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Show The Signpost Page 6 Wrestling Monday, September 12,2005 continued from page 5 "We've got to see the sport of wrestling continue in Utah. Not enough schools wrestle. These kids wrestle all through high school and then come to Weber and there is no program. It can be frustrating/' - Charlie Chandler, head wrestling coach something about when a kid goes through high school and wrestles and then he gets out and sees others still wrestling; it's like a fire builds inside of him and he wants to get back out on the mat. This is exactly what we see here today." Chris Adams, aWSU freshman, caught some of that fire today. "I wrestled in high school and recently took a twp-year break, but I want to get back into wrestling and see if I want to keep on the team," Adams said. Asaclubteam,W£Uwrestlinguseswordof-mouth, posters and fun for recruitment purposes, but more is necessary to provide a future here for wrestling. "We've got to see the sport of wrestling continue in Utah," Chandler said. "Not enough schools wrestle. These kids wrestle all through high school and then come to Weber and there is no program. It can be frustrating." Many challenges face the continued growth of wrestling. Along with financial support, individual athlete continuity and a lack of competitive meets all put a cramp in the growth of wrestling here atWSU. "The key to success with any club is continuity," Chandler said. "I think the money issue is secondary. There have been various attempts since the '80s to get wrestling back on track, but if the athletes don't stick around, you won't have that consistency and growth necessary." WSU wrestling has suffered in the past with an inability to provide challenging competitive meets. Other universities have wrestling teams but WSU met only with Utah State University last year. "We are going to have more tournaments this year," said Jason Holland, WSU Wrestling Club vice president. "We met with USU last year, but this year we will have more." The opportunity to measure success and be challenged will have a great impact on wrestling this year. "We have a total of four tournaments this year," Chandler said. "A combination of university and community teams to go against. It should be great. Most of all we want people to come and watch and to enjoy the sport." Cam Jones (right) lifts Joe Shannon (left) as he tries to take him down for the win at Friday's wrestling match in the sand. You can leave a message for reporter Olivia Luce by calling 626-7983. can p yoocs free, VJVUVU. Cew\ |