Austin Eicher Feature: From Michigan Bad Boy To Spartan
12/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
By Jazzy Teen, MSU Athletic Communications Student Assistant
EAST LANSING, Mich. --Austin Eicher has competitively wrestled since he a small child. With a career full of countless matches and impressive accolades, the redshirt sophomore will be competing in an entirely new light these season.
As a Spartan, that is.
"When I was little, my dad pretty much gave me the choice to do ballet, or wrestle, it was one of the two. So I said, ‘Alright. I'll wrestle," explained Eicher. "It was kind of a joke of course, but basically you were wrestling or you weren't."
A native of Fenton, Michigan, Eicher spent a great deal of his childhood preparing to wrestle at the highest level.
"When I was four years old, I started wrestling and then joined travel teams shortly after. My dad who wrestled when he was younger as well started a team called the ‘Michigan Bad Boys,' that I was on," explained Eicher. "It's pretty much been my life since."
After graduating from Hartland High School, Eicher committed to Northern Illinois, a school five long hours from home.
"The coaches were pretty persistent in recruiting me there. It was the best fit at the time to go to NIU and I liked the guys on the team," said Eicher. "But after some time, I knew I couldn't finish out my last few years there."
Despite winning the Mid-American Conference Championship at 133 pounds last season as a redshirt freshman, Eicher began thinking of the school that was always in the back of his mind.
"My mom went to MSU, and I actually always knew I wanted to go here too," said Eicher. "Coaching wise - we have three All-Americans on our staff and you can't let that opportunity up when it's only an hour away from home. I thought, ‘why not?'"
Once approval was granted by both schools, Eicher began working out with his new team in the later part of summer.
"I've meshed with the team pretty well and like everyone on the team a lot. It took a few weeks to get closer to the guys of course, but for the most part I knew most of my teammates from competing in high school," said Eicher.
"The greatest transition as far as wrestling goes is that some of our practices are a little more intense in the stuff that we do â€" like lifting and such, but other than that everything has been pretty smooth."
Adjusting to both a new team and faster-paced academics, Eicher has high hopes for his first season in the Big Ten.
"My ultimate goal is to be an NCAA champ and All-American. I made it to the NCAA Tournament last year, and I came up short going two and out at that tournament, but obviously this year is different being in a conference like the Big Ten," said Eicher.
In addition to the change in competition, Eicher has enjoyed being closer to home.
"It's pretty crazy that my family is so close now. They'll be able to be at everything this year," Eicher said.
Eicher is competing in the 133lb weight class during his first Spartan season. He is 10-5 so far this season, ranking second on the team with 10 dual points as well as leading the team with three major decisions. In is first action as a Spartan competing in Jenison Field House, Eicher finished third at the MSU Open on Nov. 20.
Eicher has helped the Spartans to 2-3 overall and 0-1 B1G record as MSU returns to the friendly confines of Jenison Field House for its first home dual meet of the season on Friday, Dec. 9, welcoming Minnesota to town for a Big Ten match. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on BTN Plus.
Players Mentioned
