The whistle blows and the battle begins. What follows is what some might consider seven minutes of the most intense, one-on-one combat this side of Fight Club.
Yet once the seven minutes is up and the battle is over, it’s the big number at the top of the scoreboard – the team score – that changes.
So is wrestling an individual sport or a team sport?
“That’s the debate of the century,” Northwestern coach Tim Cysewski said. “It’s more of an individual sport this time of year, but at the same time, you have to have your team behind you.”
The Wildcats’ success in one-on-one struggles this season has translated to a successful campaign for the team. Led by seven individuals ranked in the top 20 in the nation in their respective weight classes, the Cats have climbed to a No. 13 ranking by going 5-3 in the Big Ten, their best conference record since 1990.
However, with individuals concentrating on winning Big Ten and NCAA titles, the team aspect recedes somewhat at this point in the season.
“(Practice) gets a lot more focused on the individual,” sophomore Jake Herbert said. “The practice schedule is based on what you need to work on.”
Even during the dual season, when the team’s record and ranking is at stake, everything comes down to the individual. The scores in each of the 10 matches are combined to determine the overall winner.
The two wrestlers on the mat may be only 20 feet from their teammates and coaches on the bench, but they might as well be on an island. If a wrestler is in a bad position, there are no substitutions, no assistance and no excuses.
“For some people it can be scary,” Herbert said. “But for me, it’s the best thing in the world because you depend 100 percent on yourself. It’s all you. If you win, it was because of something you did, and if you lose, it was because of something you did.”
Inside every one of these scrums, two different games are played. The first is on a physical level and requires the rare combination of brute strength, flexibility and quickness.
“Physically, (wrestling is) a lot more competitive than a team sport like football,” said senior Matt Delguyd, who was an all-state linebacker in high school. “You can feel how tired your opponent is because wrestling is just a one-on-one sport. You have to force yourself to push more. If you hear them breathing hard, you have to keep pushing until they break.”
But as much physical strength as a wrestler needs, he needs at least as much mental fortitude to keep going despite incredible pressure and adversity.
“You have these voices in your mind,” explained Cysewski, who was an All-American wrestler at Iowa. “One of them is saying, ‘I’m tired,’ and the other one is saying, ‘No, I worked too hard to give up.’ You have to decide which one you’re going to listen to. The longer you listen to the positive voice, the more likely you are to win.”
Keeping up a strong mental attitude can be tough, especially for those like true freshman Marty Gould, who often squares off against highly-ranked wrestlers with as many as four more years of experience.
“I just try to wrestle tough and not be psyched out,” Gould said. “When you wrestle someone with a big name, some people might get psyched out, but I try not to worry about who I’m wrestling.”
Although a match comes down to these 10 individual showdowns, it doesn’t mean each of the 10 is entirely separate. The outcome of one match has the potential to influence the rest.
Since Delguyd’s match usually comes near the end, he watches his teammates wrestle even as he warms up and gets ready.
“A lot of momentum can be created by guys winning tough matches,” Delguyd said. “It can definitely give you a boost.”
Even the members of the team who aren’t part of the dual match lineup have a hand in the team’s success. While the same 10 wrestlers usually compete in every dual match, barring injury, the rest of the 23-man squad has to find a way to contribute in practices.
Gould began the dual season on the bench because he was going to be redshirted, giving him a taste of a reserve’s life.
“(Your job is) getting the varsity guys ready and pushing them in practice,” Gould said. “The team’s small so that each guy has a bigger role. The varsity guys need your help.”
“It’s an individual sport, but you’re only as good as the guys you wrestle with in practice,” Herbert said. “You can’t be a national champion without your workout partners.”
Reach Andrew Simon at [email protected].
