February 05, 2008
Mid-States Conference Tournament Time!
Our wrestling team will head to Rose Hulman this Friday for the Mid-States Conference Wrestling tournament, a tournament Wabash College has done very well at over the last 3 years. This conference was created for independent wrestling sponsoring schools like ours. The conference is comprised of teams from Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana.
Over the past three Mid-States Conference tournaments the Little Giants have accomplished a lot. Team championships came in 04-05 and 06-07. Fifteen individuals have made it to the championship match, and have had five individual champions.
Headlining the Wabash crew as favorites for a championship include, Juniors Jarred Tribbett, Stephen Mosier and Rob Arnett. Arnett won his first Mid-States title last year as a sophomore, while Mosier finished 2nd and Tribbett 5th. Other hopeful individual finalists are Michael Burke (184) who finished 3rd last year, sophomore Cody Johnson (197) and Freshman Robert Beeler (174) who has wins over many of the competitors in the field.
After our weekend off for bad weather, the guys should be hungry for some competition this weekend!
Have a great week!
Coach Anderson
Photo - The 2006-07 Mid-States Wrestling League Champions.
Posted by harrisb at 03:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
January 24, 2008
A Satisfying Moment
Cody Johnson - I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not like most people. I don’t party much, I’ve never consumed alcohol, and my idea of a good time is watching Russian freestyle wrestling on YouTube or going into the wrestling room when everyone is either asleep or partying and working out until I’m drenched with sweat. Am I obsessed with this sport? You bet.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I do have other interests besides wrestling. In the spring and summer, when I’m not competing, I like to eat. After I eat, I’ll generally eat some more. This is followed up by more eating. And to finish off the day, I like to throw myself a curveball, and eat some more. But, generally speaking, if I’m not grazing, I’m most likely wrestling or thinking about wrestling.
Coach Anderson asked me to write this blog, to which I replied, “About what?” He told me that I could write about anything, as long as I was creative. My first initial thought was to write about what it would be like to wrestle sixty-two wombats. As I thought about this, I came to the conclusion that I needed to pick a new topic, because even if I were to round up that many wombats, I wouldn’t want to wrestle them, because they aren’t familiar with the collegiate style of wrestling and I certainly don’t want to take on a group of vicious wombats in a street fight. What if they have knives?
Instead, I’ll talk about the Midlands, and why I wanted to cry before my second match. To give you a little insight as to how prestigious the Midlands Tournament is, the tagline for this year’s competition was, “Where the Elite Meet to Compete.” Catchy, and very true. Numerous Olympians and NCAA champions have competed in this tournament and I am willing to bet my left foot that a handful of the participants at this year’s tournament will win an NCAA Championship.
For me, the whole experience (minus the two losses) was a dream come true. I warmed up and competed on the same mat as the Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa State, Illinois, Northern Iowa, Central Michigan, and Harvard. I sat one row behind Tom Brands, an Olympic champion and head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes. I could smell his cologne. Here I am, a wrestler from Division III Wabash College, first year varsity, sophomore, and I’m sniffing greatness. Unbelievable.
I would go out and warm up when I knew that I wouldn’t wrestle for six hours, just so I could be apart of that atmosphere. I had worked my entire life to get to that point and I wasn’t about to squander an opportunity to warm up next to future Olympians. I was getting loose at Northwestern University, and I was taking it all in. As I jogged around the wrestling mats, I would catch myself smiling. I usually don’t smile when I wrestle, but when you dream of doing something since the age of five, and you actually get a chance to live out that moment, I think that it’s okay to smile.
However, the most profound moment, for me, came before my second match. I was warming up next to Rob Arnett, our heavyweight, and I just took a second to reflect on where I was. I looked to my left and Mark Perry, the defending NCAA champion at 165 pounds, was walking onto the mat to destroy his opponent from Illinois. Jake Varner, the number one ranked wrestler at 184 pounds for the Iowa State Cyclones, was getting a pep talk from his coach, Cael Sanderson, an Olympic champion and the only wrestler to go four years in college without suffering a loss. I looked to my right and Tom Brands was warming up his 174 pound wrestler. I realized that I was holding my breath and when I went to exhale, I could feel my eyes get very hot and wet. I held kept the emotions inside but if I didn’t have a match, tears would have been streaming down my face because at that moment, that one moment in time, I had done what I had set out to do. Any loss that I had suffered, any setback, any negative thoughts were forgotten for that one moment. In that moment, I was just a kid who was living his dream. In that moment, I was happy.
And that, ladies and gentleman, is what it’s all about. When you wake up in the morning, something drives you; something pushes you through the day. For me, moments like that get me going every single day. That moment has passed, but it is mine forever. No one can take it from me. Because of that moment, I know that I am able to accomplish my goals. And I have goals. Now, all I have to do is believe in myself and work to achieve those goals. With new goals come new and everlasting moments. Those moments will be the moments that drive me and push me to be the best.
