NEW ULM - When Ali Bernard was growing up wrestling with the boys on the New Ulm wrestling team, the mothers of those boys had a vision.
"We always said that when Ali was younger if she made it to the Olympics we would be there," Cathy Koob said, who watched two boys go through the New Ulm wrestling program.
And for the past several years, those moms - Koob, Kathy Runck, Cheri LeBrun and Annette Haynes - who call themselves "Ali Cats" have been in the stands cheering her on every chance they could.
They followed her to the Olympic trials in Indianapolis four years ago. They watched her wrestle in Nationals in Las Vegas and the ultimate moment came Sunday Aug., 17 when they watched Bernard step out on the mat as an Olympian in the 72 kg weight class in Beijing.
"It was so exciting," Koob said. "At first it was like, 'oh my gosh is this real?' We have talked about doing this for years and we are finally here. It was tearful to see her name come up on the board and to have her walk out with the big USA sign, it still gives me goosebumps. Even now when I talk about it."
And the feeling wasn't lost on Bernard's mom Sue.
"It was absolutely awesome," Sue Bernard said. "Those women have been there from square one. To have them there with us was absolutely terrific. They were great. All through the years they have been Ali's No. 1 fans."
The moment was intensified when Bernard opened her Olympics with a pin in 40 seconds over Amarachi Obiajunwa of Nigeria.
"That's our Ali," Kathy Runck said. "We expected nothing less from her. That was exciting."
Bernard eventually made it to the Bronze medal match before losing to Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan and taking fifth-place overall.
"We were just so excited," Koob said. "It's hard to describe."
"She was so gracious after she lost too," Runck said. "We were so proud of her. That other girl was kind of celebrating a little bit and Ali just stood there so respectful. I was very proud of her because I know that it hurt. And we are so proud of her."
The U.S. coaches were impressed with the Ali Cats.
"We got thanked a lot," Runck said. "They would say, 'it's so wonderful to have your group in the stands.' When Ali would come on we would wave to her and she could see us and [63 kg U.S. wrestler] Randi Miller too. She was thrilled to have us there too because she only had her mom and a friend there."
That made Sue Bernard realize how special a moment it was to have the Ali Cats in attendance to cheer her daughter on.
"I think my biggest impression was when Ali came off of the mat after the first match and she looked up at the stands and looked up with a smile and acknowledged them," Sue Bernard said. "It was great. I can't even imagine being there without them."
They went to support Bernard but in the end they were just proud to be Americans.
"I think the feeling of being there for your country the U-S-A, was the biggest," Runck said. "I was expecting to go there and be there for Ali. But I wasn't prepared to be there for our country. It was very moving. Just seeing all of the other countries represented and cheering."
Right after Bernard qualified for the Olympics the Ali Cats expedited their passports and then they applied for a visa.
"We had to have everything else in place prior to applying for the visa," Koob said. "We had to have our flight, the place that we were staying and our itinerary. Then you apply for the visa."
The ladies also had paperwork to fill out once they got to China.
"We had to check in at the police station," Koob said. "We had to go to the police station, bring our passports, visas and show them that we were staying in this area"
The Ali Cats, left Minneapolis for an 11-hour flight to Tokyo then they took a 3 1/2 hour flight to Beijing at a cost of $1,700. They found an efficiency apartment on Olympichouse.com for $250 a day.
"It was way cheaper than a hotel," Runck said. "Some of the hotels were $380 a day for three people and we had four. It was a good deal."
The apartment was a ways from the arena where Bernard wrestled but they made due by traveling on the subway or by taxi.
"All the people went out of their way to help us," Koob said. "In the subway we must have looked a little confused, people would come to us and ask us if we needed assistance."
Now the Ali Cats are ready to do it again.
"We will follow her to London four years from now too," Runck said.
"Our husbands say they have first dibs on that trip," Koob added. "We will be negotiating that. Maybe it will be a family trip this time."
The support didn't stop in China. On Friday, the New Ulm wrestling boosters, along with the Ali Cats put on a welcome home picnic for Bernard in German Park, to help raise money for the Bernard family to offset the costs for the travel to China.
"This wrestling community has been behind us from square one," Sue Bernard said. "Before we left town we would drive down Broadway or Minnesota Street and see the signs that the businesses had put up. There was more than one time that I would just break down and cry. This is my child, she had so much support and it meant the world to us."
And obviously Sue Bernard is proud of Ali for realizing a dream she has had since she was a little girl
"I don't even know if it's completely sunk in," Sue Bernard said. "From the time she started wrestling, I knew she had the potential to do this. I know she has had the weight of the world on her shoulders. She carried all of us - all of our expectations on top of hers. I am so proud of her that I can't even begin to describe it.
Michael Gassett can be reached at mgassett@nujournal.com
