Mat Talk

Competition Begins...

2009-11-02T20:31:41Z

The season is well underway, and Wabash Wrestling is just five days away from our first official meet. The team has been training hard and is poised for a good performance in Sheboygan, WI on November 7^th. This past Saturday, on Halloween, we had our Intersquad Meet/ wrestle offs.

For the first time all season everyone had to be down to their respective weight class. All though it was tough for some and not so tough for others to make weight, everyone shed the necessary weight. The point of the day was to get everyone down to weight and treat it just like a normal competition day. The coaching staff wanted to make sure the team had all the kinks out before our first real competition. Also to see how things shook out in real matches for some of the weight classes. The team weighed in at 7:00am, ate a small meal, warmed up at 8:00am, and then was ready to wrestle at 9:00am. Each wrestler had 3 matches whether it was against someone in their weight class or against someone the coaches felt would make for a good battle. On the day there were 6 wrestlers who went undefeated (3-0): Freshman Oscar Trujillo (133), Freshman Jake Strausbaugh (141), Senior Brian Hugo (165), Freshman Gabe Watson (174), Senior Michael Burke (197), and Senior Heavyweight Rob Arnett .

Overall, the day went extremely well and the Coaching Staff was pleased with how we competed. The team still has a ways to go, but Saturday was another step in the right direction to make sure Wabash Wrestling gets to where it needs to be in March! The schedule for Saturday is Milwaukee School of Engineering first, then the #8 team in the nation Concordia College-Moorhead, followed by Lakeland College, and Wisconsin Eau-Claire.

BASH Wrestling

Wrestlers, Paint, and Welts!

2009-10-28T19:42:27Z

I have to admit that at first I was very skeptical when Coach Anderson told us we would be playing paintball as a team event. The idea of taking a group of wrestlers who have been wrapped up in their studies all day, every day for the last couple of weeks out to an open field and handing them paintball guns seemed to me could only end in disaster. I thought it was inevitable that someone would get hurt.

However, the Saturday of the paintball event I found myself waking up early, putting on a few extra layers of clothes, and packing myself into a car with my teammates headed toward the playing field. I was very surprised to see when I arrived how very professional everything seemed to look, and how many safety precautions there were. By the time we were given our guns, masks, and paintballs I had my game face on and was ready to play. After all, it isn’t everyday you get a chance to shoot paintballs at your coaches.

Overall the upperclassmen team won the day, but the freshmen team didn’t go down without a fight. We played really hard and at times had the upperclassmen on their heels. The experience was something I will not soon forget, and I feel that it really brought us closer together as a team. With practices now started and our first matches fast approaching I am really looking forward to an excellent season, and I am overwhelmed with anticipation of what Wabash Wrestling will do next.

Johnny Dillon '13

A New Year!

2009-09-14T15:47:41Z

The summer sun came and now has moved on elsewhere. Yes, technically the season is still summer, but once school starts up and students are roaming around campus the true meaning of summer is gone. Whether it’d be waking up at 8:00AM to head to class on beautiful mornings or heading to pre-season workouts at 4:00PM on a warm “summer” day there is no other feeling than the beginning of school.

School started well whether it be freshmen making new friends and home, either pledging a fraternity or staying independent; or being a senior making the last trip around dreading their senior seminars, but at the same time thinking how fast the last three years flew. There is one thing in common amongst the classes, football season is here, but better yet so is the wrestling season.

Pre-season kicked off this Sunday with a cookout at Coach Anderson’s house. We all piled up in about 8 vehicles and made the 10 minute trip from campus only to be welcomed by his Great Dane, Wally. He definitely was a little intimidating; growling and barking, but we all came to find out he is a gentle giant and just wanted out of his pen to play. We sat around talked, played “corn-hole” as us Hoosiers call it, but the more well-known term some of you might know is “Bags,” while others played “hillbilly golf” or once again, another name “ladder ball.” Coach fired up the grill and soon the whole backyard smelt of our tasty meal consisting of delicious brats, hamburgers, hotdogs, and beans. People might think since we’re the wrestling team we couldn’t eat very much, but we sure ate our fair share of food. After supper coach talked to us about the next week and gave a brief summary of some important dates to remember. YES! Pre-season has officially started which also means the first full week of school is down and off to another fine year at Wabash, or for the freshman the beginning of a fine career.

