When coaches gather Friday evening to set the seeds for Saturday's Southern Conference wrestling tournament, it's unlikely that Niko Brown will be seeded No. 1.
Staff Photo by Jenna Walker/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Jake Young, left, grabs Niko Brown, right, during wrestling practice Tuesday at the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga. UTC's wrestling team is attending the Southern Conference Wrestling Tournament on Saturday in Boone, N.C.That's fine by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's 197-pounder. He can't help but think about last year's tournament when he was 11-15 overall but the league's top seed because of his 4-0 conference record.
"I don't ever work out without thinking about it," he said. "I guess I got the big head because I was the No. 1 seed and thought I'd run through [the tournament]. I was up 4-1 in my first match and let the guy go. He got a cradle and pinned me. I broke. I could've come back and at least finished third. I didn't. I let the team down."
Brown is better for the experience, however. He has leaped to an 18-8 record and a 4-1 mark in conference matches this season.
"He is probably the most improved kid on the team," Mocs coach Heath Eslinger said. "He has been a lot more consistent in his matches, and that consistency has translated into a lot more wins. He's wrestling with a lot more confidence, which is the absolute key to success at this level."
Brown is a likely No. 2 seed behind UNC Greensboro's Caylor Williams when the tournament begins at 11 a.m. in Boone, N.C.
The Mocs sophomore pinned Williams earlier in the season (2:24 at the Hokie Open in Virginia in November) but lost to Williams 7-3 in the teams' dual meet last month.
"We might have cost him that match," UTC assistant coach Josh Lambrecht said. "In order to win the meet, we couldn't give up a tech fall or a pin in his match. We had him wrestling in a defensive mode, and it didn't really allow him to do the things he really likes to do."
UTC won the dual meet 20-18 and followed the next day with a 27-10 win at Appalachian State that included a 14-5 major decision from Brown.
Coming out of a championship program at Osceola, Fla., where he also played football and ran cross country, Brown was used to high expectations. He has had to adjust his lifestyle in all areas, though, including life away from home, academic performance and wrestling prowess.
"He understands that we want him to be a great individual, and we are firm believers that [a solid citizen lifestyle] will carry over into his wrestling," Eslinger said. "He has improved greatly in a lot of areas, and therefore his record has improved dramatically."
It took a while for Brown, like many in their first college year, to realize there were adjustments to make.
"It was being away from my parents and not having somebody telling me what to do, not having a curfew and then the grades," he said. "I never really studied in high school. In college you have to pay attention. I know now what I want to do - become a U.S. marshal - and I want to get my grades [from a 2.5 GPA] up to a 3.0 at least."
There haven't been many changes that the UTC staff has demanded. They weren't really necessary.
"Maturity is a big change," Lambrecht said. "Niko has started to realize his strengths and what areas he needs to be putting his opponents in. He understands where he is good. and he works to stay in his areas of advantage."
Brown was fairly established as the 197-pound starter when Eslinger and his staff before the 2009-10 season.
"There were thoughts of [now departed] Ethan Winel dropping down, but we quickly saw that Ethan was probably going to stay up," Lambrecht said. "Niko has done a great job and he was the starter for us from day one.
"He trains hard. He pushes the rest of the upper-weight guys when it comes to running. He doesn't say much but he motivates the others," Lambrecht added. "Pound for pound, he is our strongest wrestler, and he does a phenomenal job in all areas of training. He has been our most improved wrestler."
n UTC senior Cody Cleveland (141), junior Brandon Wright (174) and sophomore Josh Condon (157) were named Tuesday to the all-conference team. Levi Clemons (174) and Shawn Greevy (141) made the all-freshman team.