Last night in Las Vegas, Randon Miranda (55 kg, NYAC-OTS) made his second straight US Junior World Team when he defeated Gabriel Townsell (Stanford RTC) 2-0. He was lights out all day long. Throughout his four matches in the tournament, Miranda outscored his opponents 34-7, with three technical falls leading up the finals.
On one hand, it was supposed to be this way. Miranda stands as one of America’s brightest young Greco-Roman talents and has begun to hone in more and more on a Senior career. That being said, his challengers yesterday were all formidable and outside of a tightly-contested final, Miranda was in complete control every step of the way. Without a doubt, he is someone to keep an eye on as he continues to grow his resume.
Before he embarks on an intensive training cycle that takes him all the way to Tampere, Finland in August for the 2017 Junior World Championships, we caught up with Randon to get his thoughts on his performance yesterday in Las Vegas as well as what his plans are for the immediate future and beyond.
Randon Miranda — 55 kg, NYAC-OTS
5PM: How do you compare this year’s win to last year?
Randon Miranda: Last year’s win, I would say I was more overwhelmed trying to make the team. That win was exciting, I finally did it, but it’s more like I’m expected to make the team this year and my expectation is to win the Worlds. So it was expected on my part.
5PM: When we talk about expectations, are they expectations you feel from others or are they put on you by yourself?
RM: Mostly myself. I think my coaches expected me to make the team, but I really didn’t feel any pressure from them, it was myself. I’m like, You work too hard, you go to the practices. This is what I worked for every day I trained.
5PM: Was part of this to prove a point, given that this will probably be the weight you compete at next year on the Senior level?
RM: I felt good at 55 in Juniors. I felt very strong. This is my weight and I just want to show when it comes back at that weight, I am someone to look at and not be taken lightly. I’m excited though. I’m going to do the same thing next year as this year, just go out there, have fun, and train to be the best. I think it will carry on and next year will be a good year, as well.
5PM: What is training going to look like from now to the summer? What else are you going in?
RM: I should be going to Universities in Akron. If California has the Junior World Duals, I’ll head over there because it’s home, you know? I’ll go to the OTC for a camp. A couple of camps. That’s pretty much it for right now. We had a meeting today that said we were going to be focused on our individual talents. Whatever they put us through on the World Team, I guess just continue the same process.
5PM: Given that this is your second consecutive World Team appearance and you’ve made so many big strides over the past year and a half, is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to?
Randon Miranda: First, my parents. My coaches Andy Bisek and Rob Hermann. Matt Linland for helping me get some time at the OTC. Just my training partners at NMU. That’s pretty much it. I love this sport. Onto the next.
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