Members of the Northwestern wrestling squad are paired up and sparring off, rolling around in the new, 7500-square-foot Ken Kraft Wrestling Complex. Pulsing music pumps through the training room, which is three mats deep and has purple mat-lined walls.
The new digs, part of a $9-million Anderson Hall addition, are a far cry from the Patten basketball courts where the team has trained in past years. And the practice room is just one element of the buzz surrounding the team this season.
“You could take this whole place away and just give us a couple of mats and we’d still be ready to go this year,” said senior John Velez.
The rest of the buzz is this: Entering the 2005-2006 season, the Cats are ranked in the top 20 by each of the major wrestling polls. Amateur Wrestling News ranked the squad No. 12, The Wrestling Mall and W.I.N. Magazine put NU at No. 13 and the National Wrestling Coaches Association slot the team at No. 18.
Six NU wrestlers earned national rankings as well. Sophomore Jake Herbert (174 lbs.), who garnered an All-American title last season when he finished third nationally, is ranked No. 2 by The Wrestling Mall and No. 3 by Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat Wrestling. Sophomore Dustin Fox, a heavyweight, is ranked No. 5 by The Wrestling Mall and No. 6 by Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat Wrestling.
Seniors John Velez (125 lbs.) and Matt Delguyd, last season’s Big Ten champion at 194 lbs., and sophomore Ryan Lang (141 lbs.) also earned top-10 preseason rankings. Sophomore Mike Tamilow (184 lbs.) is pegged at No. 11 by Amateur Wrestling News and No. 13 by the Wrestling Mall.
Coach Tim Cysewski said that each wrestler who received preseason recognition earned it last year. But he stressed the Cats have to continue fighting.
“We may have snuck up on a few people last year,” Cysewski said. “We knew we were going to be good last year, but we didn’t know how good.”
“People know what we’re about right now. We have to work even harder so that we compete against these other teams. We’re in position to beat them – not just to compete with them, but to beat them.”
The Cats, who hadn’t won a Big Ten dual since January 2000, finished the 2004-2005 season 2-6 in the Big Ten. The team overthrew wrestling powerhouse Iowa for the first time in 37 years and took five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, landing a combined 14th-place finish.
The five national qualifiers return to the team this year, leading a team comprised mainly of freshmen and sophomores. The team expects that the combination of veterans and energetic underclassmen will lead to an even bigger season than last.
“Last year we were okay, but I think that was just the tip of the iceberg,” Velez said. “The last five years have just been us cracking away at a rock. I think this year the rock is finally going to break.”
The Cats express high hopes for the coming season. But for the first time in years, they may have the brunt and brawn to back up lofty statements.
“I don’t expect to be the only one who wins a national title this year,” Herbert said. “I expect to have two or three more in the finals with me.
“This year people are going to be ready for us, expecting us, so it’s going to make it that much harder. We just have to be that much better so that they expect one thing and we come out with even more than they ever expected.”
Reach Becky Plevin at [email protected].
