Wrestling team needs top-four finish at NCAAs
The CMU wrestling team has talked all year about its goals for the season.
As the Chippewas rattled off wins against top-20 teams such as Nebraska, Maryland and Kent State, as well as teams such as Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois, the talk has pointed toward the end of the season.
It is about bringing back a trophy to Mount Pleasant.
CMU travels to Omaha, Neb., for the NCAA Wrestling Championships with the goal of finishing in the top four in the nation this weekend.
Team-wise, it is one of the few things Central Michigan has not been able to accomplish. Central’s best finish was fifth place in 1998.
But it has a plethora of depth in its lineup this year. It is one of the reasons CMU became the first Mid-American Conference school in history to have all ten wrestlers in each weight class qualify for the national tournament.
It also has tied the school record with 17 dual wins this season, along with winning its ninth consecutive MAC tournament championship.
A different story
But there is a difference between being a great dual-match team — which Central is — and being a great tournament team.
Based on seeds, Central should have three All-Americans which, to some, may sound like a great accomplishment. However, based on those seeds, those All-Americans would finish seventh, seventh and eighth. Not exactly a recipe for a top three finish.
For Central to reach its goal, it needs individuals to step up to the challenge.
It is time for wrestlers such as sophomore heavyweight Jarod Trice to show the same talent it took to win an individual championship at Midlands on Dec. 30, including giving No. 1 seed Iowa State’s David Zabriskie one of his two losses on the season in the championship.
The talent has always been there for Trice; he is as quick as almost any heavyweight in the nation. But will his focus be on every match? Will he be able to ride his opponent come overtime?
This time of the year, it is all about advancing. Whether you win by one or you pin the opponent, you advance. That is the goal.
Senior 125-pounder Matt Steintrager was not really challenged in the MAC, going 8-0 this year with two falls. However, in his three matches against opponents seeded in the NCAA tournament, Steintrager went 0-3.
For a senior in his first year starting, he needs to immediately push away the butterflies Thursday, as he will start with a rematch against Maryland’s James Knox, whom he beat 2-0 earlier this year.
Six seniors will wrestle their final match in the Central singlet. For Steintrager, along with Conor Beebe, Tony D’Alie, Steve Brown, Tyler Grayson and Eric Simaz, this is their last chance to become an All-American.
Some wrestlers, such as Brown and Beebe, have been here before. Brown was injured in the first round last year and still advanced to the round of 12, one win away from All-American status. This is the fourth time Beebe will attend nationals.
This is the difference between having a great dual team and a great tournament team. It depends on really good individuals becoming great individuals.
Great tournament teams have multiple guys in the top four, not just multiple guys in the top eight.
If Central wants to bring back a trophy and show the wrestling community this is a great tournament team, it will be up to the individuals.
