As the MSU wrestling team heads into its final dual of the season — at No. 25 Central Michigan on Thursday — the Spartans hope to continue improving on the mat and end the regular season on a high note before the postseason begins.
The Spartans (3-10 overall, 1-7 Big Ten) came within a last second takedown of upsetting No. 20 Edinboro last weekend, so head coach Tom Minkel feels his team’s confidence should be flying high headed into the dual.
“My message to the team just now is that we have improved every weekend,” he said. “And we need to continue to improve.”
For Minkel, the dual also is a homecoming. The coach, now in his 21st year with the Spartans, was a Central Michigan wrestler during his time at the university and coached there for 13 years before he took the job at MSU.
However, despite the return to his alma mater, Minkel stays focused on the task at hand.
“I have a lot of ties to the community and close friendships and relationships,” he said. “But at the same time, when it comes to wrestling, it’s just another dual with a very good team. It really is about us and about our team competing well.”
Emotions also will be high for No. 18 senior 174-pounder Curran Jacobs, who will compete in the last dual of his five-year career with the Spartans.
Jacobs said it is very important to leave this program with a win, something he is not concerned with when he looks ahead to his possible opponents.
“They’re kind of weaker in that class, so I feel that whoever they put in front of me isn’t going to fair well,” he said. “I intend on dominating them, getting those bonus points and destroying him on his feet and on the mat, so that’s my game plan.”
Jacobs is not the only Spartan confident about his individual matchup against Central Michigan.
Sophomore heavyweight Michael McClure said he knows what to expect when he goes up against No. 16 Joe Roth since he had the opportunity to face the Chippewa sophomore at the MSU open in the beginning of the season.
“He’s the kind of guy you have to keep the pressure on,” McClure said.
“(I have to) keep working him, and I should be able to get some team points.”
Following the dual against Central Michigan, the Spartans will have more than two weeks off from competition before the Big Ten Tournament kicks off in West Lafayette, Ind., on March 3.
“I think it’s important, just for our team’s psyche, that we see some results when we compete,” Minkel said.
“So I think a win will help us continue to make progress in those upcoming weeks off.”
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