Take care, and ask yourself, what drives you? What moment are you working towards?
Posted by harrisb at 09:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
November 07, 2007
Young Guns!
Brian Anderson - The 2007-2008 Season is just 3 short days away and the guys are ready to hit some competition. The team will open the 07-08 season with a home dual against Division I Indiana University, which is currently ranked 13th in the country. The guys had a great pre-season and are working hard in preparation for their opener on Friday, November 9th.
The team is very young, but very talented and the coaches are excited for the future of this group. We return no seniors this season and have a room full of young and hungry youth who are ready for their first taste of collegiate action. The 07-08 team returns just 4 starters, all of which are juniors. The rest of the line up will consist of our talented sophomore and freshman classes.
The returnees: Junior heavy weight Rob Arnett (Greenwood H.S.), Junior 149 Jarred Tribbett (Crawfordsville H.S.) , Junior 165 Stephen Mosier (Yorktown H.S.), Junior 133 Stephen Iles (Mascoutah, IL), 165 Ty Dougherty(Hagerstown H.S.)
Sophomores: 141 Justin Michaels( Ballwin, MO), 141 Seth Flater(Tri West H.S.), 157 Dan Brown(Wyoming, MI), 174 Bryan Hugo( Ridgefield, WA), 184 Michael Burke( Yorktown H.S.), 197 Cody Johnson( Franklin Community H.S.), 285 Wes Ault(Brown County H.S.)
Freshman: 125 Keith Closson(Thornton, CO), 149 Graham Youngs(Zionsville H.S.), 165 CP Porter(Ben Davis H.S.), 174 Brandon Tritle(Valporaiso H.S.), 174 James Fitzpatrick(Honolulu, HI), 174 Robert Beeler(Rushville H.S.), 149 Quincy Dotson(Northwest H.S.), 149 Allias Corn(Wood Memorial H.S.)
Please come and support the 2007-2008 Wabash College Wrestling team in their season opener on Friday, November 9th, wrestling will begin at 7PM in Chadwick Court.
Posted by harrisb at 10:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
December 11, 2006
Things Are Coming Together!
Things are coming together in the Wabash College Wrestling program! The team headed to Ada, Ohio over the weekend to participate in the Ohio Northern Invitational. This has been a sore spot in our schedule the past few seasons, never able to put together a solid showing. Being that this tournament hits our guys at a busy time, with big assignments due and right before finals week, the guys did a great job.
The Ohio Northern Invitational is a tournament packed with great competition. This year's tournament consisted of 10 nationally ranked teams. The field included ranked DIII teams #5 Heidelburg, #25 Olivet and #23 Thiel; ranked DII teams included #9 Indianapolis, # 12 West Liberty State, #15 Merceyhurst, and #19 Findlay. The field also included nationally ranked NAIA programs, #7 Campbellsville, #14 Cumberland and #4 Cumberland. So needless to say the competition was stiff!
We were short handed three regular starters this weekend in Gary Black at 125, Garrett Pino at 141 and Stephen Mosier at 157, all out working on papers and preparing for a good finals week.
The guys got the tournament off to a great start in the opening rounds, with big wins coming from just about everyone from the Wabash squad. Freshman 174-pounder Michael Burke opened the tournament with a win over a 2006 national qualifier and then narrowly missed placing in the tournament. Freshman Cody Johnson got off to a good start as well with a 2nd round upset of the number one seed at 197. At 141 Freshman Kurtis Hess knocked off the five seed by major dec. in the second round then narrowly missed placing. Senior 133-pounder Eric Slabaugh opened his Senior campaign with a solid sixth place finish. Eric lost to the #4 ranked wrestler in DII in the semi's, but then won a 25 minute match that went to 4 overtime's against the #4 seed and returning national qualifier from Campbellsville. At 184 Senior Will Clarke put together another great tournament this weekend placing fourth. Will fell in the semi-finals 6-0 to the eventual champion and then medical defaulted in his 3rd/4th match due to a concussion.
At 197 Senior Keith Garrard took his second tournament title of the year and in style! Keith won four of his five matches by fall, including the championship match and was awarded the most falls award for the tournament!
The team finished tied for seventh place with DII Gannon, Olivet College was the only DIII school to place ahead of Wabash, all other schools were DII or NAIA schools.
Our next competition will be at the Midlands Championships and Midwest Open shortly after Christmas.
I wish everyone a Happy Holiday and hope to post some great Christmas stories when we return from break! If you are in need of some good stocking stuffer's, I still have a bunch of Wabash wrestling T's, just let me know how many you need.
Posted by harrisb at 02:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Strong Start
The Wabash College Wrestling Team is off to a great start!! The team has now competed in two open tournaments and have shown why they have been ranked in the Top-20 in the nation the last 2 years.
