In the 2002 Big Ten Wrestling Championships this weekend, top-ranked Minnesota, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Iowa and No. 5 Ohio State will butt heads. The victor earns bragging rights in the nation”s premier wrestling conference.
Michigan coach Joe McFarland has tapered workouts so his team can peak.
“Our guys will be strong, and they will be fresh,” said McFarland.
Because tournament scoring rewards dominant performances, the Wolverines need favorites like Otto Olson and Andy Hrovat to win their weight classes.
Michigan certainly has other wrestlers capable of making the finals. Aside from top-seeded seniors Hrovat and Olson, the Wolverines boast seven wrestlers seeded in the top four of their weight classes. These include second-seeded freshman Ryan Bertin, and No. 3 seeds A.J. Grant, Foley Dowd, Mike Kulczycki and Kyle Smith.
“We have to have guys fighting to get into the finals,” said McFarland.
The performances of the five other highly-ranked Wolverines will determine Michigan”s chances. Fortunately for the Wolverines, these five have been collecting momentum heading into Big Tens, using their intensity and killer instinct to win matches decisively.
Instead of simply trying to advance to the next round, Michigan wants to keep attacking when ahead in each match. Constant attack not only comprises a part of McFarland”s coaching philosophy, it also results in bonus points that help in the team standings.
Posing a heavy problem for the Wolverines, though, are the Golden Gophers. In both dual meets between the teams this season, Minnesota has asserted itself as the better team. Compounding the Golden Gophers” advantage is the fact that Michigan”s Clark Forward (141 pounds) is out with a staph infection. Little-used freshman Nick Velissaris will compete hard, but his inexperience will hurt Michigan.
But McFarland points out that “there are a lot of other factors thrown in,” the Big Ten tournament.
Something plaguing McFarland”s team in its fourth-place finish last year was inexperience. This year, Michigan has an abundance of battle-hardened veterans ready to thrive under pressure.
“Four of our starters will be wrestling their last matches as Wolverines,” said senior captain Olson. “That pressure will cause all of us to have high expectations of going out with a bang.”