At 125, freshman Ty Costa won the mini-tournament, pitting himself against senior and returning All-American Craig Trampe. In a surprising victory, Costa pulled out a 2-1 victory over the returning All-American. At 133, I wrestled Eric Ghram. The match went in my favor and I was able to earn a starting spot on our roster. Wrestling at 141 was freshman Brian Ghram and returning All-American Terrance Almond. Terrance might be one of the strongest pound-for-pound human beings I have ever wrestled. He displayed this strength while nearside cradling Ghram for a pin.
At 149, Clinton Dale was to wrestle the loser of the 141-pound match. Coming back from his earlier loss, freshman Brian Ghram was able to beat Clinton Dale and earn his spot as a starter. Coming off a season ending injury last year, Jason Bilinski earned his spot at 157 by pinning Dan Prey in a far-side cradle. Wrestling at 165 was Bula Tuzon and Jordan Davis. Tuzon spent most of his summer training in Colorado Springs. The off season training paid off, as he beat Davis in a decisive victory. At 174, two freshmen battled their way to the finals. In the end Josh Ghobadpoor from Georgia defeated Nebraska's own Ross Milam. At 184, muscle-bound senior Webster Farris wrestled skinny armed freshmen John Wilborne. Wilborne scrambled well, but in the end Webster's power was too much.
In a clinic of tilts and turns, Wade Jordan beat freshman John Schmalz to become our starting wrestler at 197. At the end of the dual, Jesse Boggs defeated Shawn Gach, making him our varsity heavyweight. For the time being, the winners of this dual will be our starters. However, these spots are not final and are subject to change. It was really nice seeing all of our guys in action at the Red and White Classic. Last year, I was unable to wrestle in many duals so I really enjoyed being back in a dual meet setting. I remember watching national duals last year … and wishing I was wrestling. Dual meets are my favorite because there is always so much excitement surrounding the event.
With preseason now over, regular season practice has begun. As of right now we are wrestling four days a week, with an alternative work out on Wednesday. Most of our practice time has been devoted to neutral drilling, which has been very beneficial to all of our wrestlers. The guys seem more excited about competing and wrestling than I have seen in years past. Personally, I can't wait for the season to start. My weight is a little low, which is very rare in our sport and definitely new to me. I am curious to see how much this will affect my performance. On one hand, I could be stronger and have more energy by not cutting weight. On the other hand, I could find myself struggling with the size of my opponents. Either way, I will have to find a way to win.
On Saturday Oct. 21, Dana College wrestling held a fall wrestling clinic, open to all ages. As our featured clinician, we had World champion Kevin Jackson. His vast knowledge and excitement for the sport inspired everyone including our college wrestlers. During his session the wrestlers were taught how to hand fight and set up neutral shots. I was glad to see most of our Dana wrestlers out trying these techniques as well. The previous day, Coach Fergola had asked me to run a session of the camp. I was very happy that he trusted me enough to teach in front of Jackson and the rest of the camp. I ended up teaching a session on the under-hook series. I always find it beneficial to my own wrestling when I teach. It allows me to pick up some little things that I may not notice when wrestling on my own. My session was followed by Dana assistant coach Jimmy Rollins. Rollins is known for his dominance in the top position. For his session, he taught a leg ride series. During his series, I paid close attention, trying to pick up any tricks that might improve my own riding. At the end of the clinic, we rolled mats, swept the floors, and picked up trash.
Burke BarnesIn the coming weeks we will compete in some open tournaments, including the SDSU Open and the UNO Open. Theses tournaments will be a good indicator of where our team is at. Even though I was able to see our guys wrestle in the Red and White Classic, I am still excited to see them in real competition. The sooner we get out on the mat, the sooner we can begin improving some of our weak spots. I hope to wrestle in every open tournament on our schedule. In the two years I have competed at the college level, I have only been able to rack up around 25 matches. This year I hope to almost double that number and go into nationals ready.
Until next time,
Burke Barnes
Past Entries:
Entry 1 (10/11/06)
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