Wrestling Season ready to Go!

[ngineer]

My season tickets came today for Lehigh's wrestling season. The entire lower levels of Grace Hall are sold out. Wrestle offs are November 1. Last year almost 2000 turned out to watch. A special tailgate before this Saturday's football game with Yale will have lunch with the wrestlers and coaches outside Goodman Stadium. Good competitive home schedule, but only 8 duals. Rugged road schedule with back to backs at Okie State and Oklahoma.
Preseason polls have Okie State well above everyone else--same ol', same ol' Somebody has to bring those 'pokes back down to earth.

[chattanoogamocs]

We at mocfans are right there with ya ngineer!

Chattanooga, already a SoCon power (20 SoCon Tournament titles in 29 years), was thrust (back into) the national limelight with by head coach Terry Brands...Brands left to coach at the olympic center in Colorado Springs, but the Moc faithful and oldtimers wrestling club went out and raised the funds to get 9 time national champion head coach (2 x okie st, 7 time dII cal-state ful) Joe Seay.

...add in a coaching staff of Chris Bono, Sammie Henson (who both just returned from the World Championships...Seay is the U.S. team coach), Steve Hamilton, and Leonce Crump (all multiple All-Americans in their day) and a pre-season ranking of 22 (WIN Magazine) and the Mocs are ready to fight with the big boys!

Chattanooga Mocs....the premier wrestling program of the South!

(you got me fired up ngineer ;) )

[DotCat]

I wish Western Carolina had wrestling. Loved several years back when the basketball tourney was in Greensboro, they had the SoCon wrestling finals in the adjacent convention. It was a great weekend of basketball & wrestling.

[chattanoogamocs]

I miss the wrestling tournament being combined too...it was a great "championship weekend"...and gave mocfans even more reason to travel.

I would love to see wrestling finals at noon...women's basketball at 3:00...and men's basketball at 6:00...last couple of years, it would have given mocfans something to cheer for for about 8 straight hours :)

[ngineer]

We at mocfans are right there with ya ngineer!

Chattanooga, already a SoCon power (20 SoCon Tournament titles in 29 years), was thrust (back into) the national limelight with by head coach Terry Brands...Brands left to coach at the olympic center in Colorado Springs, but the Moc faithful and oldtimers wrestling club went out and raised the funds to get 9 time national champion head coach (2 x okie st, 7 time dII cal-state ful) Joe Seay.

...add in a coaching staff of Chris Bono, Sammie Henson (who both just returned from the World Championships...Seay is the U.S. team coach), Steve Hamilton, and Leonce Crump (all multiple All-Americans in their day) and a pre-season ranking of 22 (WIN Magazine) and the Mocs are ready to fight with the big boys!

Chattanooga Mocs....the premier wrestling program of the South!

(you got me fired up ngineer ;) )

Glad to hear. Are you guys going to be participating in the "Southern Brawl" or something titled like that in late December at UNC-Greensboro? Lehigh will be competing there this year, rather than the Midlands. Supposedly have a number of teams from all over coming in for that. Glad to see the southern teams helping the sport to rise back up. Good luck!

[chattanoogamocs]

....ah yes, the Southern Scuffle!

Coach Seay took over so late in the summer, most school already had their schedule done, so the dual meet schedule is pretty thin (lots and lots of tournament). They do have nationally ranked Missouri coming to Chattanooga (Mocs beat them last year) ....and next season Oklahoma State will be visiting town!

That is one great thing about having Seay as coach...he has been around so long, and coached with the national team so long, that he has coached most of the head coaches out there at one point or another...so when he asks for a home match, it is hard to say no to him (hey, whatever it takes ;) )

[ngineer]

....ah yes, the Southern Scuffle!

Coach Seay took over so late in the summer, most school already had their schedule done, so the dual meet schedule is pretty thin (lots and lots of tournament). They do have nationally ranked Missouri coming to Chattanooga (Mocs beat them last year) ....and next season Oklahoma State will be visiting town!

That is one great thing about having Seay as coach...he has been around so long, and coached with the national team so long, that he has coached most of the head coaches out there at one point or another...so when he asks for a home match, it is hard to say no to him (hey, whatever it takes ;) )

That's great. It really helps your program when you can get some of the 'heavyweights' to visit. Okie State came to Lehigh last year--over 5800 packed Stabler Arena--alltime attendance record. Yes, the Southern Scuffleis the name of the tourney. When you have a 'name' head coach it is alot easier to schedule due to his ability to 'network'. When Strobel took over our program he was able to beef up the non-conference schedule wit the philosophy that you want to wrestle the best in order to peak for the League and NCAA tourneys. "If you want to be a bullfighter, you have to fight some bulls"--Thad Turner, Lehigh Head Coach 1971-1988