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Wrestlers to utilize experience at NCAAs

March 14, 2012
Senior 157-pounder Anthony Jones Jr. attempts to break the hold of Buckeye redshirt freshman Josh Demas. The Spartans fell to the Buckeyes 24-13 Sunday afternoon at Jension Field House. Anthony Thibodeau/The State News
Senior 157-pounder Anthony Jones Jr. attempts to break the hold of Buckeye redshirt freshman Josh Demas. The Spartans fell to the Buckeyes 24-13 Sunday afternoon at Jension Field House. Anthony Thibodeau/The State News —
Photo by Anthony Thibodeau | and Anthony Thibodeau The State News

With only the NCAA Tournament remaining — starting Thursday and continuing through the weekend in St. Louis — six members of the MSU wrestling team will have one final opportunity to end their seasons on a high note.

Seniors 157-pounder Anthony Jones Jr., 165-pounder David Cheza, 174-pounder Curran Jacobs and 184-pounder Ian Hinton all will be wrestling for the final time in a green and white singlet. Juniors 149-pounder Dan Osterman and heavyweight Steve Andrus can use the experience at the tournament to help build toward their own wrestling success with MSU in the future.

Besides Andrus — who is making his first ever NCAA Tournament appearance — each wrestler has experience at NCAAs. Head coach Tom Minkel said his team’s familiarity with the tournament will help the Spartans perform at a higher level when they get to St. Louis.

“The NCAA (Tournament) just by its nature is a very intimidating event, no matter who you are,” he said.

“So I think that experience will translate into a more relaxed and confident performance.”

Minkel added in Andrus’ case, he and the other wrestlers have been working with the first-timer to help prepare him for the environment.

Andrus’ nerves also will be aided in that he is quite familiar with his opponent in the first round, The Citadel’s Andrew Delaney. Andrus said he has wrestled Delaney quite frequently in the past, going back to when the two were young.

“We’ve seen each other a lot,” he said. “I’ve got a pretty good strategy going in, but I’m sure he’s got one too.”

For his second tournament appearance, Osterman hopes to take advantage of the element of surprise. After an up and down year, Osterman has begun to see better results from his wrestling and said he is not the same wrestler he was at the beginning of the season.

“I’ve changed a lot throughout the season, and I think that’s going to benefit me,” he said.

“I’m feeling good about how I’m wrestling right now and knowing that if I wrestle my match, I can come back and beat those kids I’ve lost to (earlier in the year).”

Osterman isn’t the only wrestler who will face familiar opponents.
At No. 10, Jones is the only MSU wrestler to be seeded, after he placed fourth in his class at the Big Ten Tournament.

Jones will begin his third NCAA appearance by matching up against Oklahoma State’s Albert White, whom he bested in a 6-3 decision earlier in the season.

Jacobs also hopes to utilize his tournament experience, making his second straight trip to the NCAAs. He’ll go up against Mike Dessino of Bloomsburg in the first round after placing eighth in the Big Ten Tournament and at No. 18 in the nation.

Last year, Jacobs went 1-2 in the tournament, toppling No. 11 seed Austin Meys of Lehigh. For Hinton, it will be his third trip to the NCAAs, but his first in the 184-pound weight class.

Previously, he had wrestled at 174 pounds and had qualified in 2009 and 2010, but made the jump to 184 last year. In the first round, he will face Virginia’s No. 12 seed Jonathan Fausey.

After they finished near the bottom of the Big Ten and posted an overall dual record of 3-11, the Spartans wouldn’t appear to be a major threat in the tournament, but they aren’t letting that discourage them.

The top eight wrestlers in each weight class will receive All-American honors, and although the Spartans aren’t favored in their respective classes, it’s always a possibility. 
“On paper, we’re not the most likely to have everyone become All-American,” Andrus said.

“But I think when we go down there, if everyone wrestles the way I know we can wrestle, there’s no reason we don’t all come back as All-Americans.”

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