Ohio is set to kick off its 2014-15 campaign this weekend at Michigan State.
With many wrestlers having National Championship aspirations, the Bobcats will take their talents to East Lansing, Michigan, on Saturday to participate in the annual Michigan State Open.
Ohio will begin its season trying to improve upon its third place finish in last year's Mid-American Conference Tournament.
“I’m tired of wrestling each other, so I know they’re tired of it,” coach Joel Greenlee said. “It’s exciting to go wrestle somebody else. It’s exciting to get the season underway.”
The team has wrestlers that figure to be contenders in this year’s MAC tournament, as well as national title contenders.
One of those wrestlers, redshirt junior Cody Walters, is coming off of an injury-laden season in which he lost more than half of his season. Walters was an All-American his sophomore season. A healthy, extremely motivated Walters did everything he could this offseason to return to All-American shape.
“I’ve never trained ever in my life like I did this summer,” Walters said. “I did a lot of Crossfit, and some unorthodox training. I did some hill sprints, a lot of lifting, a lot of everything. I threw a lot at my body.”
Walters has been waiting for success since his All-American season his sophomore year.
“Since the day after nationals last season I started tweeting how many days ‘til nationals because I was so disappointed,” Walters said. “We’re at 140 days ‘til nationals. Once I get to that last day, I don’t expect anything less than to be a national champion.”
Although Walters returns to the team extremely motivated to succeed, he is not the only one.
Ohio also returns 197-pound Phil Wellington, champion of last year’s Michigan State Open in that weight class, and third year starter in the 157-pound group, Spartak “Sparty” Chino.
“I always say, ‘shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll end up amongst the stars,” Wellington said. “I’m planning on All-American and being a national champ. I beat the national champ last year and I know I can do it again.”
While the Michigan State Open may not count toward the overall team record, it still counts toward individual records and national rankings — a fact not lost on the Ohio wrestlers.
“I’m trying to get Michigan State title,” Chino said. “I’ve gone there, gotten second and third, so it’s pretty frustrating going in there and not winning that tournament. I want to win this tournament. I want to win everything.”
Greenlee reiterated his team’s thoughts and desire for success.
“Once you do well, the offseason is a lot easier. It’s more exciting. I really think when you as a team get to where you want to be, and are really good, guys take a little bit of ownership and say ‘hey, this is what I need to do to get better’, and I think that’s what happened.”
A team that has worked harder for success than ever before is ready to prove themselves in the upcoming weekend tournament. While the whole team may be thirsty for success, Walters has been waiting for this moment for just a bit longer than others.
“I’m ranked 8th or 9th in the country, depending on the poll. Everyone is saying the top five guys in the country are untouchable,” said Walters. “They’re saying they’re tier one, and everyone else is tier two. I don’t care who you are, you gotta go out and beat someone. Don’t forget about me, because I’m coming to bring a show.”
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