11/22/05

Wrestling Holds Its Own Against Division I Opponents

by Garret Felder
November 22, 2005

When MSU wrestling makes a trip to Omaha, Neb., they usually run into the best Division II wrestling team in the nation — the host, University of Nebraska-Omaha. The only difference the Mavericks faced after making a trip to Omaha for the Kaufman/Brand Open Saturday was that they also had to face the best Division I wrestling teams, as well.

In an open tournament packed with talent from Division I schools like Minnesota, Iowa and Iowa State, among other top wrestling schools, the Mavericks realized where they stand in the realm of nationwide wrestling and prepared for the thick of their season.

“[The Kaufman/Brand Open] is a 13-hour mental, physical and emotional grind that starts at 9 a.m. I’ve always said if you’re still wrestling at 11 p.m., then you’re doing something right,” head coach Jim Makovsky said. “ This tournament is multiple times tougher than the Division II National Championships and the toughest tournament to place or win.”

Although the Mavericks ran into some of the best Division I squads in the nation during the all-day event, eight MSU wrestlers had multi-win days, including four wins from sophomore Nick Smith and senior tri-captain Mathias Bitz. Besides leading the team in wins in this tournament of 700 participants, Smith and Bitz also made it to the fifth-place match in their respective weight classes with senior John Koons as company in the 184-pound fifth-place match.

“The tournament is definitely a mind game because you know you are going to wrestle a lot of matches and it’s going to be a long day,” Smith said. “ But I just try to focus on wrestling my match each time.”

Smith went 4-3 on the day and lost the fifth-place match 12-4 to Minnesota’s Travis Lang at the 125-pound weight class after defeating opponents from Division I schools Northern Illinois and Iowa. Bitz also lost his fifth-place match 1-0 to Nebraska-Omaha’s Patrick Allbone at the 41-team open tournament. Koons later followed suit in the 184-pound weight class after losing his fifth-place match 11-1 to Minnesota’s Roger Kish. Yet to Makovsky, making it through the duration of the tournament is a feat in itself.

“Going a 13-hour day in wrestling isn’t sitting on the beach with an umbrella drink in hand, but it is an opportunity for our team to get tougher physically and mentally,” Makovsky said.

Beyond having three wrestlers place in the all-day tournament, Makovsky was most happy with the intensity and the effort his squad portrayed during the long grind of a tournament.

“The team is battling like a bunch of pit bulls, they’re scrapping,” Makovsky said. “Right now that is all I want. That is my Thanksgiving gift.”

Following the Thanksgiving break, the Mavericks will have their first home dual meet of the season against Northern State Thursday, December 1 at the Taylor Center at 7 p.m., where Makovsky and his squad look forward to competing in front of their home fans for the first time of the season.

“It will be good to wrestle in front of our own students and fans,” Makovsky said. “But personally, it will just be nice to not have to hop in a van and drive for five hours to a tournament.”

 

Garret Felder is a Reporter staff writer