If I told you the 3-10 MSU wrestling team (1-7 Big Ten) — which hasn’t won a dual in six straight attempts — was in the midst of an upswing, you might think I’d lost my mind.
But the truth is, the Spartans have seen improvements in each of those duals and have given a couple ranked teams a run for their money. In fact, in the past two duals — against No. 6 Ohio State and No. 20 Edinboro — MSU has held the lead going into the final two wrestlers only to come away empty-handed once the scores were in the books.
Granted, when it comes to the results-obsessed world of sports, improvement isn’t what the fans pay to see. No one is going to get excited because they brought their exam grade up from a 25 percent to a 48. If it’s not a passing grade, it’s not something Mom is going to hang on the fridge.
However, in a season marred by injuries and breakdowns, it speaks volumes about head coach Tom Minkel that his team continues to improve this late in the season. And Minkel has the type of faith in his team that would make George Michael blush.
MSU’s improvements are visible on the mats as well. The Spartans are competing with more energy, they are riding their opponents better in the up position and fighting harder for escapes when in the down position.
But with the conference season behind them and only one dual left before the Big Ten tournament, there’s some concern that the Spartans’ recent semi-surge might be a case of too little too late.
That might be the case, but if MSU’s recent individual triumphs translate into tournament success, the Spartans can hang their hats on a successful run at the end of the season. And this close to the end of the season, the Spartans are playing for the future.
Minkel said at the beginning of this season that he has never had a season like last year’s, when injuries forced him to slot in less experienced wrestlers into the lineup. A similar situation arose this year, when injuries and other circumstances thrust freshmen into the spotlight.
Although it didn’t start that way, this season has become a transitional one, and the Spartans have transitioned well. Freshman 133-pounder Terry Turner won his first ever dual match in dramatic fashion against Indiana while rotating with freshman 133-pounder Brandon Fifield, who has amassed a 12-15 record this year. One hundred-forty-one-pounder Brian Gibbs also has seen his fair share of wrestling in his first year.
So with only a few more weeks left in the season, the Spartans don’t have time to turn their season around. But if they continue to improve up until the end, MSU’s future will be quite bright headed into the offseason.
Jesse O’Brien is the wrestling reporter at The State News. He can be reached at obrie151@msu.edu.
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