When Dr. Corey Manson ‘11 goes to the operating room, he often spends 6 to 8 hours on his feet, wearing 30 pounds of lead, working on complex cases at Portsmouth Medical Center covering Naval Special Warfare on the East Coast. It’s certainly challenging, but Manson said he was ready.
“Orthopedic surgery is hard, physically and mentally, but nothing prepares you better than college wrestling,” he said. “Keeping your cool when things get tough, having endurance in a long case; the Dan Gable quote really holds true.”
Manson’s current position allows him to combine his lifelong desire to serve in the military, following the path of his grandfathers, and his interest in medicine.
“I always knew I wanted to serve. I felt a calling from a young age,” he said. “Cornell opened more doors for me than I could have imagined.”
Manson was a starter, two-time EIWA placer, and NCAA qualifier on Cornell teams that placed second at the NCAA tournament twice. He jumped right into the lineup as a true freshman at 141 pounds.
“It was an eye-opening year, going from being a pretty dominant big fish in a small pond in high school [4x Tennessee state finalist] to the Division 1 level,” Manson said. “I went from rarely losing to taking losses, but I learned a lot and it left me hungry.”
Manson then took an internship year, working for Student Agencies in Ithaca in a number of different businesses, while wrestling in competitions. The year helped him decide upon his future academic path, with a spring shoulder dislocation likely playing a role.
“It kept dislocating and that’s when I had my first orthopedic surgery,” Manson said. “It was done by an NCAA wrestling runner up, Dr. Doug Wyland. That injury and the experience with the surgeon planted a seed about my future.” In fact, through Cornell, Manson did an internship one summer with Dr. Wyland, as well as with Dr. Jeff Lewis, who “has taken many Cornell wrestlers under his wing and is still a mentor” for Manson.
Manson returned to school and moved into the College of Human Ecology to prepare for a future in healthcare. While he suffered a dislocation to his other shoulder and had another surgery, he returned to the lineup and won 26 matches at 149 pounds as a junior.
The team finished second at the NCAA tournament that 2009-10 campaign and with key contributors like Kyle Dake, Mack Lewnes, Mike Grey, Justin Kerber, DJ Meagher, Cam Simaz, and Steve Bosak returning, along with Frank Perrelli, there was a great deal of excitement heading into 2010-11.
Manson was set to return to 141 pounds, flip flopping weights with Dake. In August, however, Manson suffered a significant injury in his left knee. He knew that surgery would mean the end of his career and decided to compete.
It wouldn’t be easy, though. A pair of future All-Americans, Mike Nevinger and Chris Villalonga, were set to challenge for the 141 starting spot on the preseason #1 team in the country.
Fast forward to January of 2011. Cornell had never won the National Duals, and advanced to the finals against Virginia Tech - without Manson at 141. He had suffered a high ankle sprain prior to the event and traveled and weighed in but hadn’t gotten the nod as the Big Red moved into the championship match.
That changed against the Hokies. With the Cornell trailing 4-3 in the dual score after two bouts, Manson took the mat against #5 Chris Diaz. He scored a pair of takedowns in a 6-4 upset victory, giving Cornell a lead it would not relinquish on the way to a 25-10 win and the National Duals Championship.
“That was an incredible team effort and so much fun to be a part of,” Manson said. “There was so much going on. National Duals finals, high profile match, an injury, and I was in a battle for the starting spot. I honestly don’t remember specifics from the match, but the whole experience was awesome.”
Manson rode the momentum of that victory the rest of the way, making the podium at the EIWA tournament to qualify for the NCAAs in Philadelphia, where he won a pair of bouts for a Big Red squad that again finished with second place and a team trophy.
Off the mat, he had decisions to make. Would it be military or medicine first?
With his acceptance to medical school, he applied for and received a Health Professions Scholarship from the Navy. So, after going back to his home state and finishing his MD at the JH Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State, he began his military involvement in a five year Orthopedic Surgery residency at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center in Virginia.
Afterwards, Manson was offered the rare opportunity to stay on as staff and is now one of the three surgeons that cover Naval Special Warfare on the East Coast, achieving the pinnacle of Orthopedics in the Navy. He will continue for another year before beginning a trauma fellowship and ultimately looking to work at a Level 1 Trauma Center.
“I didn’t achieve my goals in wrestling and I think the way the 2011 season ended – it’s a fire that’s motivated me for a long time. I had to move on to the next thing and achieve success there," he said. "My teammates, we don't talk about it a lot, but I think they would agree."
Indeed, the success of the graduating class of 2011 is unquestioned with graduates at the highest levels of areas such as medicine, finance, real estate, hospitality, and coaching.
“You’re surrounded by the cream of the crop at Cornell Wrestling,” Manson said. “I coach some young wrestlers and teach young orthopedic surgeons. I tell them, ‘you are who you surround yourself with.’ It’s human nature to fall to the lowest common denominator, but to be an average guy on the 2011 team - you’ll be a stud no matter what you do. When you surround yourself with that kind of group, you don’t have a choice but to be successful - in social settings, in competition, in academics. We still keep up with each other and get together and it’s great to see that everyone’s still kicking butt.”
He follows the program currently and takes pride in the continued success.
“Wrestling taught me so much and I apply it to my life almost every day. When you leave Cornell wrestling, you are on an incredible trajectory to success in medicine or business or whatever field, but also as a husband and as a father,” Manson said. “When I was looking at colleges, I knew I wanted elite level academics and elite wrestling and nowhere else in the country offered that. It’s exciting that today there’s still no better combination. You can’t go anywhere else and get that quality degree while gunning for individual and team titles. Nowhere else compares.”
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Corey Manson is married to Hannah Baer, Cornell Class of 2012. They have a son and have another child on the way. Congratulations!
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