Wrestling

Wrestling Gears for Home Opener
         After two-and-a-half months of competition, the SIUE wrestling team will finally get a chance to compete in front of the home crowd.
         Illinois, McKendree and William Penn will join SIUE for a quad meet Friday night at the Vadalabene Center. Action begins at 6 p.m.
         The Cougars will wrestle William Penn to begin the night, and then will face Illinois and McKendree. “All three teams will be tough,” Coach Booker Benford said. “There are no walk-overs at all in this event. We want to show people we can wrestle with the best in the country.”
         William Penn is an NCAA Division III squad out of Iowa. “We saw William Penn at the MacMurray Open, and they are a really tough team.” Benford said. “They also have a really deep team.”
         Illinois is perhaps the top team in the country in NCAA Division I. “Illinois is wrestling well,” Benford said. “If we wrestle the way we’ve been practicing, then I think we’ll be able to compete with them.”
         The Cougars topped McKendree 21-18 earlier this season at Belleville West High School, but Benford says McKendree is a different team now. “They have changed their lineup and is now stronger,” Benford said. “They have gotten some of their football players to bolster some of their higher weight classes.”
         SIUE is coming off the Roger Denker Open in which three wrestlers placed in their respective weight classes. Matt Oliva (Bartlett) placed third in the 165-pound division after wrestling to a 4-1 record. Brandon Lorek (Bensenville) placed fifth at 184 pounds after going 4-2. Sean Tyus (Springfield) wrestled to a 3-2 record in the 194-pound weight class, which was good for fifth place.
                  -siue cougars-