The team competed at the Concordia University Open on November 18 and came away with four place winners. Seniors Will Clarke (North Central H.S.) and Keith Garrard (New Castle H.S.) both reached the finals at 184 and 197, but lost hard fought battles in the finals to finish the day as runner-up. At 165 pounds Barton Bridge finished the day 4-3 with a solid 6th place effort. Senior Ryan Pritchard (Britt, IA) also posted a solid 6th place finish on the day finishing the tournament with a 4-3 record.
The team hit heads with the University of Chicago after Thanksgiving break and came away with a 25-16 victory. Winning matches for the Little Giants were 125 pounder Stephen Iles (Mascoutah, IL), 141 Kurtis Hess (Jay County H.S.), 149 Jared Tribbett (Crawfordsville H.S.), 184 Will Clarke (North Central H.S.) and 197 Keith Garrard (New Castle H.S.).
To kick off the month of December the Wabash team headed to Manchester College to compete in the 47th Annual Little State Wrestling Invitational. The team put together a great tournament and walked away with ten place winners and 3 individual champions. Freshman Michael Burke ( Yorktown H.S.) and Cody Johnson (Franklin Community H.S.) had great tournaments on the day. Burke finished the day in 3rd place at 174 and Johnson came back to take 5th after a opening round loss. Wabash had a pinning machine at 165 with Barton Bridge's fourth place effort, he finished the day with a 3-2 record, and three falls! Seniors Garrett Pino, Will Clarke and Keith Garrard all came away with individual titles at the meet, marking the first time since 1986 that Wabash College has had more than 2 individual champs at the Little State meet in the same year. It was a great effort by all Little giant wrestlers this weekend, everyone went out and wrestled hard and hard nosed.
I want to thank the family and friends of the program who get out and see us on the weekends. It's nice to see all the red Wabash wrestling shirts in the stands. I still have a lot of this year's new Wabash College Wrestling T-shirts left. If any one is interested in purchasing a T, contact me at andersob@wabash.edu or 765-361-6190.
Posted by harrisb at 10:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
September 05, 2006
Meet the 2006-07 Wabash Wrestling Team
I want to give you all the opportunity to meet the individuals that will be representing the Wabash College Wrestling team this season. The team will consist of 13 returning letter winners from last year’s nationally ranked squad, six of which are seniors. The rest of the team comes from fifteen talent packed freshman, coming from Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Missouri and Washington.
All six seniors returning were starters for the Little Giants last season. Leading the senior class this year is 2006 NCAA National Qualifier Garrett Pino (Lawrence North H.S.). Garrett had a break through season last year going 1-2 at nationals in the 141 pound weight class. Will Clarke (North Central H.S.), Wabash’s NCAA Regional runner-up last season at 184 will be shedding a few extra pounds this year as he heads down to 174. Keith Garrard (New Castle Chrysler H.S.), a NCAA Regional runner-up last season at 197 will also be watching those unneeded calories as he shifts down to 184 this season. Eric Slabaugh (Tucson, AZ), returns to the mats this season at 133, moving up from a break through season last year at 125. Steve Kasten (Winamac H.S.), a two-time Regional place winner returns to the mats at 285 this season. Ryan Pritchard (Britt, IA), rounds out this bunch of seniors and returning at 165.
The junior class for the Little Giants is small but will return two outstanding individuals with Garrett Thiel (Lowell H.S.) and Barton Bridge (Park Tudor H.S.). Garrett has been plotting time at the 197- and 285-pound weight classes and has placed at the regionals. Barton is a hard working middleweight who is on the rise and will be battling for a spot at 165 this season.
Five sophomores return to the squad this season, all of whom found themselves in the starting line up at one time or another last season. Headlining this group are regional participants Stephen Mosier (Yorktown H.S.) and Jarred Tribbett (Crawfordsville H.S.). Stephen will return to defend the 157 pound starting position and Jarred will do the same at 149. Robert Arnett (Greenwood H.S.) will be battling to secure a starting position at 285 this season, after a promising freshman campaign. Stephen Iles (Mascoutah, IL) returns to 125 after competing at last years regional meet at 133. Rounding out the sophomore class is Hagerstown H.S. grad Tyler Dougherty, Tyler was a very versatile wrestler for the Little Giants last season, wrestling in varsity competition at the 165 and 174 weight classes.
FIFTEEN FRESHMEN!! The freshman class is large and talented! This group of young men combined for six All-State medals, three freestyle state medals, one Greco-roman state title, and 13 state qualifiers. You can see our entire roster by going to the wrestling web site.
The 2006-07 Season should be a good one. Please check back for program updates and pictures from our first annual paint ball battle royal, taking place on Sept. 9th.
Posted by harrisb at 07:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
