Ohio will wrestle Missouri and Tennessee Chattanooga in the coming weeks.
After finishing sixth and hitting a slight downturn at the Navy Classic, Ohio aims to refocus its mentality that is characterized by hard work and grit.
As Ohio (3-0) heads into the midst of the season, its upcoming matches consist of Missouri, Tennessee, Chattanooga and the Midlands Tournament in Evanston, Illinois.
In order to redirect, the Bobcats are not only looking to refocus their mentality, but also to return to the culture that has given them success during previous seasons.
“I think for us, (the Navy Classic) was just a bump in the road,” Ohio coach Joel Greenlee said. “It wasn’t a great performance. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t what we wanted either.”
Greenlee said leading up to the Navy Classic, the team’s schedule wasn’t what it usually is, as the team trained four straight days.
Greenlee said for the team to get back on track, he will implement the usual way the team trains, as this consists of the team training for two or three days then taking a day off.
“I think our guys maybe got a little bit complacent, and we didn’t wrestle as hard as we had in the past,” Greenlee said.
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The team’s mentality is headed by redshirt senior Phil Wellington, as Greenlee said the older wrestlers know what Greenlee, in his 18th year of coaching at Ohio, wants to come out of the program.
“I think our younger guys are really looking up to us, and they’re just following in our footsteps,” Wellington said. “That’s what makes our program great.”
The Bobcats’ culture is one of their greatest assets. The gritty mentality starts with the upperclassmen such as Wellington and it trickles down into the younger wrestlers.
This trickle-down effect makes for not only good team chemistry, but a mentality that can only be stopped by those who create it.
“What I want is the opposing team to say, 'I don’t want to wrestle Ohio University,' ” Greenlee said. “To me, ... the biggest compliment we can have is that I don’t want to wrestle those guys.”
@CameronFields_
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