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Hipps Toss: Weekly College Wrestling Recap
12/21/2004 2:45:00 PM
A Look Back and a Look Ahead at the World of College Wrestling
By Andrew Hipps – Staff Writer
Please send comments, questions or replies to: [email protected]
Catching Up With Josh Churella
There are many freshmen making an impact on the collegiate scene this season. Among them are Minnesota’s Mack Reiter and Roger Kish, Oklahoma State’s Daniel Frishkorn, Michigan’s Eric Tannenbaum, Boise State’s Andrew Hochstrasser, and Iowa’s Alex Tsirstis. Reiter, Kish, Frishkorn and Tannenbaum are all redshirt freshmen, while Hochstrasser and Tsirtsis are true freshmen. One freshman who is looking to join that talented group as a top newcomer is Michigan 141 pounder Josh Churella.
Churella finished 14-0 last season while redshirting for the Wolverines. He came to Ann Arbor as a three-time state champion from Northville, Michigan. He also comes from a very successful wrestling family. His father, Mark, was a three-time NCAA Champion for Michigan (1976-1979). His brother, Mark Jr., was a letter winner for the Wolverines and brother, Ryan, is currently a junior 165 pounder and 2004 All-American.
Churella suffered a high ankle sprain just three weeks into practice this season, which kept him out until December. In his first match back, on December 10th, Churella defeated Mike Hurley of Cleveland State, 4-1.
I recently caught up with Churella and talked to him about getting back on the mat, and what he’s looking to accomplish the rest of the season.
How is the ankle?
Churella: My ankle is pretty good. It just took some time. It is pretty much healed now and back to normal. The only thing that I’m trying to get back is my match shape. But I’m pretty much ready to go. I thought that I would be back for the Lehigh match, but wasn’t, so then I was shooting for January 2nd. But I decided to wrestle against Cleveland State.
Did you feel any pain in that first match back against Cleveland State? And how did you feel about your performance?
Churella: No, my ankle felt fine in that match and it didn’t really affect me. I got a little tired in the third period, but that was kind of expected because I only had four days of live wrestling before that. I was a little rusty, though. Technically, I might have been a couple of steps of slower on my feet, but he’s a pretty tough kid. I went on the attack right away, rode him out, and felt pretty comfortable.
What was it like being sidelined and forced to miss the first half of the season?
Churella: It was frustrating. It would have been fun to go to Lehigh and wrestle. But I just knew that I didn’t want to push it because it probably would have delayed the rest of my season. So I thought I’d just rehab and get back as soon as I could. In Vegas, there were some good competitors at my weight. It would have been a good experience to be able to wrestle all those guys before the national tournament. I’d like to think that I’m in the hunt. I’m glad that I went out there and watched, but I would have much rather been wrestling.
How important was your redshirt season in terms of your development as a wrestler?
Churella: It was very important. Coming into college last season, I thought that I was ready to go right away. I kind of wanted to wrestle as a true freshman, but I think it was actually better that I didn’t. It gave me a year of experience. I got bigger and had the opportunity to work out with some of the top guys in the room like (Foley) Dowd, my brother (Ryan Churella), (Ryan) Bertin, and a bunch of other tough guys. It helped me out a lot, I think, just wrestling in the open tournaments and getting ready to go. I just thought it was a good experience for me.
Are you excited to compete in the Big 10?
Churella: Yeah, that’s what I’ve been gunning for all season. Everything is going to be a stepping stone for me. I’m going to be back in the lineup here against Central Michigan on January 2nd and then I’ll get ready for the Big 10. I’m real excited because there are some tough guys. It’ll be a good experience and that’s what I’m gunning for – the Big 10’s and then nationals. That’s what it’s all about.
Hochstrasser Leaving on Mission in 2005
Boise State freshman 125 pounder Andrew Hochstrasser has decided that he will take a two year Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in June of 2005, which will put a temporary halt to his college wrestling career.
“Although wrestling is and has been an important part of my life, I am also committed to both long and short term goals in my personal life,” said Hochstrasser. “I think that character, convictions and goals play an important part in everyone’s life. Going on a mission for my beliefs is an important part of my maturity and goals in my life. It may not be the most popular thing to do and some may ask questions why. But I have been taught all my life that God and family are the most important things you can stand for and everything follows after that. ”
Hochtrasser is putting together an extremely impressive freshman season for the Broncos. He is 12-2 in varsity competition this season with tournament titles at the Southern Oregon Open and Reno Tournament of Champions. His only losses as the starter came at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, where he placed fourth. And both of those losses, to Efren Ceballos of Cal State Bakersfield and Vic Moreno of Cal Poly, he avenged in Reno over the weekend.
“My father and I sat down last year and wrote out some goals that I wanted for the next five years,” continued Hochstrasser. “It did not take just one time, it took many days – and even a few months thinking and pondering on what I wanted out of life. I wanted to wrestle and do a lot of other things, but I also wanted to keep everything in perspective. It really comes down to a personal decision. Ever since I was young, I have been taught to follow what you think is right and in doing so, things seem to work out for the best.”
Hochtrasser, a four-time state champion from Tooele, Utah, was originally planning on redshirting during his first year at Boise State, but that planned changed.
