Sam Houston State University's club wrestling team were in for quite a surprise this past weekend when they placed second in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Texas Collegiate Championships. Even more shocking was that they took second with only six competitors, having five from the team place in their respective weight divisions.
"[We] had only five guys competing that counted towards points" said SHSU Club Wrestling President E.J. Miranda, in an e-mail to the Houstonian, "so it was very impressive when defeating teams that brought in full squads of 12."
In the NCWA Championships, the University of Texas at Austin placed first with 46 points, SHSU placed second with 44 points, and defending state champions University of Texas at Arlington placed third with 42 points.
The success of the team is due in great part to the talent of the wrestlers, and to their staff as well.
"We hired strength and conditioning coach Joseph Anderson. His conditioning that he's provided for us is a great help," Miranda said. "Head coach A.J. Rivera graduated from SHSU this past December, and comes on the weekend to help us out. He's a great coach and very steady with us. Melanie Floyd is a freshman at SHSU, and she is our manager. She helps get paper work done and she's very supportive."
This upcoming weekend, the wrestling team will head to Baton Rouge, La. to compete in NCWA Southwestern Regional Championships.
"It will be the six from the last tournament, including our coaches," Miranda said. "The top two go on to nationals."
Regarding nationals, Miranda said, "We have a pretty good shot. Teams from Kansas and Louisiana can be a very tough obstacle, but based on this tournament, we have very high hopes.
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