As wintry weather becomes more and more normal, athletic events begin to move from the fields to the gyms. This means, along with other things, that wrestling season has returned for Ohio.
The Bobcats’ regular season will kick off Saturday at the Virginia Duals, signaling the beginning of what coach Joel Greenlee said could be a promising campaign.
“I feel really good about the season,” Greenlee said. “We have a talented team and a great group of guys. I think it’ll be a pretty good year.”
Greenlee’s expectations are not unfounded. Last season, the Bobcats placed fourth in the MAC Championships, having two wrestlers win in their respective weight classes. Nick Purdue, who graduated last spring, won the 174-pound class and Jeremy Johnson —
now a redshirt junior — won the 285-pound class for the Bobcats. Johnson went on to place seventh in the NCAA Championships and earn All-American honors.
Ohio had four wrestlers graduate last year, and it left the Bobcats with only a lone senior on the team.
Aside from the one senior, Jake Wojcik, 17 of the 30 athletes on the roster are either a true or redshirt freshman.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Greenlee said of the squad’s youth. “I’m excited for them and they’re talented, but they’re raw and inexperienced at the college level.”
Unlike most other sports in the MAC, conference play only really matters at the end of the year, where the Bobcats won three of their five regular season matches heading into the MAC Championships.
The MAC made some additions this year that could boost the level of competition. Missouri, which placed second in last season’s Big 12 Championships, and Northern Iowa, a historic wrestling powerhouse, have moved into the MAC as wrestling charter members this season. Old Dominion will join the conference under the same conditions next fall.
“I’m anxious to face some of the new competition as well as the old,” Greenlee said. “We were picked to finish sixth with the added competition, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to settle for that spot. We plan to compete and beat those guys.”
The Bobcats will spend the first month of their season away from The Convo in Virginia this weekend, East Lansing, MI on Nov. 11, and Annapolis, MD the following weekend.
Ohio’s first home match will be Dec. 1 against Central Michigan. Greenlee called upon the O Zone to support the Bobcats when they return home for the thick of their schedule.
“It’s a big deal for us to have support at The Convo,” he said. “It creates a better atmosphere for the wrestlers to have home-mat advantage.”
tj790511@ohiou.edu