“After the first two opens and a wrestle off, coach Randall and coach Owens approached me about going to Las Vegas and coming out of my redshirt season,” Hochstrasser said. “And knowing that I would be leaving on a two year mission after this season, this would give me a redshirt season to prepare when I get back. It was a chance I thought I should take. In talking to a few other wrestlers that have taking this course and redshirting when I get back might be the best thing to do.”
He credits his coaches for a lot of his success this season.
“The coaches are doing a very good job at preparing me for this season,” said Hochstrasser. “I really am just working hard every day and trying to improve. I try and prepare myself every day to win every match. I continually try to improve my wrestling abilities every day , innovate and try to evolve, looking for ways to improve.”
Hochstrasser summed up his decision.
“Going on a mission for my religion is something that I have always wanted to do,” he said. “Serving others and teaching them about Jesus Christ is an important part of my life as well as going to college, getting a degree and wrestling to win a national championship. I am just pursuing the goals that I have set for myself and would hope that others will want to do the same. I realize that things can change and who knows what might happen in six months. I do want to win every match that I wrestle, but now my focus is on preparing for the next match and working hard to improve my abilities and be a good human being both on the mat and in the classroom. Everyone should do what they think is best for themselves and the lives that they will affect that cross their paths.”
Final Midlands Pre-Seeds Announced
The final pre-seeds for the 42nd annual Midlands Tournament were recently announced and biggest surprise was the unusually low turnout of post-collegiate wrestlers this year. No Joe Williams (well, actually there is, but a different one at 184, the freshman from Michigan State). No Chris Bono. The top post-collegiate wrestlers competing are Luke Eustice (125), Scott Owen (157) and Tyler Nixt (174).
As usual, many of the weights are loaded with talented wrestlers. The deepest weight class, though, appears to be 157. The top four seeds are:
1. Matt Gentry (Stanford)
2004 NCAA Champion; Undefeated for the past two seasons.
2. Alex Tirapelle (Illinois)
Defending Midlands Champion; Two-time All-American.
3. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American)
Two-time NJCAA national champion; Undefeated this season.
4. Jake Percival (Ohio)
2004 NCAA Runner-Up; Three-time All-American.
Donald Lockett of San Francisco State is the highest seeded non-Division I wrestler, fifth at 141. Lockett placed sixth in the Midlands last year at 133 and shocked the wrestling world by upsetting 2003 NCAA Champion Travis Lee of Cornell in the first round.
Northwestern Wins Beast of the East Tournament
Northwestern claimed six championships over the weekend and ran away with the team title at the 14-team Beast of the East Invitational in Newark, Delaware.
Winning titles for the Wildcats were John Velez (125), Greg Hagel (149), Mike Kimberlin (157), Jake Herbert (174), Mike Tamillow (184), and Matt Delguyd (197).
Northwestern finished with 162.5 points. Bloomsburg and North Carolina finished tied for second with 101 points. Last year, the Wildcats finished in fourth place, 46.5 points behind champion Pittsburgh.
Top-Ranked Cowboys dominate Reno Tournament of Champions
Oklahoma State won its third Reno Tournament of Champions title, and its ninth title in the last 10 tournaments at the Reno Livestock Events Center on Sunday with 163.5 points.
The Cowboys won five titles and placed 11 wrestlers in the top six. Chris Pendleton bounced back from his first loss of the season by claiming the 174 pound title and garnering the Outstanding Wrestler award. He won by injury default over Leonel Sanchez of Cal State Fullerton in the finals. The other Oklahoma State champions were Zack Esposito (149), Johny Hendricks (165), Jake Rosholt (197), and Steve Mocco (HWT).
Arizona State finished second with 103 points. They had three runner-up finishes, and six place winners. Fresno State finished third and also had six wrestlers place. Oregon, Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly, and Cal State Bakersfield finished fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Stanford was eighth, while UC Davis and Boise State rounded out the top 10. Boise State claimed two individual titles, which accounted for most of their scoring.
Wartburg Finishes 4-0 at Desert Duals
Wartburg brought its win dual win streak to 25 with four wins at the 2004 Desert Duals on Monday. They defeated Menlo (35-6), Pacific (36-6), and Elmhurst (26-13, and McDaniel (38-9). The Knights are 10-0 season and ranked second in the country in Division III behind rival Augsburg. They will head to Dallas on January 8 for the Lone Star Duals.
McKnight Named MAC Wrestler of the Week
Buffalo sophomore 125 pounder Mark McKnight was named the Mid Atlantic Conference Wrestler of the Week.
McKnight, ranked 12th in the nation by The Wrestling Mall, won three matches at the Beast of the East Collegiate Invitational to place second. He lost in the finals to Northwestern’s John Velez, 4-3, his seventh loss this year to a nationally-ranked opponent. Velez is ranked 14th by The Wrestling Mall McKnight is just two wins away from the career 50-win mark halfway through his sophomore year.
McKnight has picked up seven losses in 21 matches this year after finishing 34-8 last year. However, five of the six losses came to wrestlers ranked ahead of McKnight and the other losses were to Velez and 20th ranked Jesse Miramontes of Cal State Fullerton.
Andrew Hipps also accepts feedback on his articles at [email protected]
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