BERLIN- Former Stephen Decatur and U.S. Naval Academy wrestling standout Danny Miller last weekend won the U.S. Marines’ only championship at the Armed Forces Wrestling Championships and is now preparing to compete in the world championships in April.
Miller, who won three state championships at Decatur, now competes for the U.S. Marines and added to his already-impressive resume last weekend with a gold medal at 97 kilograms, or 213 pounds, in the U.S. Armed Forces Wrestling Championship at Joint Base McGuire-Dix in Lakehurst, N.J.
Miller swept two matches last Sunday to capture the Armed Forces freestyle championships. The gold medal in the Armed Forces Wrestling Championships last Sunday was the second in as many years for Miller, who also won the gold last year.
Miller’s win was the Marines’ only championship win in a 29-7 loss to defending champion Army. In his first match last Sunday, Miller beat Raul Velez of the Air Force, 10-0. In the championship match on Sunday afternoon, Miller pinned Army Sgt. Victor Terrill in 1:29 to capture the gold medal at 213 pounds. Miller said he was most motivated by getting a win for the Marines.
“Coming into that match, I didn’t have a strong finish yesterday, and I had a strong start today [Sunday],” he said. “I really wanted to get out there and get one for our guys.”
Terrill gave up some size in the gold medal match and Miller said he took advantage of the difference.
“I reverted back to my past freestyle days,” he said. “We traded shot for shot and we ended up in a situation where I used my size to bulldoze him over and my weight to lay him flat.”