Monday comes around and first on the agenda is the “Pizza-Hut Run.” This is a very well-known, but dreaded run for us wrestlers. It is roughly 3.2 miles (not-flat), and starts out on the north side of campus continues south past campus to Pizza-Hut, hence the name, and finally after a few trails we end up on the south side of campus on the track. As I mentioned before we piled up into 8 vehicles, and that is because our incoming freshman class is huge with 20+ wrestlers and great talents amongst them. Normally we would have been finished, but this is a new season, new beginning, and more determination to send us off to nationals so we sprinted a 400 (one-lap around the track) and finally finished with a 12-minute circuit of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 body-squats. End of day one! Day two of pre-season finally we are on the mat. Wrestling and practicing in the summer does not compare to finally wrestling as a team. The captains ran practice, and introduced what we will be doing everyday at the start of the practice. It didn’t take long for the freshman to jump right in and get at it. Granted it is the first time on the mat in awhile people were a bit sluggish and slow, but hey that’s what pre-season is for! After being careful not to run/bump into each other with 40+ guys on the team we finished day two of pre-season with no injuries and spirits high. Well, after another day of running (sprints) and a second day on the mat (a little less sluggish, but still cramped quarters) brings us to Friday with officially the second week of school over; the 1st week of preseason gone by, and the start of a great season!

Jake Moore

Sophomore 157lb

Last 2 Weekends.....

2009-02-11T19:08:30Z

Over the last two weeks the team has traveled to two tournaments, one at Wheaton College for the annual Wheaton Invitational and one at Olivet College for the 2009 Mid-States Conference Championships. The guys put together solid performances at each tournament and came away with a top 20 finish at Wheaton and a 3^rd place finish at conference.

The Wheaton Invitational was highlighted by two individual place winners, Greg Rhoads at 174 finishing 7^th and Michael Burke at 197 finishing 8^th. Rhoads lost a heartbreaker in the opening round against the 4 seed 8-7 on a last second takedown, but then rebounded in the consolations with a 4-1 record to finish 7^th. Michael Burke kicked off the tournament with 2 nice wins, with the second win coming in over the tournaments 4 seed. Burke dropped a tough match in the quarters and was sent to the consolations which ended in an 8^th place finish. Andrew Kepchar had a very solid tourney as well finishing the tournament with a 3-2 record and losing a tough match in the round to place at 141.

The Conference tournament this year was hosted by Olivet College in Olivet, MI for the first time since the organization of the tournament. It was a good day for our team, as we entered 13 wrestlers and came away with 11 place winners. Leading the way for the Little Giants were Jared Tribbett at 149 and Michael Burke at 197, both finding their way to the championship match with ease. Tribbett started the day slated as the 4 seed in the weight. He opened with a 5-2 decision over the #5 seed, followed with a 2:16 fall over the #1 seed in the semi’s and then hammered the 2 seed in the finals 14-1. Burke had a similar results as he headed to the finals, opening the tournament with a fall and then followed it with a 13-3 major dec. in the semi’s, Burke was tripped up in the finals to finish 2^nd. Andrew Kepchar and Greg Rhoads finished the day with 3^rd place finishes at 141 and 174, each with 2-1 records on the day.

The team is off competition this weekend and will head to Trine University for the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional next Saturday. The guys will be doing a ton of fine tuning this week and next, as they work to capture a spot in this year’s national tournament.

GO BASH WRESTLING!!

