After going to the NCAA tournament in his sophomore season, junior Kenny Robertson hopes to build on last year’s success as he and the Eastern wrestling team open their season at the Central Missouri Open.

The Panthers had the Eastern Michigan Open on their schedule as the season opener, but head coach Ralph McCausland opted not to go so he could start his 16 underclassman with a low-key tournament.

Robertson, who was ranked in the top 20 in his division last year, will not waste any time in getting back on top of the 174-pound weight division. Robertson expects to match up with preseason No. 1 Ben Askren, a Missouri junior, at the CMU Open.

“I would have liked to get a warm-up at Eastern Michigan (before I wrestle Askren),” Robertson said.

The only seniors on the team are Chino Duran (133), Dexter Johnson (141) and Tyler Brucker (149/157), and each have had limited experience on the mat for Eastern.

Despite the lack of experience, McCausland is happy with what he seen in practice so far.

“Our young kids are very promising. You haven’t had to come in and yell at them. They learned how to work before this,” McCausland said. “Sometimes you take the first couple weeks just learning how to practice, not with these guys.”

Having high caliber wrestlers like Robertson around also helps speed up the process of adjusting to Division I wrestling.

“It’s great to have that kind of experience in the room. He knows what it takes to get (to the national tournament),” McCausland said. “It makes it a nice carryover to the other guys. Success breeds success.”

Saturday McCausland paired off his wrestler and had matches to prep them for the CMU Open.

“I told the guys this is kind of where you test yourself before competition; conditioning, mental and physical preparation,” McCausland said. “We had some great bouts.”