"It's always good to get back home, especially when it's for the first time," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We are going to enter a lot of people and see what they can do. I haven't had a chance to see a lot of the younger kids in competition, so this will be a good opportunity for us to see how they perform."
Navy returns two champions from last year's Navy Classic, which the Mids won for the first time since 1996. Junior 149-pounder John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) and senior heavyweight Tanner Garrett (Tulsa, Okla.) both are looking to defend their titles. Cox sports a 9-2 record so far this year, and swept all three of his California foes last weekend, after a slow start at the Eastern Michigan Open. Included in the trio of victories was a 6-4 decision over 12th-ranked Anthony Baza of Cal State-Bakersfield, his first career win over a ranked foe.
Garrett, meanwhile, keeps rolling along, owning an 8-0 record and a No. 9 national ranking. He has moved into 19th place on the school's all-time victories list (79) and has won 47 of his last 48 matches in the regular season against NCAA competition, including 24 straight duals. Of his eight wins this season, three have come by extra margin, and he hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than five points in a match in his last 45 outings.
The Mids also return several top-three finishers from a year ago is 133-pounder Brad Canterbury (3rd at 125), Matt Gulosh (3rd at 149), Matt Stolpinski (3rd at 174), Chris Pogue (3rd at 184) and Andrew Adams (2nd at 197). Missing from this week's lineup are regular starters Craig Dziewiatkowski at 165 pounds and Adam Brochetti at 157 pounds. Both are sitting out this weekend nursing injuries.
Despite the loss of personnel at those two weights, Burnett still likes what he sees at those weights.
"When someone is not in the lineup, it gives another wrestler a chance to step up," said Burnett. "This will be another good test for us. It is all practice leading up to the postseason, so it will good to see what everyone can do."
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