Monon Bell Duals

2009-01-28T20:18:34Z

The wrestling team capped off its dual meet part of the year with a 4-0 home performance this past weekend. Putting in really strong performances for the Little Giants was Jarred Tribbett at 149, Greg Rhoads at 174, and Michael Burke at 197 who all went 4-0. Also, helping the team in a strong way was two freshmen Josh Boyer at 125 and Andrew Kepchar at 141. The team finishes up this year with a dual meet record of 6-4 that saw quite a few freshmen stepping up for the youthful Wabash squad. The team was putting together strong practices day in and day out that allowed them to see success like they did this past weekend. The schedule ramps back up as only the starters will be heading to the Wheaton Invitational that is a two day grinder! This tournament is loaded with the best of Division 3 and sprinkles in some of the best of Division 2 that makes for a great weekend. Guys that place in this tournament are the guys you will usually see out at Nationals in March. There is no taking any match lightly at this tournament. The team is starting to make their push towards the conclusion of the year as the National Qualifier is not too far out of the picture.

To everyone associated with a high school program who reads our blog, Good Luck in the State Tournament Series!!!

BASH Wrestling

Top Gun

2009-01-27T19:20:29Z

Last weekend I ventured to Alliance, OH to watch a hopeful future Wabash grappler hit the mats at one of the premiere wrestling tournaments around. I was extremely impressed with the tournament, because it was like an Al Smith of Indiana on steroids, as the battles were fierce and the competition thick. The matches that I was the most concerned with were great and made the wheels in my head turn as I thought about all the possibilities in the near future! The two day tournament was a great spectacle as I saw the future of what the freshmen class will look like next year on the college level and guys who are making names for themselves now on the high school level. It wasn’t just how good the wrestling was either, but more importantly how passionate everyone was about wrestling. The tournament was ran on seven mats and was an extremely tight and personal environment. There was forty teams at Top Gun overall who all brought good contingents of fans. Security was heavy as the rounds went deeper, the calls got tougher and the fans got more heated.

Before the final round Saturday evening, I went to dinner with a good group of people and boy was that the most exciting Applebee’s trip ever. At dinner I learned more insight on everything and had some good laughs. The ride back to the tournament was a little scary as the driver that I caught a ride with had their fare share of accidents, but none the less I made it back safely for what was a great final round. The final round was awesome as nationally ranked guys squared off in the finals and you could feel the anticipation rise in the gym for the start of each match! The tournament was loaded as guys who had multiple state placements were wrestling not only for third, but fifth and eighth place in this tournament. For any wrestling fan this tournament is a must see as it has had the likes of Harry Lester, Tommy Rowlands, and Joe Heskett compete in it, before they made names for themselves on the college and world scene!

I cannot say enough how happy I was to go watch these important matches and how excited I am for all the possibilities to come at Wabash College.

Coach Irwin

Dean's List!

2009-01-23T19:22:48Z

The Wabash Wrestling Team continues its excellence in the classroom as four guys were recognized for their hard work and dedication to academics. The list included three Juniors and one Sophomore from the team. Juniors James Fitzpatrick (174) from Honolulu, HI, Justin Michaels (157) from Ballwin, MO and Seth Flater (149) from Pittsboro, IN were all on the list. Sophomore Graham Youngs (157) from Zionsville, IN was the fourth wrestler on the list, that was overall well represented by student athletes here at Wabash.

BASH Wrestling

Spartan Mat Classic

2009-01-22T19:53:24Z

We traveled to North Manchester, IN this past weekend for the annual Spartan Mat Classic. We came away with one Champ and two runner-up finishes for the Little Giants. The guys put together a strong performance after two weeks of very tough tournaments that didn’t go the best. Jarred Tribbett led the way by winning three matches to capture the title at 149 pounds. Greg Rhoads at 174 and Michael Burke at 197 fell in the finals to individuals that will be in our regional. These two didn’t wrestle their best matches of the year, but both of them can take bits and pieces out of those championship matches to build on going into the last two months of the season. Wabash placed five other guys in the top 8 of the tournament. Brock Sempsrott took 3^rd place at 125 and Bryan Hugo came away with a fifth place finish at 17 4. Robert Beeler who is back competing took fifth place after drawing the number 1 seed right out of the gates at 165. Also taking fifth was Junior Seth Flater at 149, placing 8^th at 125 was Stephen Iles. Senior Stephen Mosier came in 8^th at 165.

