Spartan Wrestling Begins Practice Oct. 8
10/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Oct. 8, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State wrestling team began regular season practices Tuesday, Oct. 8 in preparation for the upcoming regular season. The Spartans' first competition will be Nov. 2 at the Eastern Michigan Open. MSU returns eight starters from last season's team, and are ranked in the Top 20 in several preseason wrestling polls.
"I think that this is going to be a strong team," said head coach Tom Minkel, who is entering is 12th season at Michigan State. "We have a lot of veterans with a lot of experience coming back. We also have pretty good depth. Plus, this team has the best work ethic I've seen in some time."
Heading the list of returnees is Gray Maynard, who will start at 157 pounds. Maynard earned All-America honors for the second straight year last season and posted a 20-13 record. Other returning NCAA qualifiers include Karl Nadolsky (149), Rashad Evans (174) and John Wechter (Hwt.). Also returning is Nik Fekete (197), who sat out last season with an injury after earning All-America honors in 2001.
"All of our seniors have been in the lineup for a long time," Minkel continued. "These guys have been through a lot, and we know what it's about at this stage. I know that everyone is ready for a great season."