Jeff Rufolo was having second thoughts Friday, second-guessing his commitment to Heath Eslinger, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s wrestling coach, to compete in today’s alumni match.
“He asked if I wanted to do it, and I said sure. If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t be doing it,” said Rufolo, a three-time Southern Conference champion who now is a lawyer in the firm of Summers and Wyatt.
The meet, the first of its kind since 1995, begins at 10 a.m. at Maclellan Gym. Admission is $5.
“I’m really clueless on what to expect,” Eslinger said. “Our goal for this meet is to have some fun, sure, but it really has more to do with tradition. We have worked hard at reconnecting alumni to the program, and this meet is another step in that direction. We want it to be a whole day for them that starts with Chattanooga wrestling and ends with Chattanooga football with a whole lot of fun in between.”
Joe Waddell will be the oldest competitor on the floor. Waddell (1977-80) might receive a little mercy from his opponent – his son Dan, a former NCAA qualifier (157) who redshirted last year.
Other alumni competitors include Ben Reichel, Josh and Michael Keefe, Bryan Flint and Josh Ward.
Rufolo, who would confirm only that he was in his 40s, tried to explain his decision to compete.
“Beyond not giving it a serious thought, Heath said I could wrestle my old weight class. I thought he meant my freshman year in high school. If I could wrestle 125 now, I would feel more confident,” he said.
When asked if he was ready for what was coming today, Rufolo replied, “Probably not. I thought about training for a month, but then I figured why train for a month and be sore for a month rather than just wrestle and be sore for a day or two.”
Reichel is the head coach at Red Bank, and he’ll be competing against 133-pounder Cody Hood.
“In my first match as coach at Red Bank, Cody [of Ooltewah] was wrestling Tony Tolbert,” Reichel said. “He actually went up a weight class or two to wrestle Tolbert. It was a close match that Tolbert won 3-2. You could tell Hood wasn’t used to losing.”
A three-time conference champion for the Mocs, Reichel has competed in one other alumni meet. He didn’t say if he won or lost, only that he had an accident.
“I [got sick] on somebody’s shirt,” he recalled.
Alumni Match matchups
Adrian Tramutola (1999-2000) vs. sophomore Prescott Garner
Ben Reichel (1985-89) vs. sophomore Cody Hood
Adam Raines (2003-06) vs. freshman Devante Brown
Chris Light (1996-2000) vs. sophomore Dean Pavlou
Josh Keefe (2003-07) vs. sophomore Alex Hudson
Jacob Harris (2003-05) vs. junior Kelly Felix
Michael Keefe (2003-07) vs. sophomore Josh Condon
Joe Waddell (1977-80) vs. junior Dan Waddell
John Cofer (2004-07) vs. junior Brandon Wright
Daryk Cochran vs. freshman Sam Kuntz
Jeff Rufolo (1984-87) vs. junior Jason McCroskey
Bryan Flint (1989-91) vs. sophomore Robert Prigmore
Josh Ward (2003-05) vs. sophomore Niko Brown
Kevin Baltz (1997-2000) vs. senior Matt Lettner