By Jenna Haler

Two-a-day practices at 6 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. have become a regular occurrence for the athletes on the
St. John’s Wrestling team as they prepare for postseason competition.

With all the mental preparations and physical conditioning, the Johnnies appear to be primed for a run in the NCAA tournament, but any wrestler on the team would tell you it’s not that easy.

Before they can even begin to worry about the national wrestling scene, the Johnnies must first earn their spot in the national tournament by winning at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Tournament, which will be held at 9 a.m. Feb. 23 in Collegeville.

Prepare for Sexton Arena to be blanketed in soft wrestling mats and buzzing with the chaotic nervousness that championship wrestling generates.

The Johnnies are coming off with two less-than-impressive performances. The Johnnies suffered losses to MIAC rival Concordia-Moorhead on Jan. 30 and crosstown rival St. Cloud State on Feb. 8.

Even with the recent losses, St. John’s believes that the regional tournament will be just the place to improve their reputation.

“Bottom line, we want guys to win regions or get to the national tournament some way,” junior Matt Schrupp said. “This region is stacked with competition and we know if we get to the national tournament we’re good enough to be an All-American.”

Those may seem like high hopes, but for the members of the St. John’s wrestling team, that is the only practical next step at this point in their season. For sophomore wrestler Mogi, Baatar it is the only goal that makes sense.

“There are two returning All-Americans in my weight class that I have lost to, so I am focusing on tactics, preparing myself mentally and getting ready to take another shot at them,” Baatar said.

The upside of competing against a bracket of the toughest wrestlers in the region is that St. John’s will have home mat advantage.

“Having a home match gives us an advantage in mental preparation,” Schrupp said. “You need to know what to expect, how it’s going to feel when you step on the mat, what it’s going to smell like and sound like, everything, so the pressure and atmosphere doesn’t affect you.”

Baatar agrees.

“Wrestling in front of the home crowd is a different feeling,” he said. “It gives us energy.”

The Johnnie grapplers are fully aware of the upcoming challenge, but come Feb. 23, in front of a favorable home crowd, Baatar, Schrupp and the rest of the Johnnie wrestling squad will be counting on their season-long preparations to give them an edge on the mat.

Filed under: Featured, Johnnies by The Record Staff