1/25/06

Wrestlers Take Second at National Duals

Mavericks also win St. Cloud State Invite, but lose Rhoten for the season.

by Garret Felder
January 19, 2006

Every athletic coach preaches about the battle against adversity, but few successful teams actually confront it.

The men's wrestling team, on the other hand, has had to overcome program-changing problems early in the season in order to remain on track for their ultimate goal.

After losing a captain for the remainder of the year (Jason Rhoten) and another captain (Travis Krinkie) just prior to the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the No. 2 ranked Mavericks showed their ability to fight through adversity despite a 20-10 loss to No. 1 ranked Nebraska-Omaha in the championship round of the tournament Sunday.

"We definitely took a step back; (Travis) Krinkie's shoulder injury took a little bit of wind out of our sails," said head coach Jim Makovsky. "But we got it together and started rallying together to make points."

The Mavericks rallied indeed, thanks to some unexpected help from true freshman Tim Matheson. Following Krinkie's shoulder injury before the trip to Iowa, Matheson stepped up to the challenge at the 174-pound weight class by winning his first two matches (an 18-1 technical fall and a 13-7 decision) during the Mavericks' 44-4 and 27-12 victories over UNC-Pennbroke and No. 7 ranked Shippensburg.

"Matheson's first two matches sort of put the wind back in our sails," Makovsky said. "He was very impressive for being a first-year wrestler and for the position he was put into for us."

Although the Mavericks followed their first two victories with a 21-15 win over Ashland to face Nebraska-Omaha in the final round, the squad was forced to rise to the challenge without junior tri-captain Jason Rhoten. Prior to the national duals, the team announced that the former national runner-up would be unavailable for the remainder of the season because Rhoten would need the remainder of the 2005-06 season to rehab the leg he broke before the season started.

Despite losing to last year's national champions 20-10 in the biggest tourney next to the NCAA Division II Championships, negativity and optimism are some of the battling emotions that exist inside this tight-knit group of wrestlers.

"When I looked at the second-place trophy for the first time, I wanted to puke. But looking at it the second time reminded me how it validates the good direction that this program is heading," Makovsky said. "One of our major goals was to be national duals champs, but we lost three one-point matches and yet there wasn't one of those that we couldn't have won either."

Beyond the disappointment of second place and losing one of their captains for the year, the Mavericks started enjoying themselves a little more after winning the team title at the St. Cloud State Invite Dec. 10 and placing 12th of 27 teams in the Reno Tournament of Champions Dec. 18, in Reno, Nev.

But through all the tough breaks this team has faced thus far, these wrestlers are still joking around with each other in the wrestling room and still have the swagger of future champions.

“Adversity training is everything in this mentally and physically tough sport,” Makovsky said. “We put [the team] through hell, but we are teaching them how to deal with adversity. Fall down nine times and get up 10.”

The Mavericks head to Shippensburg, Penn., for the East Coast Duals Saturday and from the looks of it, the East Coast schools will have a hungry bunch of Minnesota State grapplers to deal with, including a healthy Krinkie ready to make up for his absence in Iowa.

“I’m sorry for the first team we wrestle because we will have an extremely motivated team in Pennsylvania that will be ready to open up on some people,” Makovsky said.

The wrestlers will be back at the Taylor Center Jan. 27 for a dual meet against No. 8 Augustana at 7 p.m.