Mat Chat with David Mirikitani: Recent Episodes
USA Wrestling
Mat Chat with David Mirikitani, a weekly podcast focused on wrestling rankings and other current events.
David Mirikitani talks with Mike Powell of Beat the Streets Chicago about the great work being done for youth in Chicago, his transition from coaching to non-profit leadership and more
David Mirikitani speaks with Princeton head coach Joe Dubuque about the program, NIL, culture in the wrestling room, the upcoming season and more.
David Mirikitani speaks with North Carolina coaches Rob Koll and Tony Ramos about the program and more.
David Mirikitani visits with Zack Esposito discussing his new position with USA Wrestling, Oklahoma State, moving to Colorado Springs and more.
David Mirikitani visits with U17 World champion LaDarion Lockett and Jasper Lockett discussing his journey to becoming a world champion and more.
David Mirikitani speaks with Director of Wrestling Operations for Idaho USA Wrestling Chris Owens about Idaho’s success in Fargo as they won their first-ever team title at the 2023 Junior and 16U National Championships and more.
David Mirikitani speaks with six-time world champion, two-time Olympian and 2023 World Team member Adeline Gray and Beaver Dam RTC coach Nate Engel about Adeline being a new mom, preparing for tough matches, support systems, gratitude and the growth of women’s wrestling in the United States.
David Mirikitani speaks with 2023 World Team member Zane Richards and IRTC Coach Bryan Medlin
- Match against Thomas Gilman at Final X
- Zane’s relationship with his faith (22 min in)
- Preparing for Worlds and getting the most out of his training (30 minutes in)
- The USA men’s freestyle coaching dynamics
- Next steps before Serbia (40 minutes in)
- Supporting Illinois RTC (43 minutes in)
David Mirikitani interviews National Freestyle Coaches Bill Zadick, Joe Russell and James Green about the U.S. Open, the Pan American Championships, wrestling rules and tactics, elite wrestler training and more.
David Mirikitani interviews Coaches Jason Keck and Mario Flores about the 2023 Women's Nationals in Spokane and its top story lines, athletes and other women's wrestling issues.
David Mirikitani visits with NCAA champion Andrew Alirez and head coach Troy Nickerson of Northern Colorado, discussing Alirez's win at the 2023 NCAAs as well as the Bears program. Photo: Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors
David Mirikitani chats with Joel Koester, Director of Sports of the Tulsa Sports Commission, about the preparation by community for the 2023 Big 12 Championships and 2023 NCAA Div. I Championships
David Mirikitani visits with comedian Greg Warren, an All-American wrestler for Missouri. Warren and Mirikitani were high school teammates in Missouri, and talk about Greg's career on the mat and in comedy.
David Mirikitani speaks with Virginia Tech head coach Tony Robie on his Hokie wrestlers, coaching philosophy, program development, length of season, promoting college wrestling and more.
David Mirikitani and Maryland head coach Alex Clemsen talk about his Terps team, program development, skills for success, the importance of duals, a one semester sport and more.
David Mirikitani chats with Arizona State assistant coach Lee Pritts on the Sun Devils wrestling team, the state of college wrestling, using experts to help programs and coaching concepts.
David Mirikitani chats with Life University head men's wrestling coach, on his NAIA powerhouse team, his coaching philosophy and other topics.
David Mirikitani speaks with National Wrestling Hall of Fame Executive Director Lee Roy Smith, Board member Ed Gallegos and Stillwater High School coach Ethan Kyle about the NWHOF Dual Meet Classic
David Mirikitani talks with Emma Bruntil on her wrestling journey, and a variety of issues within the sport.
David Mirikitani chats with @JoshSchamberger, President of @ThinkIowaCity, about the upcoming Men's and Women's Freestyle World Cup in Coralville, Iowa.
David Mirikitani visits with National Freestyle Coach Bill Zadick shortly after the U.S. men's freestyle team won the 2022 World Team Tit
David Mirikitani visits with coaches Brandon Paulson and Doug Paulson. Brandon, an Olympic medalist and coach with Pinnacle, and Doug (his father) and also a coach in Minnesota, talk all topics coaching.
