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Bronco wrestling looks to take program to next level
Matt Bedinger, Journalist
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CAMERON WIEMERSLAGE/ARBITER FILE PHOTO Broncos heavyweight senior Sam Zylstra works for inside position.
The Boise State wrestling team starts out this season ranked in the top 10 in various preseason polls. The team that sent nine individuals to nationals last year and broke a Pac-10 tournament scoring record looks to improve upon those number.
Expectations have may never been higher for the Broncos and head coach Greg Randall likes it that way.
“You just can’t believe you’re a top ten program,” Randall said. “That means you’ve got to believe you’re better than the top ten. You’re always trying to get better. We’ve been in the top ten before. We’ve been really close last year and right now it’s just not good enough especially with the talent we have here and how hard these guys have been working. If we finish tenth this year, you would probably consider it a failure.”
As always, Boise State will face tough competition in the Pac 10. This year, Randall believes his main two competitors will be Oregon State and Arizona State. Other than Pac 10 competition, the Broncos will take part in national duals on January 9-10 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The national duals should provide a good indicator of how much work the Broncos need to do in order to be well positioned when the NCAA Championships roll around in mid-March.
“If you look at the Pac 10, Oregon State’s going to be probably a solid second and Arizona State probably right behind them. Maybe Stanford and Cal Poly. You have to set your goals not just to win the Pac 10, but to dominate and possibly put ten guys in the finals and hopefully have ten champs,” Randall said. “Other dual meets, you’ve got to look at the national duals. Iowa, Iowa State, Cornell College, Ohio State, Minnesota, they’re all going to be there. That’s going to be a big tournament for us. It will probably set the stage for where we are as we head into the season.”
Individually speaking, Randall thinks there are three guys on this team that could compete for a national title.
“We’re looking at Andrew Hochstrasser, Adam Hall and Kirk Smith. They could all be in the finals. It’s going to be a tough road to get there but once you’re there, you never know what’s going to happen. Potentially, those guys could be in the finals this year; there’s no doubt in my mind. As the season goes along, we’ll see where they are,” Randall said.
Nationals are a long way off, and for that to happen, things will have to go smoothly for Hochstrasser, Hall and Smith.
“Stay healthy. That’s the main thing,” Randall emphasized. “I think last year we lost a few guys and maybe they weren’t 100 percent going into the NCAA tournament and I think that’s a big deal if you stay healthy throughout the year and not miss any training periods. If we can keep all of our guys healthy throughout the year, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
As for Randall’s expectations for the team, it’s the same story. His goal is to raise the program to another level and be considered among college wrestling’s elite by earning a top-four finish at the NCAA championships.
“We want to bring home a trophy. To do that, you have to be in the top four. If we go to the NCAA tournament and bring home a trophy, you could probably call it a pretty good year,” Randall said.
Boise State is 2-0 on the year so far and looks to continue its success Nov. 22. The Broncos will travel to Corvallis, Oregon to wrestle Oregon State University and the University of Wisconsin.
Interesting, never thought of it like that