The Augustana Observer sat down with junior men’s wrestling team member Trace Timmons to talk about his and the team’s goals for the season.
1. Who do you think will be your toughest opponent?
“Central college because they have a lot of ranked wrestlers. We are playing them on Dec. 1 at home.”
2. What are some goals you have for yourself? Your team?
“My goal is to be an All-American, and my team goal is to have a positive record.”
3. Is it hard being a winter sport because of all the breaks we have this term?
“We have to stay here fall, winter and spring breaks. We only get to go home for a couple of days for Christmas and we get a few days at Thanksgiving, but otherwise we are here on campus.”
4. What does a normal day of practice look like for your team?
“We start out with warm-ups and stretching. Then our coach may talk to us about how our last competition went. We then do some drills and light technique followed by some hard live wrestling. We always end with sprints.”
5. What is your favorite part of wrestling?
“Just being in an environment where everyone likes to work as hard as you.”
6. How would you describe your team? Your coach?
“Our team is very motivated and is always looking to improve. Our coach is also very motivated and never lets us settle. He is always helping us through everything.”
7. What is one thing you wish the rest of the Augie community knew about your team?
“That it’s not just about wrestling. Its also about the weight cutting, the running and the lifting.”
8. What does being on this team mean to you?
“The team is like a family. We always have each others backs and we are very close knit.”
9. You have had a very strong start to your season. What do you attribute to this success and how are you hoping to build on it?
“I changed up my style from last year. I was very tentative and I didn’t shoot much. I was very defensive, but this year I have a very aggressive attitude, am all offensive and I am always looking to score. That was just really an attitude adjustment I knew I had to make in order to be successful.”