David Mirikitani interviews 1988 Olympic champion Kenny Monday, the new head coach at HBCU Div. I program at Morgan State.
TJ Sebolt and Adam Fellers, from Sebolt Wrestling Academy, join David Mirikitani and guest host Mark Ostrander to discuss their kids' success and the future of Iowa wrestling.
Rob Koll joins Mat Chat to discuss making the job you have the job you want, the importance of understanding the economics of wrestling, how to build and grow a program and much more.
World Team member Hayden Zillmer joins Mat Chat to discuss first contact, maple syruping, the culture at Minnesota and more.
Ryan Mango joins Mat Chat to discuss his new role as the Black Wrestling Association Executive Director, the importance of networking and why local heroes are so important.
Seth Gross discusses making his first Senior level World Team and learning to let go of past results.
David Mirikitani interviews 2021 World champion, 2020 Olympic medalist and 2022 World Team member Thomas Gilman
David Mirikitani and his panel discuss the upcoming Junior Women's National Duals, with Zach Randall (OK), Mario Flores (MI), Amond Prater (MO)
David Mirikitani speaks with World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Evan Henderson, a few days after he qualified for Final X.
David Mirikitani speaks with Northwestern Coach Matt Storniolo after the 2022 NCAA Championships.
David Mirikitani chats with Grand View head coach Nick Mitchell after his team won the 2022 NAIA Nationals team title.
Mat Chat Episode 122: Derek St. John
David Mirikitani interviews Iowa State assistant coach Derek St. John.
Mat Chat Episode 121: Rich Bender
This week, David talks with USA Wrestling executive director Rich Bender.
Mat Chat Episode 120: Jahi Jones
David Mirikitani talks with executive director of the HBCU Wrestling Initiative, Jahi Jones. The two discuss many topics, including the Black Wrestling Association and Morgan State's program announcement.
Mat Chat Episode 119: Lee Pritts
David Mirikitani interviews Arizona State assistant wrestling coach Lee Pritts this week to discuss a variety of topics, including coaching strategies and various topics around the Sun Devils program.
David Mirikitani talks with NC State head coach Pat Popolizio about the Wolfpack's effort at the Collegiate Duals in Florida, the development of the program and much more.
Mat Chat Episode 116: Chris Perry
David Mirikitani interviews Oklahoma State assistant wrestling coach Chris Perry
Mat Chat Episode 115: Cody Brewer
David Mirikitani talks with Virginia Tech assistant coach Cody Brewer. In the episode, he talks about his experiences wrestling at Oklahoma, the Virginia Tech program and more.
Mat Chat Episode 114: Clarissa Chun
David Mirikitani interviews new Iowa women's wrestling head coach Clarissa Chun. The two talk about the future of the Hawkeyes program and her vision for women's wrestling in Iowa.
Mat Chat Episode 113: Lou Rosselli
On this week's edition of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani sits down with Lou Rosselli, head wrestling coach at the University of Oklahoma. The two discuss many topics surrounding the Sooners program, including the culture and the dynamics of Rosselli's staff.
Mat Chat Episode 112: Luke Becker
On the latest episode of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani interviews Minnesota head assistant wrestling coach Luke Becker. The two discuss many topics, including the latest around the Gophers program, Gable Steveson, technique talk and more.
Mat Chat Episode 111: Kevin Jackson
On the latest episode of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani talks with Kevin Jackson, USA Wrestling's National Freestyle Developmental Coach who was just announced as an addition to the University of Michigan wrestling coaching staff. Mirikitani and Jackson discuss many topics related to coaching and the current state of wrestling.
Mat Chat Episode 110: Mike Grey
David Mirikitani talks with Cornell head coach Mike Grey to discuss the busy summer, the program and what the future looks like for the team.
Mat Chat episode 109: Eric Thompson. David Mirikitani speaks with new Arizona State Volunteer Assistant Coach Eric Thompson, a 3x NAIA national champion and national level freestyle wrestler at heavyweight.
Mat Chat episode 108: Daton Fix. David Mirikitani talks international and college wrestling with Daton Fix, who qualified for the 2021 U.S. Senior World Team at 61 kg in men's freestyle.