Going into the weekend the team had really strong practices and it showed as we only had a couple guys that didn’t place this past Saturday. The team is still trying to get healthy and this upcoming weekend Wabash hosts the Monon Bell duals that will see the Little Giants in action in four dual meets starting at 9:00 a.m. This will be the last time for duals this year and to get everyone on the team in action. I hope to see everyone at Chadwick Court this Saturday.

BASH Wrestling

ONU Invitational

2008-12-16T20:38:36Z

It was not exactly what we were looking for out of the team this past weekend, but as the day progressed we had a number of guys step up their wrestling. We ended with three place winners and a couple more just outside of that. We fixed problems from the weekend before, but still managed to give some matches away that should have never reached that point. Greg Rhoads, Bryan Hugo, and Cody Johnson placed this past weekend and all their work leading up to this point really showed. Rhoads placed 4th at 174 and is building momentum every match of the year. In the quarterfinals he avenged an earlier loss from the year by totally dominating every position against his University of Indianapolis opponent. In the Semi Finals Rhoads found out where he needs to be at the end of February as he dropped a 11-4 decision to Olivet’s Kyle Vanderhyde who was the National Runner up two years ago and fourth last year at the National Tournament. The Olivet standout won the regional last two years and showed why as he was the champion of this weight class for the day. For the third place match Rhoads would see the other guy that he would face at the National Qualifier in Trine’s Nick Kraus who was the runner up at 174 last year at the regional tournament. Rhoads started off strong with the opening takedown, but gave up near fall off of a cradle that was hit off of Rhoad’s standup in the second period. He never managed to recover from that and lost 8-4. It was great for him to hit both of those two guys this early in the year and will benefit from it a ton.

Bryan Hugo also wrestled 174 and was unseeded going into the tournament, but turned in an awesome performance as the only match he would lose was to Trine’s Nick Kraus by a small margin. Hugo would place 5th on the day. He went in there and battled all day and it really showed. He didn’t care who was seeded, all he cared about was how he was going to wrestle as he was intense the whole day. He battles every match, every second and it shows and is a blast to watch and coach!

Cody Johnson is starting to make a nice adjustment to heavyweight as he went into the tournament unseeded, but came away with 7th place. It was no easy day for Johnson as he drew the 3rd seed who was the eventual champ right out of the gates. He took a loss in that match, but battled back all the way through the consolations and on the way knocked off three opponents who are in Wabash’s National Qualifier. It was good seeing that he didn’t let a tuff draw affect him, he just plugged away the whole day and wrestled smart.

Looking forward, we do not compete again until January 3rd and 4th at the Midwest Classic hosted by the University of Indianapolis. This is primarily a Division II tournament and has great action and will be a good one to open up the New Year with. As a team things are continuing to look brighter as we look to the weeks and events to come. The team will be bolstered by the return of starter Graham Youngs at 157 who dealt with sickness that saw him get pulled from the whole first half of the year. He is a sparkplug to this team and has been missed. Also returning to action will be Michael Burke at 197 who was out due to injury which will provide some much needed power in the 197 pound slot. When the team returns back after Christmas there will be battles as weight classes will be set in stone for the rest of the year, and as the team gets ready for the National Duals!

