COLLEGE PARK, Md - “Big Ten wrestling”: it's a phrase that carries some serious weight in the NCAA universe. The new home of the Maryland wrestling team has produced the last eight national champions and is widely considered one of the best sports conferences in college sports.
On a smaller scale, the phrase represents the daunting conference journey the Terps begin on Sunday when they take on Wisconsin. It's a journey that will no doubt be a ruthless test of their individual skills and their unity as a team, but it is one that head coach Kerry McCoy and his wrestlers believe they are ready to embark upon.
“There is no intimidation,” said McCoy. “We compete against elite level programs all the time. I think we are an elite-level program and now we are competing in an elite-level conference.”
The Big Ten currently has nine teams in the NCAA top-25, including four of the top five. The storied conference is so revered that young wrestlers often look to its programs as goals to focus their labors on.
“That's kind of every wrestler's dream is to wrestle in the Big Ten so it's an exciting change for us,” said junior 133-pounder Geoffrey Alexander.
One wrestler who reached that goal long ago was McCoy himself. The New York native posted a record of 150-18 in his time at Penn State, earning his bachelor's degree in marketing in 1997. Now, McCoy is focused on taking the same skills that earned him three Big Ten titles and passing them on to his wrestlers so they can do the same.
“He not only knows the conference but he knows what to expect and what we have to do to get to the podium,” said Alexander of his coach. “It's a great opportunity we have because we get to use him both in the wrestling room and outside out of it to keep us mentally and physically on that level.”
“That level” is one that is unparalleled, one that many of the more experienced Terps never thought they would be playing on when they started their four years in College Park. When news broke in November 2012 that the university would be making the switch from the ACC to the Big Ten, many people focused on the impact it had on big-money sports like football or basketball. But those who live and breathe Maryland wrestling knew it meant much more than that. It meant a challenge like they had never faced would be right around the corner.
“I thought it was a joke,” recollected sophomore 141-pounder Shyheim Brown. “I thought everyone was just messing with me. But when I saw it on TV and knew it was official, I immediately thought of wrestling - Big Ten wrestling. The ACC was good but now we're getting into a whole new ballgame.”
Being a winter sport, the wrestling team has been able to see many of its fellow Terps in other sports take on that challenge already and use their success for inspiration.
“The fall sports have already blazed a pretty good trail in our inaugural season as a Big Ten school,” said senior 184-pounder Tony Gardner. “So we just want to keep that going.”
No matter who the team on the other side of the mat is or what conference they come from, McCoy and company want to keep a consistent approach to each match. They want to keep wrestling the Maryland way.
“My goal has always been to be the best program we can be, to try to win championships,” said McCoy. “So, if all of a sudden now I'm going to do things differently going into a great conference then what was I doing the last six years? Our goals and approach haven't changed, we just have a bigger platform and a higher conference standard.”
Michael Errigo, a sophomore journalism major at the University of Maryland, is a contributing writer to umterps.com.
