# Half a Million or Olympic Dreams — That's the Choice These Kids Face" | Athletor Podcast Ep 172

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/athletor-podcast-with-mike-mal-6041450/half-a-million-or-olympic-dreams-that-s-the-choice-these-kids-face-athletor-podcast-ep-172
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Podcast: [Athletor Podcast with Mike Mal](https://stenobird.com/podcast/athletor-podcast-with-mike-mal-6041450)
Published: 2026-05-27T14:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/athletor/episodes/Half-a-Million-or-Olympic-Dreams--Thats-the-Choice-These-Kids-Face--Athletor-Podcast-Ep-172-e3jv165
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO8375814097.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3143

## Resource

UPenn assistant coach Darian Cruz sits down with Mike to talk about what the data says about Ivy League wrestling at the NCAA tournament, why coaching at Penn means competing with Wall Street for your athletes' attention, and how a post-COVID conversation led him to represent Puerto Rico on the international stage. Guest: Darian Cruz — 2017 NCAA Champion (Lehigh), 2024 Paris Olympian (Puerto Rico), UPenn Assistant Coach Topics: Ivy League vs EIWA NCAA performance, conference scoring data, student-athlete culture at UPenn, competing for Puerto Rico, overtime rule changes, Japan training trip

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## Transcript

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