BASH WRESTLING

Tournament Time

2008-12-11T19:59:39Z

As we loaded the bus for Wisconsin it was exciting because we knew we would see quite a few National Qualifiers and All Americans at the Concordia Open the next day. It was a good week of practice leading up to that and we felt confident that we would have guys make big jumps in their wrestling. As it would turn out we had some great performances, but we lost someone that you cannot just replace. Our 6’ 4” 270 pound heavyweight would suffer a season ending injury in his senior year as he broke his leg in his second match. That guy will be hard to replace not just because of his wrestling, but the person he is. No one else on the team could put up with all the freshmen messing with them like Rob could, but everyone should keep Rob in mind and wish him a speedy recovery! Andrew Kepchar at 133 would excel throughout the day as he ended up finishing in fourth place with five pins on the day. Yep that’s right 5 pins, he battled all day and when he got a chance to put someone away they weren’t going anywhere. Tony Conway and Jared Tribbett each came away with a 6^th place finish at 141 and 149 for the Little Giants. They only placed the Top 6, otherwise we would have came away with a lot of top 8 finishers. Justen Lock, Jake Moore, Greg Rhoads, and Bryan Hugo were all right there to place. That was a long day for everyone, but a successful one as our young guys now know exactly what it feels like to go against some of the top wrestlers in division 3 before heading home for Thanksgiving break.

Coming off of Thanksgiving Break the team had a lot on their plate as they are trying to get ready for their first two day tournament of the year, which is the Indiana Little State tournament that was hosted by us. Not only do they have that, but it is also the last week two weeks of classes before going into finals week! The tournament did not go as well as it could have as we had some starters out from illness, but the guys that did wrestle went out and wrestled hard. Greg Rhoads finished 3^rd after a tough quarterfinal loss to the #2 seed which saw Rhoads give up a last second reversal to lose the match. Rhoads did an excellent job battling through the consolation rounds and finished the second day by dominating everyone. Brock Sempsrott finished 8^th at 125 along with teammate Bryan Hugo at 174. Jared Tribbett at 149 finished out at 4^th place and saw some situations not go his way. It was good for him because he needs to work those out so that they go his way at the National Qualifying Tournament.

This weekend we are heading to Ohio Northern for a day long tournament that features a bunch of Division II schools and some great Division III schools. It is definitely a tough one that you see guys who will be at nationals in March battling it out in the round of 16 and definitely in the quarters. Practices have gone great this week and the team is ready to meet the challenges that they will face this weekend!

Wabash Little Giants

2-1 On the Year

2008-11-19T16:19:30Z

Last night was a great building block for our team, as the Little Giants refused to back down from the Indiana Hoosiers. We may have been blanked in the score against IU, but we went out there to wrestle a certain way and for the most part we accomplished that goal. There was a lot of fight from our guys from the start till the end, and if we didn’t have that it would have been a wasted night! This was a good learning experience for the team which has four freshmen starters in the lineup and some key components of the team still missing due to a couple of injuries. Our guys got to see early on in the year what it takes to score on and defend against some of the top competition in the nation. Greg Rhoads turned in a solid performance as he wrestled Trevor Perry of IU who has been at Nationals a couple times for the Hoosiers. Rhoads looked to score a match winning takedown, but was unsuccessful and dropped a 13-10 match.

Wabash also took on Manchester last night in a dual that saw the Little Giants win a 27-16. The night didn’t start off the greatest as Justen Lock went out there for Wabash at 125. He scored an easy takedown, but would then get caught in a spladle a little later on and was pinned. Andrew Kepchar would return the favor as he pinned his opponent at 133. At 141 Freshman Ethan Flater turned in a great performance, although it was in a loss Ethan fought tooth and nail against a more experienced junior. He showed a lot of grit out there, he was right there in turning that match in his favor. Jared Tribbett wrestled 149 and didn’t disappoint as he hit a solid cradle to pin his opponent. At 157 the coaches saw the little things that go a long ways in Justin Michaels. Michaels never stopped wrestling in any situation which was apparent when he ran down his opponent all the way into the score board with a mean double. He would go on to win that match by decision. Wabash’s 165 Dan Brown could not finish several shots which would prove to be the deciding factor in that match that resulted in a loss. Bryan Hugo wrestled 174 and won in overtime, while Greg Rhoads recorded a pin at 184. James Fitzpatrick wrestling up two weight classes lost a tough one at 197 before Rob Arnett would go out and finish things off at Heavyweight for Wabash with a win! At the end of the match Wabash wrestled Manchester in 5 JV matches. Josh Boyer scored a major decision at 125, Brock Sempsrott won a decision at 133, Seth Flater tech falled his opponent in two periods at 149, Jake Moore beat former high school teammate by fall at 157, and Cody Johnson had an impressive throw that scored a fall to cap things off at Heavyweight. These five guys did an awesome job and kept the intensity up that made for a great finish!

