Coach Joel Greenlee’s was straight to the point in expressing his confidence in the freshmen class.
“I think that was a pretty good recruiting class,” Greenlee said.
It’s easy to see why after the results of the Michigan State Open, where Carson Brewer won the championship for the 184-pound freshman/sophomore division, while Shawn Mondello finished second in the 152-pound weight class.
Mondello had an interesting story for his path Ohio. He had initially intended to join the swimming and diving team at Mid-American Conference-rival Miami, but he ended up connecting with Ohio’s wrestling team and decided he was better suited there.
After his strong debut with the Bobcats, it looks as if he made the right decision.
“We didn’t know that much about him, and he ended up getting second in the tournament,” Greenlee said.
Other members of the recruiting class were much more well known. Brewer and Jordan Slivka were both ranked highly in their weight classes as recruits. Slivka was recruited early by the Bobcats, but they were only able to recruit Brewer a few weeks prior to the season.
Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to only be able to sign recruits late like in Brewer’s case.
“I wish it was nice and easy,” Greenlee said. “It doesn’t always work that way.”
It may be a while before any of the freshman get to compete in a dual meet. None of them wrestled in a match against Campbell, and the starting positions will likely remain with the more accomplished upperclassmen.
Greenlee still sees much more potential for his freshman despite none of them having starting roles yet. They will also have plenty more chances to prove themselves in upcoming tournaments, including the Navy Classic at the end of November.
