After a substantial conference victory two nights ago, the Ohio wrestling team steps out of conference for a meet at the 15th annual Wendy's Classic this Sunday.
The Bobcats will face Indiana, Ashland and Gardner Webb, all teams they have yet to see this season. A total of seven teams will travel to square off against each other in a series of dual meets.
Despite this not being a conference meet, both wrestlers and coach know the importance of performing well and working on improving as a team.
Right now we need to be a lot more aggressive
said Jeremiah Beltran (Heavyweight). We're trying to go out there and wrestle a match to the point where you're going to break the guy so the next time he steps out there he's not going to want to face you.
Returning to the mat for the first time in more than a month is Brandon Shriner (149), who was 8-2 overall this season before being forced to sit because of two tears in his meniscus. Shriner has since had a scope done and those two tears were clipped out, he said.
I think I'll be fine
he said. Being off hurt me a little bit
but I've wrestled and kept in shape over the past couple weeks. I was wrestling real well in practice.
Shriner said he hoped to retain the starting position with solid performances this weekend at 149.
Also not wrestling this weekend will be Tony DeAnna (165), who has been sidelined for several matches because of a rib injury, coach Joel Greenlee said. This came after he and Vinny DiGiovanni (165) alternated matches for several weeks as neither one could obtain a solid grasp on the starting job.
Overall, Ohio will send about 15 wrestlers, Greenlee said. But the starting 10 will not change from the meet at Eastern Michigan two days ago, where the Bobcats only dropped three matches. As for those three matches, Greenlee said he is confident his wrestlers will be able to rebound this weekend.
I think they're all tough kids and they need to (rebound)
he said. It's one of those things you can't dwell on. I think you learn from your losses more than you do your wins. But you also gain a lot of confidence from your wins.
The Bobcats begin their matches at 10 a.m. Sunday when they travel to face Ashland, the team playing host to the tournament.
17
Archives
Kyle Jepson
