1998-99 Wrestling Outlook
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
December 1, 1998
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 1997-98 season had many successful moments for Michigan State wrestling. After finishing 21st at the 1997 NCAA Championships, the Spartans improved to finish 13th in '98, primarily behind the All-America performances of David Morgan and Pat McNamara.
As Michigan State looks to the upcoming season, it hopes for similar success. Although the Spartans will miss three-time All-American David Morgan, head coach Tom Minkel understands his team will rely on experience to bring their goals to fruition.
"As a whole, our team is a more experienced, more mature team than it has been in the past," explained Minkel. "Our talent level from top to bottom is higher than it has been in a while. Last year we had very strong talent in some areas, but in other weight classes we were starting three or four freshmen. When you are starting that many freshmen, it can be difficult to maintain a level of consistency. Now those kids all have experience."
The Spartans enter the 1998-99 campaign with a veteran squad, returning nine of 10 starters from last year. With senior Greg DeGrand expected to redshirt, eight of the nine will see action this season. Minkel, who views experience as a key element of success, believes the eight returnees will see marked improvement this season.
"When you have mat experience, you go out better prepared," said Minkel. "If you are facing a tough opponent or competing at a big tournament for the first time it can be a little scary. But, if you have been in that situation before, you know what to expect. Now our team has been in those difficult situations and that should translate into success."
Although his squad has a lot of mat experience, Minkel will still have to find someone to fill the void left by Morgan, in particular his leadership.
"You never really replace David Morgan," said Minkel. "He is one of the greatest athletes to come through our program. But we have some very exceptional people still in our program. I expect one of them to fill the shoes that Morgan left."
Among the candidates to fill a leadership role are Pat McNamara (133 pounds), Issac Miller (141 pounds), Will Hill (174 pounds) and Nick Muzashvili (197 pounds). All four competed at the 1998 NCAA Championships and should be up to the challenge with another year of experience. If these four can perform as they did at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships on a consistent basis, Michigan State should experience a great deal of success this year.
"All wrestlers go through an evolution process where they find confidence in their own abilities," said Minkel. "When you are younger, sometimes you go out to see if you are going to win. You hope that you'll win, but you don't know that you are going to win. We are at the point now where we have some wrestlers who know they're going to win rather than hope it happens."
The Spartans' experience and confidence will be put to the test in what will prove to be the toughest schedule in the nation. Michigan State has dual meets scheduled against six teams which finished higher at the NCAAs. They will also compete in the National Team Championships in mid-January, with a field which features the top seven teams from last season. While facing this caliber of competition can have a negative impact on the win-loss program, it has nothing but positive consequences on a wrestling program.
"I personally believe that we need to face the best teams," explained Minkel. "It can be difficult for a young team to get roughed up, but once you've been through it a time or two, it pays real dividends. After wrestling top teams throughout the season, our wrestlers have a great deal of confidence heading into the Big Tens and NCAAs."
With a challenging schedule to provide top-notch experience to an already veteran club, the Spartans should be a legitimate contender by the time the Big Ten and NCAA Championships take place.
Weight Class Breakdown
Following is a weight-by-weight breakdown of the 1998-99 Spartan wrestling team:
125 - Redshirt freshman Chris Williams will take over for David Morgan and attempt to continue a trend of Spartan domination at the lightest weight class.
"Chris is a very hungry, hard working kid," said Minkel. "He wrestled David Morgan and Pat McNamara on a daily basis last year. If anything will make you tough, it is working with those two All-Americans."
133 - Sophomore All-American Pat McNamara will attempt to follow up on a stellar freshman year with even larger expectations.
"I think Pat McNamara will challenge for a national championship," said Minkel. "He is one of the most competitive young men we've ever had in our program. His standards are very high and he hates to lose."
141 - Issac Miller returns for his third season as a starter after qualifiying for the NCAAs as a junior.
"Issac has really had a breakthrough this summer," explained Minkel. "We all have our own obstacles to overcome, and his was simply a lack of confidence. But he started to develop confidence at the end of last season and he certainly has it now. It's been awesome to see him develop."
149 - Mike Castillo should earn the starting nod after serving as a back-up for Isaac Miller at 141 last year.
"Mike is a tremendously gifted young man, which we saw in his limited time last year," said Minkel. "He did not have much high school experience or come from a wrestling family, so he's had a little bit farther to go in developing than other wrestlers. But he's made great strides and we expect a lot from him."
157 - Cory Posey will begin as the starter, and should benefit from the experience he gathered last year as a freshman.
"Cory struggled a little bit last year, just because he was a freshman," said Minkel. "He's worked hard over the summer and should be a perfect example of having a year of experience as opposed to going out for the first time. I expect significant improvement."
165 - With NCAA qualifier Greg DeGrand expected to redshirt, junior Adam Elderkin will earn the starting position.
"Adam was our starter two years ago as a freshman," said Minkel. "Last year he was hurt, but he's ready to step back into the lineup. He has the experience so I expect him to be solid."
174 - Will Hill enters his second year as the starter. Last year, Hill assumed full-time duties and went on to compete in the NCAAs.
"Will is a wrestler who had a tremendous development last year," said Minkel. "He is an exceptional athlete, who now that he has some experience under his belt should be tough to deal with. I expect him to be one of the leaders on this team."
184 - Sophomore James Brimm is ready for his second go-round as a starter. He will be pushed to do well by true freshman Nik Fekete.
"James struggled last year because the transition to this level was tough for him," said Minkel. "Now he has a season of experience, so there is no question he will be much better. With Fekete there, it should make Brimm tougher. We will be young, but with the competition, whoever is on the mat will be better for it."
197 - Nick Muzashvili will look to repeat the performance that took him to the NCAAs in his first year as a starter.
"Nick has made tremendous progress in our program," said Minkel. "He grew up in the former Soviet Union as a freestyle wrestler, so he was not familiar with a lot of collegiate wrestling strategy. Still, he was only one match away from All-America honors last year. He should have a very good year."
HWT - Matt Lamb will be the full time starter, after joining the Spartans midway through last season.
"Matt has great physical tools, but is lacking in experience," said Minkel. "As his mat time increases I expect him to become even better."