Editor’s Note: For this series, the writers chose a Recreation Services club sport and attended practices with the teams. The stories are based off of their experiences.

The warriors run in a tight circle.

 

Yelling with might, announcers call forth two challengers to break from the ring and meet in the middle. One of those challengers is you.

 

Adrenaline begins to course through your body as you enter the self-made arena. Crouching down, you assume your stance and shake hands with your opponent. Your knees are shaking and your palms are sweating, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. The fight is on.

It’s only the first practice.

This is the Syracuse University wrestling club, which meets Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at Archbold Gymnasium. They are the remnants of the once honored SU wrestling team. A team that, before being cut from the SU athletics program via Title IX in 2001, once boasted seven national championships and five Olympic team wrestlers. Club co-captain Derek Weed said the team was rumored to once practice, sleep and practically live in its Manley Field House wrestling room. They carried the moniker of ultimate warriors.

 

Now almost a decade later, the wrestling club keeps its sweat-stained history alive with each push-up and well-timed takedown. And you better pray to God you’re ready for it. Through their tireless work ethic and profound knowledge of the sport, they will make a warrior out of anyone. Your back will ache and your ego will be bruised, but if you toughen up, you will be rewarded with the thrill of success.

 

‘Everyone starts somewhere, and we want someone to get that first victory,’ said Connor Policastro, a sophomore pre-med student and biology major, who is also the club’s co-captain. ‘You have to experience it for yourself, to know you have conquered.’

 

The wrestling club will break you. As the air was forced out of my lungs from a 220-pound wrestler’s botched body slam, that much became apparent. But Weed, a senior chemical engineering major, said picking yourself back up from the physical and mental pain is what ‘makes a strong and mentally sound’ SU wrestler.

 

‘Most of those kids who break realize they’re getting better from it and come back,’ Weed said.

 

If it sounds tough, that’s because it is. Wrestling three opponents in a row for three minutes apiece, your joints ache and your veins feel like they’ve been filled with cement. But the club members need to be tough for the competition ahead. Weed said the team’s competition ranges from other university wrestling clubs to actual Division I teams.

 

Weed doesn’t like it when his wrestlers cut corners. If he sees club members not giving it their all, he will call them out. The more they sweat, the more he applauds them.

 

‘My favorite part about wrestling is getting a good sweat on,’ Weed said.

 

Weed’s least favorite part, however, is the hassle of transporting wrestlers to matches and organizing the group with limited resources.

 

Sharing a small space in the basement of Archbold with a myriad of other clubs, the wrestlers make the best of what they have. Laying mats out over a hard floor, they not only transform the room into a battlefield, but a place of learning, as well. Students without prior knowledge, such as myself, are welcome.

 

Without a coach, the captains become the instructors. If wrestlers are not getting the hang of one particular move, a captain will stick with them until they fully comprehend it.

 

‘We’re here for people who want to learn, for people who already know, for people who want to refine their skills,’ Policastro said.

 

Since they are not an official university team, the club captains cannot force members to attend practice. Members are responsible for what and how much they learn. Some wrestlers will come and go, but the ones who leave will never become warriors.

 

It’s about the effort put into it. All it takes to impress a captain is to give your best effort, and then give a little bit more. Forget the pain, ignore the fatigue and just keep fighting.

 

‘We’re here not to make you do anything,’ Policastro said. ‘When someone’s not telling you that you have to come back and dragging you here, that’s when it’s on you.  It’s your own determination.’

 

That determination extends beyond the wrestling mats. Just because practice is over does not mean the wrestling club has stopped. They’re always training. The club plans to hold team runs and lifts on the days it doesn’t have practice. Taking that extra physical step makes a true warrior.

 

Mental steps don’t hurt, either. Concentration is key. You will understand this once you’re pinned to the ground, wishing you could remember how to escape. But don’t let that stop you.

 

‘When you’re in a match, the (opponent) is not there to be your friend. It’s somebody who’s trying to embarrass you in front of a crowd of people,’ Policastro said. ‘It’s not a game, it’s a fight.’

ansteinb@syr.edu

Published on September 22, 2010 at 12:00 pm