Hey guys!

I just got back to my house from the Mount’s first home wrestling match.  The match was against Ohio Northern University, who we just wrestled last week at a dual tournament in Michigan.  We didn’t wrestle well last week; we fell to ONU 24-11. So we were lookin for a little revenge tonight.  I’m sad to say that we didn’t get a chance to take that revenge. We fell again tonight 22-16.

The overall match was a lot better tonight than last weekend.  Every wrestler on our team improved on some aspect of their match and I was impressed at how much heart was shown on the mat.  Guys who lost last week stepped it up and either won, or cut the matches to tighter scores. Guys that won last week also stepped up and won by greater margins, which helped keep the overall team score closer. 

For those of you who don’t know, team points are scored by how the winner wins a match. For example, a pin is worth 6 team points.  A win with a point margin of 15 or more is worth 5 team points. A margin of 8 points is worth 4 team points, and a margin of 7 or less is worth 3 team points. 

We only gave up one pin, which was made up by our 149 pounder who pinned his guy. But we only won 4 out of the 10 matches so we fell too far behind.

The match was a good experience; it’s always nice to wrestle at home.  We have two more home matches this season; hopefully they’ll have better outcomes than tonight.  And thanks to all of you that came to support us tonight! It was nice to see the stands as full as they were.

See ya!

>Eric M.

Hey everyone.  So I just wanted to give a little update on how the baseball team is doing these days.  We finished a productive fall season a few weeks ago, which is basically a months worth of practice, and just give the coaches an outlook of who is going to be on the team and who will play the majority of the time.

Now comes the hard part.  The winter months are the worst months for a baseball player.  Right now we are just lifting and conditioning three days a week.  Once we come back from fall break though, we will go straight into practice, and then what I like to call ultimate conditioning.  I'm actually really trying to bust my butt this year, because in past years I haven't dedicated myself in the offseason and it's just a lot harder to stay healthy when the season starts.  This is the hardest thing for me.  Baseball players naturally want to be where?  On the field, preferably outside.  Where are we?  In the gym, lifting weights and hitting off pitching machines.  The first day of spring when we actually get to go outside is the best day of the year, even if it's still freezing cold.  Anyway, being in shape is probably one of my biggest weaknesses as a baseball player right now.  I like to use the excuse that I have short legs, therefore I have to run further than the guys with long legs. 

Also, I would like to mention that the baseball team will be at the Motherhouse on December 6th to decorate for Christmas.  It's actually one of my favorite functions the team does.  We put up a bunch of Christmas trees and lights, and get to talk to all the sisters about what's going on with school.  Also, we receive a small payment of cookies and cider, which ironically will put me right back in the weight room to lose that weight.  Hope everyone is hanging in there as the semester gets close to the end.  See ya.

Hey guys!

For those of you who don’t know, Cincinnati recognizes daylight savings time.  This means that that a couple weeks ago, we all turned our clocks back an hour to allow for more light in the morning.  It was designed to save on energy for the workplace. But I have a problem with this.

This time of year is obviously wrestling season (my earlier blogs might have clued you in on that) and we have morning and afternoon practice.  Morning practice takes place early enough that I’m still driving in the dark to get to practice and afternoon practice takes place just late enough to be dark once again on my way home. The constant darkness starts to take its toll and get a tad depressing.  And all this on top of the stress of school, wrestling, family obligations, and a combination of all three.  School work is getting tougher, I need to make weight every week now, and the holidays draw a lot of work and time at home. 

But guess what? I have some tips on how I avoid getting stuck in the rut of depression caused by all this stuff.

First and foremost, in regards to wrestling and making weight, I watch what I eat very closely.  I’m nothing close to a doctor, so don’t take my word for anything, but the way I keep my diet helps my energy levels.  I take a B vitamin complex, which helps with the healthy maintenance of the nervous system among other things. I also take my protein shakes that help my muscles recover to keep my body from hurting too much more.  Bodily pain tends to weigh heavy on your mind and keep you from focusing.  I also take ice baths to help my muscles recover quicker as well. 

Along with the supplements, I keep my vegetable and protein intake high and sugar, sodium, and carbohydrate intake low. I don’t know how much this affects my mood, but it helps me make my weight.

