By

Staff writer

Eastern wrestlers showed what they were made of this weekend when they tested their endurance in the season debut at the Eastern Michigan Open.

The Panthers had four wrestlers place in the tournament that had a mixture of some tough competition.

“It was a good start,” Eastern head wrestling coach Ralph McCausland said. “It was our first tournament and it gives us a chance to look for things to work on.”

Freshman Dexter Wright went 2-2 while sophomore Mike Stanley finished 4-2 in the 125-pound weight division.

“This was a tough weight class,” McCausland said. “Stanley wrestled six matches which was tremendous.”

Sophomore Pat Dowty finished 3-1 and took second place in the open.

At 149 pounds, sophomore Tim Loeffel finished 2-2. Freshman Brian Hawxhurst finished 3-2. Also, freshman new comer Andy Coyle took fourth place finishing 5-2.

Panther junior Frank DeFilippis went 2-2 at the 157 weight class. Sophomore Emerson Rushing, at 174 pounds, and 184 pounder Kyle Bracey both finished 1-2.

“This tournament was a lot tougher this year than in the past,” McCausland said. “Some guys were better than others, and individually everyone has to step up for their matches.”

The heavyweight division had a successful outing Saturday. Freshman Pete Ziminski went 3-2 for the day, however he lost his second match to teammate Joe Gleissner who placed third in the tournament at 6-1.

Sophomore Dale Griffin ended the day 4-3 placing sixth.

“It was a fair showing,” McCausland said. “I was expecting a little more but it is still early in the season. We have to work on consistency and match preparation.”

The Panthers were faced with a tough test of endurance, though, as they traveled and began wrestling at 10 a.m. and wrestled nonstop until 7 p.m., and most wrestlers had to compete numerous times throughout the day.

“Most of the guys had to wrestle seven matches,” McCausland said. “It wasn’t a one-match setup. There would be one match, then they would have to cool down and prepare for the next match, wrestle and then cool down and prepare for the following matches.”

McCausland plans to improve the conditioning of the team and prepare them for the rest of the season, but he is also looking for his team to individually strive to improve to reach their goals.

“This tournament indicates exactly what we need to work on,” McCausland said. “Consistency is the key. We work on it as a team but the guys have to work themselves individually. The guys have to read their bodies and be consistent with their training and diets.”

McCausland plans to keep his team prepared for the tasks that lie ahead in the season.

“With our season as long as it is you don’t want to come out of the gates with end of the season intensity,” McCausland said. “Persistency of training progresses as the season goes on especially with the intensity that we work with.

“Right now we need to identify individual techniques in situations to work on,” he said.