The team is getting better and when we start getting a few guys back will continue to get stronger. Wabash travels to Mequon, Wisconsin this Friday for an open at Concordia University that has a ton of good competition in it every year.

BASH Coaches

Competition Begins

2008-11-17T19:12:57Z

Well as we traveled down to Terre Haute this past Friday night to take on Rose-Hulman, everyone was excited to finally bang heads with someone other than a teammate! The night got going with a couple of exhibition matches as Justin Michaels and Cody Johnson dominated their opponents to get things started in the right direction. The varsity started shortly afterwards and overall as a team the coaching staff felt pretty good about the results. We won 39-9 dropping three of the 10 matches, but more important than the score was the fact that everyone that competed went out there and battled the whole time. Two seniors came thru strong as Jarred Tribbett and Rob Arnett recorded falls over their opponents. The other thing that stood out was that guys did great for competing at their scratch weight for the first time. With the dual being in Indiana we had a great contingent of Wabash fans in attendance that gave great support. It was a busy weekend here in Crawfordsville with Monon Bell week closing up, but our guys stayed focused as the team did a great job Saturday morning with their practice.

We will be competing tomorrow night against Indiana University and Manchester College at home which will start at 5:30p.m. We will start with the dual with IU at 5:30 then IU will wrestle Manchester, then we will wrestle Manchester. The dual with IU will be a great test for us as defending National Champion 125 pound Angel Escobedo will lead his team currently ranked 16^th in the nation against us. The dual with Manchester will be another good one as both teams will start quite a few fresh faces. Hope to see everyone out at Chadwick Court tomorrow night!

WABASH WRESTLING

Red/ White Dual

2008-11-10T19:35:34Z

It was a great night of action for the Little Giants as Coach Anderson has yet to lose a Red/ White dual to one of his assistants. The action was kicked off at 125 pounds as Justen Lock scored a major decision over fellow freshman Josh Boyer. On the other side of things at 125 Brock Sempsrott scored a major decision over Stephen Iles. Later on in the evening Justen Lock would score a major decision over Sempsrott to win the starting spot at 125. At 133 Andrew Kepchar controlled the action over fellow frosh Ethan Flater using a variety of technique to put a lot of points on the board. At 141 was Junior Seth Flater vs. Tony Conway in what looked to be a close battle, but Conway opened up his offense and never let the junior get going. 149 was not contested and Jared Tribbett did not compete on the night. Sophomore Graham Youngs squared off against Justin Michaels a junior at 157 pounds. In probably what was the most impressive performance of the night Youngs never gave Michaels any space and scored a major over him. At 165 Dan Brown beat newcomer Grayson Stone to take the spot at this weight class. Greg Rhoads a freshman from Ohio had to beat two upper classmen to win the 174 class. Rhoads took out James Fitzpatrick in the first matchup then with time running out scored near fall to topple Junior Bryan Hugo which secured the spot for him. Logan Kuhne a former Academic All American at Wabash came back and wrestled a good match as he scored a decision over Cody Johnson. What wrapped up an exciting evening was the last match of the night where the coaches put Andrew Kepchar and Tony Conway out on the mat to wrestle an exhibition. It was a back and forth match that saw Conway literally escape as time ran out to win the match by one!

