COLLEGE WRESTLING - 2010-11 12 REASONS TO WATCH
By Jason Bryant The college season is rapidly approaching and by the time you read this, your mind will certainly be in detox from all the World Championship cover- age and bracing for an exciting college season. Here are 12 things that we must con-
sider and ponder and analyze for the upcoming season. You can analyze what- ever you want, but I think these 12 angles should provide much discussion and thought as we near the season. 12. Who is the favorite in California? College wrestling season is already underway. That’s right folks, in case you haven’t noticed, the California Community College season is already deep into its season. The California junior and commu- nity colleges are the most unique of wrestling divisions, primarily because they wrestle in the fall. Last year, Santa Ana College, led by NCAA All-American Vince Silva, won the CCC. Because the two-year schools are hard to prognosti- cate accurately, history tells us that Sierra, Fresno City, Cerriots and Mt. San Antonio are the teams to watch. What history doesn’t tell us is who is going to be good this season. Why should you pay attention to the California league? Bobby Scofield, Vlad Dombrovsky and Chris Urquizo won titles last year. They were nationally ranked coming out of high school. It’s a fun group to cover with interesting
stories. 11. Nebraska-Omaha returns eight. Mike Denney is an institution in Omaha. His program is one of the best in Division II and looks to win another title. While the Mavs were the runaway cham- pion in 2010, can they duplicate the feat
18 USA Wrestler
Augsburg. The Division III tournament moves to La Crosse, Wis., where the host Eagles have been knocking on the door for several years. Perhaps the best part about the Division III portion of col- lege wrestling isn’t necessarily the team race, rather all the crazy things that hap- pen in the first two rounds of the tourna- ment. The depth within Division III wrestling is very good, with any top-seed- ed wrestler susceptible to the upset at any point during the season. Augsburg head coach Mark Matzek won his first team championship last year and current- ly owns a 3-0 dual mark against rival Wartburg and longtime coach Jim Miller. 9. New programs ready to compete. With any new program, there is excite-
Cornell sophomore Kyle Dake is looking to win his second NCAA title.
and in the process, with a third straight national title? Signs point in that direction as the Mavs return eight All-Americans in Terrell McKinney (125), Mario Morgan (141), Esai Dominguez (149), George Ivanov (157), Ryan Pankoke (165) and Elijah Madison, the returning champion at heavyweight. Perhaps the better question is who will challenge Omaha? Will it be championship hosts Nebraska-Kearney, last year’s runner-up Augustana or will Upper Iowa, Wisconsin- Parkside, Newberry or someone new contend? 10. New place, same results? In Division III, the race never seems to
be for second, but for third. Every year since 1993, the team championship has been hoisted by either Wartburg or
ment, but this college season, several new varsity programs will take the mats for the first time. In Division II, Tiffin of Ohio gets rolling after a year as a club. They’re joined by Ohio Valley University (W.Va.), Lake Erie College (Ohio) and Arkansas’ first foray into college wrestling in over half a century, Ouachita Baptist. Minot State, making the move from the NAIA to Division II, starts this season. The NAIA has seen considerable growth over the past 10 years and this year, they’re bolstered by the addition of Georgia’s first-four year program since 1998 – Shorter College. Also joining the NAIA ranks this year is Midland Lutheran of Nebraska. The school basically absorbed the Dana College program after that school closed this past summer. Also jumping into the NAIA are Arkansas’ Central Baptist and the first program in Texas for quite a long time, Wayland Baptist. Wayland added both men’s and women’s wrestling to its roster of varsity
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