In regards to the other factors, I make sure I go to every class (I have yet to skip a class this semester) so that way I don’t get buried in missed work or struggle to find the notes for the missed lectures.  This is hard to do. The last thing I want to do is wake up from a hard practice and get to class. But you gotta make yourself do it.  Speaking of waking up, sleep is vital! I try to get as much sleep as I can, which usually falls between 4 and 5 hours a night, which I know is too low.

Other helpful tips to keep energy levels up that I have found to be successful include a workout routine and chill time.  I’ve found a regular workout routine (as long as it’s not too intensive) increases my energy levels and happiness.  Chill time for me would include napping, watching a movie or two, and talking and hangin out with my girlfriend, Katelyn, and my teammates and friends.  Video games, meditating, listening to music, and other enjoyable activities tend to help as well.

Well I gotta try to increase my sleep time tonight! I hope this might help you cope with the long, cold, sometimes depressing winter months. Just remember, spring is just around the corner!

See ya!

> Eric M.

Hey guys!

It is officially wrestling season!  The team kicked off the season this past weekend at the Eastern Michigan University Open Tournament up in Ypsilanti, Michigan.  We took about 30 guys up to EMU on Saturday to compete with some very tough teams. Most teams in attendance were NCAA Division I teams.  As some of you know, the Mount is a NCAA Division III team, so competing against Div. I is pretty exciting.  Not many Div. III teams get to see that kind of competition. 

The day started off early, with weigh ins around 7 a.m. and wrestling beginning around 9. The tournament was broken into two divisions, the freshman sophomore division (comprised of freshman and sophomores), and the open division (everyone else).  Being a junior, I competed against the upper classmen, facing four Division I opponents, three of which were starters for their team.  I ended the day with two wins, taking out the Cleveland State starter and his backup. As a team, we faired pretty well considering the competition level we were facing. We ended the day with about 25 wins total, which is pretty good in my book! We had two champs in the freshman sophomore division, Dave Harris at 149 and Corey McGrady at 184.  Congrats to these two!

The day ended around 6 p.m. and we had a 4 hour bus ride back home. I am pretty happy with the trip.  It’s always nice to compete against some of the best athletes in the sport and know you can hang with them, that’s how well head coach Casey Stouffer trains us here at the Mount. 

If you’re interested in the stats of the tournament and how the season progresses from here, you can check out our info on the Mount’s website under athletics and I thank you for your support!

>Eric M.

Hey everyone.  As I flipped through the channels on my TV the past few days, about all I saw was news on the election.  Being informed, voting, and learning about politics and what's going on in the world is good.  Sometimes you just need to get away though.  When I do, I turn to sports.  Here is why.

Real life is hard.  I consider sports to be in the category of not real life, especially when you're not playing them.  I am talking about being a fan of your good old hometown teams.  I was at the Bengals game this past Sunday, and as many of you may know, we won our first game of the year.  People were chanting 8 and 8 and playoff bound and all that.  It's just amazing to see 60 thousand plus people at a sporting event when there is so much wrong with the world.  Why do we do it?  To get away from all that bad stuff.  That's why I do it at least.  I'm sure not dishing out big money to go to games because it's not a great escape for me.  All these people, at some level, probably care about what is going on in the world, in real life.  At some point though, you just gotta get away for a little bit.  It's like when Katrina hit New Orleans.  When the Saints came back and played their first game in the city, it was great.  People were able to forget about their hardships for a while and have something to cheer for.

I think that I probably need a little more time away from real life than most people.  I usually watch about 3 or 4 episodes of Sportscenter a day, an most of the time I already know exactly what happened.  The point is, when I need to clear my head for a little, I can always turn to the Bengals and the Reds.  They are both really, really bad teams right now, but fans never stop being fans when their team is down.  In the end, it's not all about winning and losing for real sports lovers.  It's about letting loose for a while, and enjoying a game before life comes back and punches you in the face.  See ya everyone.

I then made my way over to Midland Plaza where the competition was to take place.  I got there early and did some filming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qUVwbZfrVM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmh5sAgtZ_I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfetx1Aatgs

Upon hearing the news, I headed for the car.

Hey guys!

