner-up in 2006 after a senior season in which she went 32-10 with 12 pins.

Three years at the U.S. Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Mich., seasoned Lampe for the transition to the senior circuit, in which she won a gold medal last year at the Pan American Championships. This year, she has a silver at a Ukrainian tournament, a bronze at the Dave Schultz Memorial International at the OTC and a gold at the U.S. Open.

“My confidence has really improved” since she moved to the OTC, said Lampe, who will compete Saturday at the Open Cup of Russia, a 27-country tournament in Chekhov that carries a $49,000 purse. “Everybody in the room is good. Everyone is at the top in their weight class, and the coaches are good. Everything about the training center is good.”

“I always try to make sure I do extra,” Lampe added. “I know everybody that’s training with me are people I’m going to be wrestling. I’ve got to work harder than them. I know what they’re already doing, so I’ve got to do more than they do.”

Most of Lampe’s focus since worlds has been on refining her offensive technique, to add another dimension to her strong penetration skills and usually aggressive mindset. And in squandering a lead against Matkowska, she learned the importance of “putting the match away. Not giving (her opponent) a chance to come back. Being smart, wrestling smart.”

Lampe said making the Olympics – the next Summer Games are in 2012 in London – has been a goal “since women’s wrestling was allowed in the Olympics,” in 2004. “When I was younger,” she said, “I felt I didn’t deserve to win, that I hadn’t paid my dues.” Now, she thinks it’s realistic, “as long as I keep doing what I’m doing – doing the right things.”

Of course, Chun stands in Lampe’s way. Lampe isn’t naïve, conceding Chun “has really good technique. She’s really fast. She’s just all-around a really good wrestler.” And about Chun’s impressive list of credentials? “You can’t be thinking about that stuff before you wrestle her,” Lampe said, “otherwise that does play a part in how you go into the match.”

Despite losing to Chun in New York, Lampe called her win over Chun at the world team trials “kind of like the breakthrough for me. I had never beaten her before. I’m just going to have to keep that momentum going, knowing that she is beatable and I can beat her.”

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