2/15/07

Wrestling to Honor Seniors Friday

Krinkie, Girtz, Janike, Pfaffinger to wrestle last home dual against Southwest Minnesota State.

by Tyler Buckentine
Issue date: 2/15/07
Section: Mens Sports

When the Minnesota State wrestling team takes the mat on Friday, it will be the last time four of its seniors will compete at the Taylor Center, and no doubt they will missed.

Travis Krinkie, Jeff Pfaffinger, Brandon Girtz, and Ben Janike left a huge impact on the program. The numbers do the talking: The Mavericks are 52-14 in dual meets through the past four years and the four have combined to win nearly 300 matches individually at MSU.

Thursday the Mavericks travel to St. Cloud State and return home Friday for a dual with Southwest Minnesota State on senior night.

"When I look at each one of them, they all brought different things to the table," MSU coach Jim Makovsky said. "Whenever you have a class go through, you picture going to their house and watching wrestle in high school. You just kind of see the potential. It's so unpredictable the way guys are going to turn out."

Krinkie and Janike came to the program in 2002 and redshirted. The following year Krinkie finished the season as an All-American with a 20-6 individual record. He followed that season up with two more All-American honors and a pair of top-four finishes at the National Championships.

"Krinkie is a good example of a homegrown guy from the area who after his redshirt-year, had success right out of the chute," Makovsky said of the senior who is eight wins away from reaching the 100-win milestone for the Mavericks. "The way he gets after it and his swagger filters to the other guys on the team."

Janike has compiled 57 wins in three years at MSU, qualifying for the national tournament in 2006.

"Oh man, there's a lot of things I'm going to miss about [the team], like the unity and the family-like atmosphere," Janike said. "Everyone on that team is pretty close. They're a fun group so you have to like that. They have your back no matter what."

"Janike is an extremely hard worker and always has a great attitude," Makovsky said. "He's been behind some good guys throughout his career, but his work ethic rubs off on the other guys on the team."

Girtz joined the team in 2003 and wrestled as a true freshman. He has 92 wins at MSU with two appearances at the national tournament.

"Girtz, who came in as a walk-on and earned a scholarship, has come close the last couple years," Makovsky said. "He's more of a silent guy but extremely competitive."

The fourth senior that joined the team was Pfaffinger, who wrestled at the University of Iowa before transferring to MSU in 2005. Makovsky found a place for him immediately at 133 pounds.

Pfaffinger won 28 matches for the Mavericks last year and finished seventh at the national tournament.

"Jeff came here from Iowa where he struggled and kind of dug himself a little bit of a hole but got back on track last year," Makovsky said. "I think he's developed into a leader and showed some of the younger guys some of the things they should be doing.

"Things that he learned the hard way, not only mat stuff, but the behind-the-scenes stuff has a big impact too."

It's safe to say that in addition to the program, Makovsky will miss these guys as well.

"The biggest thing is watching them grow up in front of your eyes, passed on lessons from the older guys," Makovsky said. "As a coach it's pretty humbling how fast it goes. They came in here little skinny-necked guys and they walk out of here looking like men."

 

NEXT TWO OPPONENTS

The Mavericks (14-3 overall, 2-0 NCC) head to St. Cloud State tonight for MSU's final conference dual of the season. The Huskies are 3-6 overall in duals and 0-2 in the conference.

MSU is at home against Southwest Minnesota State (3-10 overall) at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Taylor Center.

"They're two programs that are down right now, but they both have good coaches and they're going to come after us," Makovsky said. "It's one of their opportunities to wrestle a good team."

"It's our job to continue what we've built up and wrestle with the same match intensity and physicality that we had against Omaha so we can keep that momentum going into the regional tournament."

Tyler Buckentine is the Reporter Assistant Sports Editor