Sophomore coping with unfavorable match-ups this year
By Robbie Sgro
Staff Reporter
To say sophomore heavyweight Bubba Gritter’s wrestling opponents this season have been difficult is an understatement.
Seven of his losses have come against opponents ranked in the top nine by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
He has lost to Minnesota’s No. 1 Cole Konrad, Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Steve Mocco, Michigan’s No. 3 Greg Wagner, Oklahoma’s No. 5 Jake Hager and Northwestern’s No. 9 Dustin Fox.
“I had big expectations coming in, but wrestling the kids I did “¦ it’s easier for me to accept that I haven’t been doing what I wanted,” Gritter said.
Close Calls
Lost 3-2 to UNI’s Tyler Rhodes
Lost 3-2 to MSU’ Max Lossen
Lost 4-2 to IU’s Dave Herman
Gritter expected to have a breakout season for the No. 6 wrestling team. He was 23-7 and beat eventual All-American Bill Stouffer in the team’s intrasquad meet last season. But Gritter said his 14-12 record and No. 16 ranking this season is not what he envisioned.
“So far I’m kind of disappointed,” he said.
Gritter said he hopes the stiff competition will have him prepared for the end of the season.
“It stinks that I’ve had those losses,” he said. “But it’s good for me to wrestle those guys before nationals. I know what I have to do to beat those guys.”
He pinned Lock Haven’s Tim Meyers and Ashland’s Tim Schanz last Sunday at 2:06 and 2:05, respectively. It was the first time this season he won consecutive matches.
“I was struggling there for a while,” he said. “It wasn’t the best competition, but it was good to get some confidence.”
CMU has a lot of confidence heading into Mid-American Conference action Sunday at Eastern Michigan.
“We’re not really focusing too much on our competition, just about us and what we need to improve on to get ready for the end of the year,” said coach Tom Borrelli.
Wrestling Gear
