One of the nation's best Greco-Roman wrestlers saw the potential in Fountain-Fort Carson High School student G'Angelo Hancock.
About two years later, the teen is making T.C. Dantzler look pretty smart.
The next step in the 216-pounder's journey to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be against some elite international athletes at the Dave Schultz Memorial International this Wednesday at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center. Men's freestyle competition is Thursday and women's freestyle is Friday.
Hancock, who competed as Tracy Hancock in high school, was a state placer for the Trojans. Dantzler, who also never won a preps state title, took him under his wing and steered him into Greco.
The 2008 Olympian coached him and became his mentor.
"He totally changed things around for me," said Hancock, 19, who now goes by his middle name. "With his training and help, I started winning and getting better."
"It was 100 percent T.C. Dantzler," he added. "He has become a mentor in my life, teaching me to become a better person and a better man. He has been a huge inspiration in my life."
A strong showing at junior nationals earned him an invitation to train at the OTC and later to become a resident-athlete. He graduated from high school elsewhere a year early to focus on Greco and start college online.
"I had to prove to them that I am dedicated," Hancock said. "Being here, they are on me 24/7 to do things right. Having the guidance of the senior athletes definitely made me grow up faster."
Becoming an OTC resident was important for his family.
His mother had downsized into a smaller home with three children.
"I consider it a blessing," he said. "When we had to move in there, I got invited to live at the OTC."
Hancock erupted onto the international scene last year. He took home a 2016 junior worlds bronze medal, placed third in the Rio trials and then won senior nationals.
"He's made some great improvements and adjustments and created opportunities," national team coach Matt Lindland said. "We have created opportunities for him to get training overseas and (compete in) some international competition. It's really important for him to have at this stage in his development."
"If I stay with it then nothing but good will come from it," Hancock said. "I want to be the best in the world."
The Schultz tournament, which begins with Greco preliminaries at 9 a.m. Wednesday with the finals at 4 p.m., provides him with another opportunity to learn. Men's freestyle is Thursday at the same times. Women's freestyle starts at 9 Friday with finals at 2:30.
"This tournament is another steppingstone and another opportunity to get more experience," Hancock said. "I am going in there to wrestle the best I can, learn the most I can, and just take that knowledge to the next level."
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