He weighs 270 pounds, almost all of it muscle.
Minnesota State University heavyweight wrestler Brady Wilson can literally claim to a big man on campus (BMOC), but that’s just one of the many hats he hopes to wear this year.
The senior enters the 2009-2010 season as the second-ranked wrestler in Division II. When its all over, he’s hoping to be a conference champion, a regional champion and the NCAA national champion.
“That’s the ultimate goal,” Wilson said before a practice session this week. “I’ve already accomplished a lot of that other stuff, I just need to take that next step and be a national champion.”
Wilson says he’s done more offseason preparation than he’s ever done in his collegiate career. One of the major steps he took over the summer was to work at a wrestling camp in Nebraska, where he was able to practice with a number of Division I wrestlers and even a U.S.A. World Team wrestler on a regular basis.
“That helped me a lot,” the Faribault native said. “You don’t see that caliber of wrestler in most practice rooms so it’s a great way to improve.”
Wilson said he probably didn’t learn any new moves during his stint in Nebraska, but he believes he’s still a better wrestler.
“I think I’m mostly just perfecting the moves I already have,” he said. “My major focus is to be more aggressive, especially on my feet. I need to get more single-leg takedowns; I need to keep my opponent on the defensive.”
Mavericks coach Jim Makovsky said Wilson’s confidence level is the best it’s ever been. He’s also blossomed into a team leader the last couple of years and has the respect of all his teammates.
Wilson, who went 33-4 last year, is one of five ranked wrestlers on the roster entering the season. The others are Andy Forstner (fourth, 125 pounds, 30-12 last season), Travis Elg (seventh, 157, 20-6), Ben Becker (eighth, 174, 13-13), and Pat Mahan (sixth, 197, 22-11).
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