The Bobcats have had to grapple with more than just their opponents.
Already this season, the injuries have been piling on for Ohio.
Kyle Ciccarello (shoulder), Germane Lindsey (groin), Matt Reedy (neck), Kevin Christensen (knee), Tommy Weinkam (back), Jacob Ison (knee) and Erik Schuth (ribs) have been hampered by injuries.
Some, like Ciccarello's, will keep them out for the season. Others, like Lindsey, will wrestle through the pain. Still others, like Weinkam, are going to wrestle in a set amount of matches before the Mid-American Conference tournament.
Lindsey will wrestle this weekend at the Virginia Duels, but will have to cope with a groin that isn't completely healed.
He said his groin prevents him from training as hard as he'd like to because he doesn't want to put himself in positions where his injury could worsen.
If a guy goes for a certain move and I'm in a position where I can injure my groin
I get a little nervous said Lindsey.
Coach Joel Greenlee said that wrestling with minor injuries and sicknesses now is training that will help the team later.
When the MAC tournament and the NCAA tournament come around, if a wrestler has an illness, like the flu, he'll have to wrestle with it.
But Greenlee said that when a team gets hit with injuries, the coaches do start to wonder.
Is it something we're doing? Greenlee asked himself.
You look at all the injuries and they've all happened in competition. It's not like we are training them too hard
or doing the wrong things in the weight room or any of that.
It's just kind of snake-bit bad luck.
That bad luck then creates other problems
like not being able to practice or wrestle on a consistent basis
which makes it difficult for a wrestler to get into a rhythm. They may feel OK one day and then horrible the next.
I can't go out and drill every day, Ison said.
Some days I'm on the bike and some days I'm just sitting there because I feel terrible.
Greenlee said this early in the season it's important to keep guys as healthy as possible for later in the season. They have to be careful that something minor doesn't turn into something major.
Ison
who was hurt early in the season
recently tried to wrestle in the Southern Scuffle
but had to withdraw from the tournament when he agitated his knee again.
That's the smart thing to do, Greenlee said.
We need to keep him healthy because, obviously, we're a little beat up right now and he's one of our best guys.",",2,Sports,Joe Ragazzo,",",",",",","
46,2009-01-07 01:02:00,Hockey: Despite having Whyte out
Ohio plans
