(Courtesy of Wes Gullet)

As the winter is approaching, so is the 2016-2017 college wrestling season. Practice for GC’s second-year wrestling program started on October 10th and there’s already been a lot of buzz around campus as the Pride get ready for their opening tournament on November 4th in Ithaca, NY.

The wrestling team is very excited about the additions of many high-profile freshmen as well as a Division 1 transfer, Tyler Haskin, who formerly attended University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. The Pride brought in high school state finalists Matthew Insogna, Zak Rainess and Conan Wilson and all-state wrestlers Dylan Cook, Tyron Dudley and Jeremiah Royer. The team is led by returning captains Kacee Hutchinson and Drew Chappell who were both out with injuries last season.

When asked about his outlook on the upcoming season, Hutchinson said, “I’m extremely optimistic about this year’s team. Even as a second-year program, we have very high goals as a team and I have very high goals for myself. My main goal is to win a national title.”

At the tournament in Ithaca, the Pride wrestlers will be facing many wrestlers from northern schools before heading to Davidson on November 10th in a dual match.

This article was written by Zack Neumeister.