INSIDE
WRESTLING
BY ANNA POULTER-HENDRICKSON
@BADGERWRESTLING
SCHEDULE
COMING UP
Dec. 29-30 Midlands Championships
Evanston, Ill.
All Day
Midlands mark midway
point in Badgers' season
UW competing now to get ready for March
he first half of the season almost felt like a
preview, an appetizer
for the main course that yet
to come. In a way, it was just
that. The Badgers will wrestle
in the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands
Championships, Sunday-Monday, Dec. 29-30 at Welsh-Ryan
Arena in Evanston, Ill., marking the midway point of their
season.
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VARSITY December 26, 2013
The 8-3 Badgers have seven
bouts, six of which are Big Ten
Conference matchups, in 2014.
All before hosting the 2014
Big Ten Wrestling Championships March 8-9. This week's
Midlands competition is designed to prepare the team for
just that, March.
"You've got great guys from
all over the country coming in,"
said head coach Barry Davis of
the competition level at the Midlands. "A
lot of Big Ten guys as well too. It gives
guys a chance to wrestle a lot of ranked
guys, guys we won't see until March."
Wisconsin will use the competition
to better itself in the rankings, gain film
on opponents and learn to compete in a
large tournament setting.
"It is a chance to move up in the rankings, get film on guys," continued Davis.
It's a tough tournament, with good competition, again, it gives our guys a chance
to see some guys they won't see again
until March."
Not only will March bring the Big Ten
championships, but the sport's pinnacle
event, the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships, will be held March 20-22 in
Oklahoma City, Okla. Making March a
target all of the Badgers are eying.
SCHEDULE GETTING TOUGHER
● One look at the Badgers' upcoming
schedule might have fans running for
cover. No. 22 Wisconsin is scheduled
to wrestle five ranked teams, including No. 2 Minnesota in Minneapolis
(Jan. 12) and host No. 3 Iowa on Senior Day (Feb. 23). No. 9 Ohio State
(Jan. 9) and No. 8 Nebraska (Feb. 21)
highlight a tough home schedule for
UW, while No. 16 Northwestern (Jan.
26) will pose a tough road test.
GRAFF MOVING UP CAREER LIST
● Senior Tyler Graff's 112 wins are one
away from earning him a spot on the
career win record list, as Andy Rein
ranks 10th with 113 career victories.
