Grappler’s Edge is a USA Wrestling sanctioned club focused on Grappling

The doors of Grappler’s Edge on 5305 East Colfax Avenue are open to wrestlers, judokas, and jiu-jitsu athletes. This has turned out to be a recipe for success.

Grappler’s Edge has proven to be one of top Grappling teams in the country in USA Wrestling’s Grappling World Team Trials the last two years. The man responsible for the success of the club is owner and coach, Sheldon Marr.

Marr is a former champion in Judo and wrestling and has since transitioned those skills into Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts, giving him 44 years of experience. Coach Marr was inducted into the U.S. Martial Arts’, World Martial Arts and International Black Belt Hall of Fame and has been named “Instructor of the Year”...

Marr was also a part of the historic first Grappling World Team coaching staff, which traveled to Turkey last year and brought home nine gold medals and a total of 21 medals. Grappler’s Edge athlete Malcolm Havens earned a gold medal and Bahar Shahidi earned a silver medal netting Grappler’s Edge almost 10% of the Team USA take.

Marr and Grappler’s Edge qualified four athletes to compete in the 2008 World Grappling Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland on December 20-21. The athletes include:
• 2007 World Champion, two-time U.S. Grappling World Team Trials Champion and current Iowa State walk-on, Ricky Lundell.
• Greco Roman standout and 2008 U.S. Grappling World Team Trials runner-up, Brandon Ruiz
• Bahar Shahidi, 2007 U.S. Grappling World Team Trials and World Championship runner-up
• Angela Poe, who is making an athletic comeback at the encouragement of Coach Marr.

“Angie is a tremendous athlete, she has had a long layoff and is just getting back into it,” said Marr. “By December we will have her in top condition and she will be a tough competitor for anyone”

The Grappler’s Edge team is also anchored by 2007 World Champion Malcolm Havens, who narrowly missed qualifying for this year’s World Championships at 202.5 lbs. He competed at the deepest division of the 2008 U.S. Grappling World Team Trials. Havens is an integral part of the team and the training and it is likely he will be helping prepare his team members for their shot at the gold in Switzerland.

Other notable Grappler’s Edge athletes are 3x NCAA All-American wrestler from the Univ. of Illinois and 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier, Matt Lackey.

“Grappler’s Edge is the model club for USA Wrestling’s Grappling program in many ways,” said Jason Townsend, USA Wrestling’s Manager of Developing Styles. “This club is setting the example in regards to the development of a pool of sanctioned Grappling clubs around the country.”

Grappler’s Edge has over 30 USA Wrestling member athletes and coaches, a number which is growing on heels of their success. If you are ever in Denver and you want a world class workout, stop in and see Coach Marr and the Grappler’s Edge crew and they will take care of that for you.

PROFILE:
NAME: Grappler’s Edge
ADDRESS: 5305 East Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80220
PHONE NUMBER: (303) 433-EDGE
WEBSITE: WWW.GRAPPLERS-EDGE.COM
EMAIL: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

STAFF
HEAD COACH/OWNER: Sheldon Marr
ASST. COACHES: Mike Nuss, Scott Marshall, Eric Koble, Jim Wonhof
NOTABLE ATHLETES: Ricky Lundell, Malcolm Havens, Bahar Shahidi, Brandon Ruiz, Matt Lackey, Angela Poe, Chilo Gonzales, Eric Koble