HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College wrestling team, under the direction of first-year head coach Mike Baxter and assistant coach Angelo Bortoluzzi, is ready to begin a new era. The Cobras will open up their season on Nov. 5 at the UNCP Braves Classic.
A Quick Look Back
The Cobras are coming off a successful season where they finished with a 14-3 overall record that included a 4-2 mark in the ECAC. In addition, history was made when Austin Akins became Coker's first wrestling All-American with a fourth place finish at 285 pounds in the Division II Wrestling National Championships.
2016 Season Outlook
The Cobras sport a well-balanced roster this year with 21 wrestlers from last season and 20 newcomers.
"We're going to rely heavily on our seniors", said Baxter. "This is the first group of seniors that have gone through the program as freshman to seniors, so they helped build this program."
The seniors will play a large role in the success of the Cobras season this year, but the newcomers could make some noise as well. "We have a group of freshman that are pushing the seniors and working hard", stated Baxter.
Coker is slated tenth in the opening Super Region II rankings with six individual wrestlers ranked in the top eight in their respective weight classes.
Individual Coker grapplers ranked in Super Region II include Resean McArthur (141, 8th), Curtis Harris (149, 8th), Jordon Tague (157, 6th), Rashad Cunningham (165, 4th), Jamal Lackey (174, 5th), and Robert Parland (197, 6th). The complete Super Region II rankings can be found here.
Tague is coming off a successful freshman campaign where he won the UNC Pembroke Open and was named ECAC DII Rookie Wrestler of the Month for November.
After using a redshirt year last season, Robert Parland looks to pick up where he left off during his 2014-15 campaign when he collected a team-high 22 wins and was ranked as high as No. 3 in Super Region II.
In addition, Coker Wrestling was picked to finish second in the ECAC with 34 points in the preseason poll. The full press release for the ECAC preseason poll can be found here.
What to Watch For
As mentioned, the Cobras will open up their season on Nov. 5 at the UNCP Braves Classic before taking on The Citadel, a Division I opponent on No. 9.
Next, the Cobras will travel to the University of Indianapolis to compete in the prestigious Midwest Classic on Dec. 17. "The Midwest Classic always has a bunch of tough Division II competition", said Baxter. "That will be a good gauge for where we are as a program and where we need to get."
Coker will open up ECAC duals action on Dec. 7 against Belmont Abbey at home and will travel to ECAC preseason favorite Newberry on Feb. 13 for a pivotal match.
"The ECAC duals are always important to us", stated Baxter. "Those are the duals that are always starred on our schedule".
To view the full interview with head coach Mike Baxter, click here.