Tom Borrelli calls nagging wrestling injuries commonplace in physical sport, team pushes through pain
Three key wrestlers have faced the challenge of fighting off sickness and injury as Mid-American Conference play continues during the second half of the season.
"Throughout the course of a wrestling season it's really hard to have everyone healthy all at the same time," said head coach Tom Borrelli. "It's unusual to have everyone healthy for every dual meet. We try to get that to all come together at the end of the year for the conference tournament. Hopefully, you have some good backup or some really tough guys that can fight through things."
Fighting through pain is a key to success throughout the season. While seniors Craig Kelliher, Joe Roth and Mike Ottinger have been held out the longest, other wrestlers have sustained minor injuries since the season began in November.
Kelliher tweaked his leg during the 184-pound match in a dual against Utah Valley on Nov. 15, noticeably affecting his wrestling in the second period. He had trouble on his feet against his opponent, who was able to exploit this weakness to diminish the lead Kelliher built earlier in the match.
Kelliher won the match by 7-5 decision. After the meet, Borrelli said it was tough for his 184-pounder to wrestle through the pain, though wrestlers are used to the physicality of the sport.
"Some weeks you are going to be sick or have nagging injuries," Borrelli said. "It's really a different sport because everything has to be almost perfect for your body to feel perfect and that doesn't happen very often."
Roth, CMU's starting 133-pounder, suffered an injury in the semi-final match at the Michigan State Open early in the season, preventing him from finishing the tournament. He took the next four competitions off, returning against No. 23 Stanford, where he lost by 5-3 decision.
"Chronic pains begin to build up as the season goes on, and things start to nag you in the room, but you have to take care of your body," Roth said. "You have to make sure you're not putting yourself in a situation where you can get hurt; still, you can't be too worried about it either."
Ottinger, CMU's 174-pounder, was scratched in the Southern Scuffle during winter break due to a minor injury. He said strategically resting during a meet is a choice made to save strength for the end of the season.
"Coach and I thought it was the best decision not to wrestle," Ottinger said. "You got to fight through the pain sometimes, but it's big to pace yourself. The most important part is the end of the year"
