VESTAL, N.Y.- Binghamton wrestling coach Matt Dernlan will keep a close watch on the 2016 Olympics, as he has coached three athletes participating at the Rio Games this month.
 
Dernlan disciples Frank Molinaro (U.S.), Franklin Gomez Matos (Puerto Rico), and Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Uzbekistan) will compete for three different countries in the freestyle wrestling tournament in Rio. Wrestling begins on Sunday, August 14, and runs through August 21.
 
"It's neat to see all these guys in position to reach the highest goal in our sport," said Dernlan.
 
Molinaro will wrestle at 65 kg./143 lbs. for Team USA. As an assistant coach, Dernlan recruited Molinaro to Penn State, helping him win a national title as a 149-pounder in 2012. Molinaro took All-America honors in each of his four collegiate seasons. The native of Barnegat, New Jersey, won the U.S. Olympic Trials in his weight class and eventually qualified for the Rio Olympics. Earlier this year, Molinaro won the World Cup and Pan-American events.
 
Gomez will represent Puerto Rico in the 65 kg./143 lbs. division. He wrestled collegiately at Michigan State, winning an NCAA title in 2009. Following his college career, Gomez trained at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, where Dernlan was a coach prior to arriving at Binghamton. With Dernlan as a coach, Gomez won a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, becoming the first-ever medalist from Puerto Rico at the event. Gomez competed in the 2012 London Olympics, falling in his first two matches. He secured a spot in Rio with a silver medal at the Pan American Games in March.
 
Abdurakhomonov, competing in the 74 kg./163 lbs. division, will wrestle for Uzbekistan. He went to Clarion University, where as a senior, he was coached by Dernlan. In that senior season, he was a 2012 All-American at 165 pounds. Abdurakhmonov earned his slot in Rio by winning the United World Wrestling (UWW) World Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey, this spring. Previously, he won the 2014 Asian Games.
 
"It's the highest pinnacle of our sport," said Dernlan. "The more we can cultivate these dreams from a young age, like thinking about gold medals, it's huge for wrestling."
 
Dernlan will begin his fifth season at BU in 2016-17. The Bearcats won 11 dual matches last season and had two wrestlers compete at the NCAA Championships in Madison Square Garden.
 
"Dream the possible," said Dernlan. "That's what we talk about here all the time. People put limitations on themselves and that impedes their growth. When I talk to the guys (on the Binghamton wrestling team), I've got three examples of guys from different backgrounds and different schools who found a way to make their dreams come true. These guys here can see it and I can talk about it and they can realize that 'if these three did it with Coach, why can't I do it at Binghamton?'"