Joey Ortega’s story is still being written.

The Clark, NJ native and ALJ graduate joins Destination Talk to talk about his path from New Jersey high school wrestling to competing at Kutztown University and earning a trip to the NCAA Division II Championships.

Joey takes us inside the jump from high school to college wrestling—the moments that exposed where he needed to get better, the work people don't see, and what he learned when he finally stepped onto the national stage.

We also get Joey’s perspective on some bigger questions facing wrestling today: How important has club wrestling become? Do young wrestlers now need a club to compete at a high level? And as someone who came through a public school at ALJ, how does he view the ongoing public-versus-private debate in New Jersey wrestling?

But the most interesting part of Joey’s story may be what hasn't happened yet.

How good can he become? What is he willing to sacrifice to find out? And when wrestling eventually ends, who is Joey Ortega without the sport?

This is a conversation with a young athlete who has already gotten a glimpse of the NCAA stage—and now has to decide how far he wants to take it.

Destination Talk — Where ordinary people have the opportunity to tell extraordinary stories. Because every journey has value, every lesson deserves to be shared, and every voice deserves to be heard.

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Parker Keckeisen has reached a level in wrestling that very few ever experience — but the journey behind the success tells an even bigger story.

Episode 64 of Destination Talk drops Sunday, September 13 at 9 AM.

In this episode, Parker joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about becoming an NCAA champion, the sacrifices behind reaching the highest levels of the sport, handling pressure and expectations, and figuring out who you are when so much of your identity has been built around competition.

We also get into his experiences sharing the mat with some of the biggest names in wrestling — including Aaron Brooks, Carter Starocci and Kyle Dake — and what competing against athletes of that caliber taught him about greatness and about himself.

And yes, we may have revisited a couple of old matches with his former opponent — and our co-host — John Poznanski. We’ll let the two of them decide how they remember those.

Parker takes us inside his Real American Freestyle journey, the opportunities RAF is creating for wrestlers after college, and where he believes the sport could be headed.

But some of the most interesting moments have very little to do with wins and losses.

What does success give you — and what doesn’t it give you?

What happens when the goal you’ve spent years chasing becomes reality?

Who are you when the sport eventually goes away?

And after everything Parker has experienced, what would he tell the younger version of himself about the road ahead?

Episode 64 with Parker Keckeisen drops Sunday, September 13 at 9 AM.

Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, and iHeartRadio.

Destination Talk — Where ordinary people have the opportunity to tell extraordinary stories. Because every journey has value, every lesson deserves to be shared, and every voice deserves to be heard.

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NCAA qualifier. Ohio state champion. Division I wrestler at the University of Virginia.

But ask Marlon Yarbrough who he is when wrestling is gone — and the conversation changes.

Marlon joins Destination Talk for Episode 63, and we get into the parts of the journey that don’t show up next to your record.

The jump from being one of the best wrestlers in high school to walking into a Division I room where everybody was “the guy.”

Beating All-American Aaron Nagao 13–5 on the NCAA stage.

Then having the sport taken away by injury.

And eventually having to answer a question every athlete will face:

Who are you when they stop introducing you as a wrestler?

We had some fun too. Mount Rushmore. The state of college wrestling. NIL. The transfer portal. And a few opinions that might get wrestling fans arguing in the comments.

Marlon Yarbrough. Episode 63.

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Built Beyond the Mat.

Destination Talk — Where ordinary people have the opportunity to tell extraordinary stories. Because every journey has value, every lesson deserves to be shared, and every voice deserves to be heard.

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