David Mirikitani visits with 2021 Junior World champions Keegan O'Toole and Rocky Elam, teammates at Missouri, and their college head coach Brian Smith upon their return from Ufa, Russia. Much of the talk was about the tremendous performances by O’Toole and Elam at the Junior Worlds, but there was also good conversation about the college season ahead for these two talented stars and a very good Missouri team.
David Mirikitani visits with Thomas Gilman upon his arrival home to the USA after winning an Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo.
On this episode of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani sits down with Kyle Martin, the Pennsylvania Cadet National Team head coach and Cadet director, on the heels of a Fargo tournamnet where Pennsylvania brough home 16U team titles in both men's freestyle and Greco-Roman.
For the second week in a row David Mirikitani sits down with Jason Keck, a licensed attorney and the head coach of Greater Heights Wrestling Club in Missouri to discuss the changes coming to the NCAA following the Supreme Court ruling that college athletes should be able to use their name, image and likeness (NIL) to acquire sponsorships and other forms of monetary compensation.
On this episode of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani sits down with Jason Keck, a licensed attorney and the head coach of Greater Heights Wrestling Club in Missouri to discuss the changes coming to the NCAA following the Supreme Court Ruling that college athletes should be able to use their name, image and likeness (NIL) to acquire sponsorships and other forms of monetary compensation.
On this episode of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani speaks with Cal Poly Head Assistant Coach Chris Chionuma. A three-time All-American and NAIA champion for Lindenwood University, Chionuma finished his collegiate wrestling career at Oklahoma State where he was an NCAA qualifier. During this episode, the pair discuss Chionuma's wrestling career, his current role at Cal Poly, coaching Bernie Truax to All-American honors and the incoming transfer of Evan Wick.
On this episode of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani interviews Alec Pantaleo fresh off his gold medal performance at the Poland Open. Pantaleo was a three-time All-American at Michigan and is a two-time age-group World Team member.
In this episode, David episodes his father, Ron Mirikitani. Ron coached at St. Louis Community College- Meramec for 39 years, and has been inducted into numerous hall of fames for both wrestling and Judo.
On this special edition of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani is interviewed by co-host Mark Ostrander. David talks about his expiernece growing up as an Asian American, as well as his journey in wrestling.
On this episode of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani sits down with the OU coaching staff including head coach Lou Rosselli, assistant coach Mike Lightner, volunteer assistant coach Hunter Stieber and Oklahoma RTC head coach Sam Hazewinkel.
In this episode, David Mirikitani sits down with Illinois's new head coach Mike Poeta and discusses his vision for the future of the program.
On this episode of Mat Chat, David Mirikitani sits down with Iowa Hawkeyes Associate Head Coach Terry Brands and discusses their championship-winning season.
On this episode, David speaks with Gary Mayabb, the Manager of Greco-Roman programs for USA Wrestling.
In this special in-person interview, David Mirikitani sits down with the Arizona State coaching staff and coveries a variety of topics ranging from NCAA wrestling to the international styles.
In this episode, David interviews Kendall Cross, a 1996 Olympic champion and 1989 NCAA champion for Oklahoma State. Cross currently serves as the head coach of the NYCRTC.
In this episode, David speaks with two-time World Champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist J'den Cox as well as 1992 Olympic champion and two-time World champion Kevin Jackson. Cox is currently making a run at the Tokyo Olympic Games at 97 kg, and Jackson serves as USA Wrestling's National Freestyle Developmental Coach.
David speaks with Black Wrestling Association founder and President Nate Jackson. Currently, an assistant coach at Princeton, Jackson is one of the country's top 86 kg wrestlers.
David Mirikitani talks with two-time Olympic and six-time World champion Sergei Beloglazov and two-time NCAA champion Kellen Russell. Beloglazov currently serves as the head coach of the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club, and Russell is an assistant coach at Michigan.
David Mirikitani speaks with Olympic hopefuls Nick Suriano and Zahid Valencia as well as ASU assistant coach Mark Perry about the training situation with the Sunkist Kids in Tempe, Arizona.