Tradition-rich Big Ten gives wrestlers experience against top teams

The wrestling legacy of the Big Ten conference speaks for itself. Multiple national championship teams and All-Americans are facts of its history. \nThis season is no different. IU, being part of the wrestling-rich conference, knows this part of the schedule is what the season is geared towards.\n"The guys understand and realize the season comes in segments with the first part getting your feet wet and gaining experience," IU coach Duane Goldman said. "And now with the Big Ten, they realize their performance is not just a team performance but how they wrestle individually really affects the rest of the year."\nThis is because conference action determines a wrestler's seeding in their respective weight divisions in the season-ending Big Ten Championships held this year in Columbus, Ohio. Hoosier grapplers are not only wrestling for the team during conference play, but for themselves as well. Freshman Josh Buuck feels the competitive juices kicking into high gear.\n"This is what we work for all year," he said. "You can't go out there and step down. You have to go full out or you're going to get your (butt) kicked."\nPreparing for the rigors of the Big Ten is not only about getting oneself into the right frame of mind. The non-conference schedule the Hoosiers faced was mixed with national tournaments, such as the Northern Iowa Open, where teams from all across the nation compete, and combined with top five teams like Missouri. \nGoldman feels the competition adequately prepared his team for what awaits them in the Big Ten.\n"We have a number of young guys on our team, and we needed to work out a couple of spots," Goldman said. "We've competed against a number of good teams and have had quality competition. Yet we've been able to stay healthy and had a good mix of competition that's allowed us to go into the Big Ten season healthy."\nThe non-conference schedule is from Thanksgiving to mid-January. With the goal of staying healthy and wrestling good, solid competition, the IU grapplers are aware of how important it is to mentally and physically prepare themselves in the non-conference season for Big Ten play. \n"I think by the time we come home from Christmas break we are ready to get going in the Big Ten," sophomore Chad Watson said. "After a few of these non-conference matches, the team is ready, biting nails to get going into the conference and then into nationals."\nSophomore Nick Spatola agreed with this view.\n"By the time the Big Ten season starts, you've got to change your whole mental aspect," he said. "It's like a whole new season. Every single match is like a national championship match because usually the Big Ten conference is the toughest conference in the nation. Seeding becomes real important."\nThe Hoosiers split their first two Big Ten matches last weekend, losing Friday night to Wisconsin before coming back to beat Northwestern Saturday. The reward for their first victory is a home date with second ranked Illinois Saturday afternoon.\nGoldman has confidence in his team this weekend and beyond.\n"We've had guys step up and really rise to the competition," Goldman said. "I'm real pleased with the people we are putting out there, and I feel a number of them can do some real good things at the national level."\n-- Contact staff writer Colin Burns at coaburns@indiana.edu.