There's a challenge somewhere in the trip the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team is making this weekend.
There also is a purpose. Coach Heath Eslinger always has a purpose.
"It's good to be able to go into the home state of one of our wrestlers, but of course the bottom line is to continue to get better," Eslinger said of the Mocs' participation in the Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas.
UTC will get in four meets today and Sunday, and 184-pounder Robert Prigmore's home is only about 20 minutes from the site.
The weekend competition is good preparation for a late-January road swing to Southern Conference opponents Campbell, Davidson and The Citadel before the national duals.
"Most everything this weekend is geared toward duals, and we're guaranteed matches for every kid," Eslinger said. "Too, any time you can go 4-0 in Division I wrestling is a good thing, and we have an opportunity to do that before next week when the important stuff starts."
The Mocs (4-3) will begin against Air Force (1-1) at 10 this morning, followed by Utah Valley (2-2), Brown (2-2) and Wayland Baptist (2-2).
"Air Force and Utah Valley will be pretty tough. Utah Valley beat Boise State last night," the coach said Friday.
The Mocs with the biggest challenges will be 149-pounders Kelly Felix and Dean Pavlou. Air Force's Coel VonOhlen is ranked third and Utah Valley's Josh Wilson is No. 8.
"We'll get both of them a match," Eslinger said.
UTC has never met any of these four opponents but has been to the Lone Star Duals previously. In Chris Bono's first year as head coach (2005-06), the Mocs took part and went 3-1 with a 19-18 win over 18th-ranked Wisconsin.
Ward Gossett is an assistant sports editor and writer for the Times Free Press. Ward has a long history in Chattanooga journalism. He actually wrote a bylined story for the Chattanooga News-Free Press as a third-grader. He Began working part-time there in 1968 and was hired full time in 1970. Ward now covers high school athletics, primarily football, wrestling and baseball and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling. Over a 40-year career, he has covered ...
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