11.1

SPORTS

Wrestlers use workouts to prepare for season

by Lawrence Shaw
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

After a 13-6 season last year, the members of the wrestling team are going through an intense preseason workout to get ready for the upcoming season, according to a member of the wrestling team.

“The practices here are very intense. We literally have one of the toughest practices in all of New England.

“We are very mean to each other. When we go to tournaments, we are 10 times better than the other teams,” said Team Captain Patrick Howard, 20, a junior criminal justice major from South Berwick, Maine.

The team’s preseason practices consist of weight training and running.

Like all of Norwich’s varsity athletics, the preseason training is run by Justin Goulet, the strength and conditioning coach.

“Preseason starts two weeks into the school year,” said Rich Hasenfus, head coach of the Norwich wrestling team.

Even though the team didn’t start preseason until two weeks into the academic year, “Everyone starts working out as soon as they step foot on campus,” Howard said.

Called “captain’s practice,” the total preseason workout lasts for two months.

When the season starts, the team practices three times a week for about two or three hours a day.

Part of the preseason training is going for a 7.2 mile run from the campus to Interstate 89 and back.

Another workout the team does almost weekly is to run up the face of Payne Mountain.

The wrestling team had three wrestlers graduate. This year, 19 new wrestlers are joining the team.

Both Howard and Hasenfus expect 110 percent commitment all the time. This commitment has been shown by their success last season. They are ranked 5th in New England and 13th in the country.

This commitment continues into the classroom, too.

“Two years ago, we were second in the conference in team G.P.A. The average G.P.A was a 2.91,” Hasenfus said.

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