The coaching staff was pleased with the intensity throughout the night and feel there is a bunch to build on. Everyone came out and battled whether they were winning or losing or if there was short time left which was great to see. We go wrestle Rose-Hulman this coming Friday night and it will be nice for these guys to beat on someone that isn’t their teammate. Action will start at 6:30 as the Little Giants will look to start the year off strong!

Coach Irwin

BASH Wrestling

No Mercy!

2008-10-14T20:14:03Z

Wow what a Saturday! We met in the parking lot this past Saturday morning to car pool to Attica, IN to the Paintball Barn. However we were not in a barn at all, but on about three different course setups. I had only been paintballing one other time in my life which was like 8 years ago so I didn’t know what to expect. After we signed the forms and got our gear setup Jared Tribbett and Rob Arnett chose teams. Coach Anderson was the first pick and I was the second pick and soon enough the teams were talking trash to one another. The first field was like a junkyard and Coach Anderson’s team disposed of us quickly, but we rebounded with a win in the second game. We were playing last man standing and being the last guy on your team usually meant ducking and dodging paintballs from two or three directions. Tony Conway lucked out at the end of the second game as I flanked what I thought was only one person’s position. I ran right by Conway to shoot Hugo who I thought was the only person left in the game. So as I unloaded point blank on Hugo, Conway unloaded point blank on me!

We played another course that had trails and forts in an overgrown area for two games that was fun, but more people got shot at close distances because it was easier to hide in the brush and so forth. By the end of the day everybody seemed to have at least a few welts and bruises on them. Coach Lamplot had a nasty bruise as he took one to the bare skin on the neck. The last couple games were the freshmen vs. the upperclassmen and coaches. As much as it hurts to admit this the freshmen won the last couple games. Overall it was a ton of fun and I think everyone could have stayed out there all day. I would have to say Tony Conway probably made the most kills and that Rob Arnett took the most punishment and probably would have took more if he wouldn’t have started threatening teammates as he got shot. This is something that we plan on doing every year now and is well worth it as the team had a blast together!

Season kicks off for us in under a week now and the team chemistry couldn’t be better after a week of camp this summer, the start of school, the service project, and going paintballing together the team is close knit and should make for a fun year! The Coaching Staff couldn’t be more excited and happy with the effort and work put in thus far.

Coach Irwin

BASH Wrestling

Coming so far to Study and Wrestle

2008-10-09T15:21:40Z

I am Bryan Hugo from Ridgefield, Washington and I am a Junior here at Wabash College. When I first heard about Wabash I did not know what to think. All I knew was that I wanted to wrestle in college and Washington did not have a single college wrestling program. This was due to Title XI which is a title in acting equal opportunities for both sex. At Wabash this would not be a problem because it is an all male school. Unless Wabash would somehow lose its funding (which is impossible) it will never drop the wrestling program.

When I first came and visited, I was undecided between Wabash and a school in Wisconsin. After seeing the campus, and meeting Coach Anderson and Coach Hills, I knew I wanted to go here. The environment was great, and Wabash had great facilities. I also contacted a few alums from home and they told me about the education Wabash offered. I was very impressed by the education and dedication the Professors had. There are not too many other schools that have the Professor to student bond that Wabash has. After I came back from my visit, I was not even thinking about how far away Wabash was, but instead how great of an education I would get. On top of that education I could also compete in wrestling.

After coming to Wabash I quickly realized, I only knew one person. This was not a problem after our first wrestling meeting. Most the wrestlers at Wabash are very social and friendly. As the season went on I felt like I was part of the team and could rely on any of the guys on it. No matter what fraternity a person was in or where he was from, the wrestlers always stayed close. It really is like a family outside of your own family. Everyone in the Wabash wrestling room supports each other 100%, which is an indescribable feeling.

Since I have been at Wabash it has taught me a lot. Not only have I developed as a human being, but also as a wrestler. No matter if someone is coming to Wabash to do a sport or advance their education; either way that gentlemen will get the best of both worlds.

Bryan Hugo

BASH Wrestling 174

2010