Wrestling

Cougars Prepare for Road Duals
         (EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Fresh off a solid showing at the Missouri Open, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's wrestling team will take a short break from tournament action when it travels to Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday for dual matches with Indiana and Manchester.
         "Indiana is always tough," Coach Booker Benford said. "We want to be able to wrestle them hard. It will be tough to win, but I think we can compete. Manchester is a Division III school that is tough."
         The Cougars, who defeated McKendree earlier this season in its only other dual, had three wrestlers place at last Saturday's Missouri Open.
         Joe Rujawitz (Belleville) was the 149-pound champion in the freshman-sophomore division of the Missouri Open, which was hosted by the University of Missouri. Rujawitz cruised through the bracket claiming five consecutive victories, all by decision, in improving his season record to 12-1.
         "Joe wrestled tough in every match," Benford said. "He finished strong in his matches, especially in the finals."
         Steve Chico (Hammond, Ind.) pinned three of his opponents en route to a fifth-place finish in the 125-pound bracket of the freshman-sophomore division. His pin of Ben Jackson in 0:11 seconds was two seconds off the school record for the fastest pin by a Cougar.
         "Steve had a really good tournament," Benford said. "He is a dangerous wrestler, and we like that he has the capacity to pin opponents."
         Sean Tyus (Springfield) also was a fifth-place finisher in the freshman-sophomore division. Tyus posted a 3-2 record in the tournament at 197 pounds. A redshirt last season, Tyus is 5-4 so far this season.
         "Sean is a good athlete," Benford said. "He's been out of wrestling for a while, and this year will be good for him to get a full season under his belt. It is great to have a guy like him as a freshman."
                  -siue cougars-