Wrestling

SIUE Faces Duals at Illinois/Purdue
         The SIUE wrestling team begins a busy week of competition with dual meets in Jacksonville against Illinois College and MacMurray College.
         The triangular meet begins at 6 p.m.
         The Cougars, 1-0, then travels to No. 9-ranked Illinois on Saturday and will participate in the Purdue Duals on Sunday.
         “These will be tough duals,” said Coach Booker Benford. “Illinois and Purdue are loaded and are both nationally ranked. I’m looking for the guys to wrestle hard for seven minutes and to not give up.”
         Purdue is ranked No. 15 nationally in Division I.
         The Cougars are coming off an impressive showing at last week’s Northern Iowa Open. Aaron Weins (Cicero) placed in the top eight in the heavyweight division. Zach Stephens (St. Charles, Mo.) wrestled to a top 12 finish as a 174-pounder.
         “The Northern Iowa Open went real well,” Benford said. “The guys just being there will really help them in the future. Everyone got a great deal of experience from the tournament.”
                  -siue cougars-