Wrestlers hope new recruits bring success

Time to uncage the beast. After a couple of months of grueling practices and conditioning, Penn's wrestling team is eager to put its mettle to the test as the 1993-94 season is set to begin. With a clean slate and hopes of a breakthrough into the Division I Top 20, the Quakers travel to Bloomsburg tomorrow to compete in the seven-team invitational tournament. The team believes that this can be the year that Penn joins the wrestling elite; its lineup is impressive as is this year's recruiting class – which was ranked as high as 15th by national wrestling publication Center Mat. "We're very excited right now," senior tri-captain Gary Baker said. "We've been working very hard since day one of school and are ready to start competing." By competing in the tough Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), the Quakers will certainly have their work cut out for them as they seek to build on last season's 12-6-1 overall record. The division includes the Ivy League, as well as traditionally strong Lehigh, Army, Navy, Syracuse and Rutgers. Penn did fare well at the Eastern Championships last season, as the young team placed six of 10 wrestlers. "This is an important tournament for us," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "I think we're in a position to make a run for the title this year. Our goal is to break into the Top 20." This could be the year. The Ivy League has been steadily improving over the past five seasons, illustrated best by the placing of three Ivy teams in the top five of the EIWA last season – Cornell first, Brown second and Penn fifth. This is significant because they beat out Army and Syracuse, schools who have been consistent powers in Eastern wrestling. Coach Reina, along with assistant coaches Dan Chaid, Mike Friedman and John Hamrick, have a lot to work with en route to a possible Ivy League title. The Quakers are led by tri-captains Shawn Heinrichs, Brian Butler, and Baker, who lead on and off of the mat. Their consistent excellence, along with junior Roger London and senior Gonz Medina's performances, and the infusion of Penn's heralded youth movement should provide the team with a solid core. Baker, a 118-pound senior, was an Eastern finalist and NCAA qualifier in his first varsity season, second team all-Ivy in 1992, and is expected to contend for all-America honors. Heinrichs, also a senior, is now fully recovered from a season-ending injury to his nose, and has reclaimed his spot as Penn's top 142-pounder. He was enjoying an extremely successful season, placing in the Midlands Championships, before he sustained his injury. Butler, a junior, was second team all-Ivy and an Eastern placewinner last year, and was selected to the Amateur Wrestling News freshman all-star team in 1992. Butler has won 20 or more matches the past two years at 190 pounds, and looks to be one of the Quakers' top competitors once again. Heading Penn's recruiting class is Brandon Slay, a freshman out of Amarillo, Texas. Slay is expected to wrestle at 167 pounds. He was a four-time Junior National All-American, a National High School All-American, and a three-time World Placewinner. Slay is expected to make an immediate impact in the EIWA, and will have company from fellow superfrosh Josh Bailer, who was also a high school all-American. "We have a great recruiting class, and they've been showing a real positive attitude so far," London said. "As long as we keep our work ethic up, everything will fall into place." The Quakers get their first shot tomorrow at the Bloomsburg Invitational, where Penn has finished second in the tournament the past two years. They will be competing against the likes of Duke, Franklin & Marshall, Virginia Military, Millersville, Drexel, and of course Bloomsburg. As a result of last season's success in the EIWA, Penn has been invited to compete in the elite Virginia Duals in early January – a sign of Penn's increasing respect in the national wrestling scene. Starting tomorrow it's no longer practice for the Quakers, as they've got to let it all hang out. The cage has been opened and it's now up to Penn to prove whether or not they belong among the best in the nation.