SO I lied about doing the Habitat for Humanity project last weekend. The plans fell through. BUT we did redeem ourselves as a respectable team by cleaning up the woods and walking trails around the part of campus known as Earth Connections which counted as community service hours.  The mission of Earth Connection is to explore ecology, demonstrate sustainability, and experience spirituality.  The team worked for four hours on Saturday to clean up the downed trees and other debris and decaying material that was left from the “hurricane” a few weeks ago.  It was a pretty cool experience where we got a lot of work done and got a little closer as a team. It’s also very gratifying to do some work without receiving any monetary compensation and doing it for the good of the community.  

Speaking of teams, the wrestling team will be hosting the Blue and Gold Showcase this Thursday, October 23 at 7:00p.m. in the Harrington Center.  This is an intersquad match, where we just wrestle our teammates to allow the school to get to know the team.  This should be pretty cool, there are about 15 matches scheduled and Coach Stouffer got us a spot light to hang from the ceiling of the gym to shine on the mat.  He’s going to turn off the rest of the lights in the gym and just leave the spotlight on. This should be pretty cool! If anyone is semi-interested in wrestling, or the Mount St. Joseph wrestling team, come out and support us Thursday night!

Hey guys!

I just got done with my intramural soccer game (we won putting us at 5-0 on the season!) and found out that wrestling practice is cancelled on Friday (the afternoon session) and Saturday because the team is planning on participating in Habitat for Humanity on Saturday. This is pretty exciting and I figured I’d let ya know.

First off, let me rewind and explain a few things.

The College of Mount St. Joseph has an organization called SAAC which is the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. The purpose of the SAAC is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity for all student-athletes; protecting student-athlete welfare; and fostering a positive student-athlete image, while maintaining the tenants of the Division III philosophy (information courtesy of the MSJ website).  This is my first year as a member of SAAC and it’s really a cool experience.  Last meeting, we talked about organizing involvement of the MSJ athletic teams with the Habitat for Humanity projects around the city.  I told Coach Stouffer about this and he decided to cancel practice for the weekend and get the wrestling team involved!

This is pretty exciting because Habitat for Humanity repairs and builds homes for underprivileged people so they have a safe and livable place to live.  Here at the Mount, community service plays a big role in our values and beliefs and there are a lot of opportunities to get involved and really make a difference in the community. I’m proud to have the opportunity to be a part of this and it should be a very valuable experience.

I’ll let you know how everything goes, and hopefully get some pictures to show you!

Take care!

>Eric M.

What’s up!

I haven’t really talked about it much yet this year so here it goes, I’m gonna tell ya guys about the MSJ wrestling team! As I’m sure some of you know, I am on the Mount St. Joseph wrestling team.  This will be my second year serving as captain and I guess it’s kinda my job to promote the team.  Or at least that’s my justification!

Last year we had a new head coach, Casey Stouffer, and it was sort of an experimental year in terms of scheduling and conditioning.  We had a few scheduling difficulties with matches being scheduled too close to each other that led to some of the team members getting burned out from losing weight too often and too quickly.  I think we all learned from that and the schedule is a little more spaced out this year.  This is a very good thing. I cut a lot of weight last year and there was one week where we had four weigh-ins in one week, and that killed me!

This year however, we have a lot of new freshman that should prove to be some tough competitors.  Last year, we ended the season with roughly 15 athletes.  This year, we have about 35 coming into the season.  We’ve had a few guys drop off the team after the first two weeks of two-a-day practices, but overall, I’m impressed with the work ethic and dedication of the majority of the freshman class.

Some things we are looking forward to are the Second Annual Takedown Clinic/Tournament we are hosting for high school wrestlers this Saturday, October 11 and our season opener at Eastern Michigan University, which is a Division I open tournament. That tournament is a good test of how good of shape we are in since we will be competing with some Division I and II athletes.  Last year, we won about 14 matches and had a few people place, and of course we are looking to do better this year.  And I don’t see that as being unreasonable at all!

We have a few home meets this year, which is a big improvement of the one that we had last year.  Our home opener is December 2 against Ohio Northern University at 7:00 pm, followed by our dual with Division I Purdue on December 21 at noon.  This is going to be a huge match! Not many Division III teams have a chance to dual a Division I team. We had the opportunity to dual Purdue last year at their home gym and we competed fairly well, so if you can, come to this meet and support the MSJ Maulers!  Then we close our home meets with a tri-meet with University of Indianapolis and Notre Dame College on February 10.

I’m sure I’ll be keeping you guys posted on how our season unfolds as it happens!

See ya!

>Eric M.