Baton Rouge Local's Quest for Gold in International Sambo Wrestling:

Sheridan Moran, born in Baton Rouge, LA, raised in both Baton Rouge and Lafayette, LA, currently teaches and coaches wrestling at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge. Later this month, Sheridan is competing in the Sambo Wrestling World Championships in Narita, Japan.

Sheridan Moran is a 2005 graduate of Lafayette High School in Lafayette, LA where he was a State Champion Wrestler. From there, he received a scholarship offer to attend Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, VA and after a coaching change at the school, received a scholarship to Newberry College in Newberry, SC. During his time at Newberry College, Sheridan finished his collegiate wrestling career as a Collegiate All-American while completing his Bachelor's Degree in Biology.

Following college graduation, Sheridan took a position as an assistant coach for a season at Newberry College between 2010 and 2011. Even with the prospects of continuing to coach at the collegiate level, Sheridan had a desire to return to the community in South Louisiana. Since 2011, Sheridan has taught and coached at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge under Head Coach Tommy Prochaska, where they've continually fielded competitive teams and mentored and cultivated strong student-athletes.

In additional to his teaching and coaching responsibilities, Sheridan founded Hammer Down Wrestling Academy in the Spring of 2012, where he
independently coaches wrestlers, and aspiring wrestlers, of all ages and skill levels. Hammer Down Wrestling Academy operates in Baton
Rouge, LA.

Please see his fundraising explanation below (also seen on his GoFundMe page):

"I am raising funds to represent Team USA in the 2014 World Sambo Championships in Narita, Japan. Sambo is a Russian-based martial art very similar to Olympic Judo and Wrestling. It is wildly popular throughout the world and gaining popularity here in the United States.

Having won numerous wrestling and Sambo fighting championships, most recently, the Pan-American Sambo Championships in Trinidad, I am moving on to represent The United States of America in the World Sambo Championships in Narita, Japan. I am very excited and honored to represent our country in the quest for a Gold medal.

However, unlike some more popular sports, Sambo fighters do not receive large sponsorship dollars, and we are left to fund these international trips to represent our country out of our own pocket. While this is a great honor the financial burden can quickly become overwhelming.

I would love your support, of any denomination, to help me fund my trip to Japan. Keeping your support in mind, I will fight my hardest on the road to Gold!

Sincerely,

Sheridan Moran"

Sheridan's GoFundMe page:
www.gofundme.com/Sheridan-Moran

EDIT to include:

Last Training Day

& Follow Sheridan and Team USA's progress in the 2014 Sambo World Championships at the following link:
2014 Sambo World Championships

Another ETA:
Updated with Rick Portier's story from WAFB, originally aired 11/20/14 @ 6 pm
WAFB Video Link

WAFB written link

***Edited to provide non-mobile links above to the story done last night***

11/21/14 eta:
Watch Sheridan's matches through this live streaming link (not sure of quality):

Narita, Japan LIVE Sambo Coverage

This post was edited on 11/21/14 at 9:43 am