nkraus

OTHER COLLEGE WRESTLERS PLEASE PARTICIPATE I am going to make this a short blog with a little background info of what has happened the last few years. First of all, the reason I chose to wrestle in high school is simple. In basketball the coach decided how much playing time I got. In wrestling I decided my own mat time. My high school career involved a lot of ups and downs. I started off as a freshman with a losing record. My sophomore year I started to gain confidence and had a decent year. Both my freshman and sophomore years ended at the LaPorte Regional. My junior year was the turning point in my career. My father, who was my biggest fan passed away and I had some trouble dealing with this. I turned my junior year into a decent year, but it ended at the Merrillville Semi-State. My senior year I finally broke through and placed 3rd in state at 171 pounds. On to college... I had a few division 3 schools contact me about wrestling. I also had William-Penn, an NAIA school, recruit me. Tri-State (Currently Trine) was close to home and had a new wrestling program. I went on a visit to Trine and I really liked the school and the small town atmosphere. Since I attended New Prairie High School, which was a small farming town, Trine seemed like it would make for an easy adjustment. My freshman year @ Tri State (Trine) we wrestled a very competitive schedule. We were not eligible for the NCAA tournament because we were on our probationary period(new schools go through this before they are NCAA eligible) I compiled a record of 26-15 and learned a lot about myself. I was the most stubborn person there was on and off the mat. I finally started to wrestle with more technique rather than trying to "out funk" everybody. Sophomore year @ Tri-State (Trine) WE ARE REGIONAL ELIGIBLE. Our team had a dual against the Wisconsin Badgers. We lost! BUTTTT...I beat Matt Maciag, who was a D1 national qualifier the year before by a 7-6 decision. This was a great feeling. Then I learned it's not a good thing to get a big head! I had a bit of a sophomore slump for a while. I made it to the regional finals and lost to the eventual 4th place finisher in D3. I finished 28-10. Junior year @ TRINE (PRESENT) This year has been a successful year on the mat. This year I have started to realize that WRESTLING IS A TEAM SPORT!!! Yes, when you are on the mat it is just you and your opponent, but I would like to know a wrestler who has gotten better by himself. All successful wrestlers need good practice partners. Without great partners, it is hard to be a successful wrestler. Currently I am 26-3 and the regional is this weekend. I am looking forward to the regional and I am hoping the hard work has paid off and that I can advance to the national tournament. The most important thing I have learned since being in college is this: Wrestling is not a right, it is a privilege. I am lucky to come from a high school that had wrestling. I also have learned a lot of life lessons from wrestling. When I am having a bad day, going to wrestling practice can be miserable, or it can be what I make of it. I prefer to make wrestling practice a get-a-way. I also feel that if a wrestler can make it through a season of practices and meets, then he should never be late to his job. As Dan Gable said, "Once you have wrestled, everything else in life is easy."

215 is a good example...# 3 keigley and #2 cleveland were both in the laporte regional...cleveland wins the finals 7-3 ...at semi-state #3 keigley vs. #4 lentz in the ticket round...lentz wins 8-7 and then defeats cleveland in the semi state championship...my point is that no matter which way it went, either the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th ranked kid was not going to make it to state based on not having wrestle backs...unfortunately for Keigley he was the wrestler who did not advance...

well, i hope you represent us indiana boys well!!! good luck, take care of business!!!

so, how are you doing nick? chance at nationals?

merrillville no doubt

it is great, but i know many instances where a program may say to a kid..."we'll give you a partial" ...sometimes that partial is just paying for books or maybe a dorm...a wrestler could still pick the school of his choice and pay nearly the same (fafsa, grants, and other scholarship opportunities) School is supposed to pay for itself...in a way...no matter which school a student attends, he or she will be in debt(most instances) NOTE: if you are a d1 wrestler and have the opportunities and the school fits you, then go for it!!! i am not knocking wrestling at any level! my main point is that it is VERY hard to get a half/full d1 scholarship...if u are getting those opportunities then fantastic, but if u are going to a d1 program with little scholarship money, it may be worth your while to look at some other schools

the bellmont team ...jk, i always tease john sheets about this

regardless of state champ or not...i noticed something that "oscar" posted on the college forum...it was about augsburg vs. wartburg...two d3 powerhouses...potential college wrestlers need to watch that video...these are two d3 programs that could hang with many of top d1 teams and therefore beat many d1 teams...example delaware valley ranked 3rd in d3...their record against d1 schools this year is 3 wins to 0 losses...yes, it was davidson, delaware state, and east stroudsburg, but still nonetheless these are d1 schools... many wrestlers that go on to college and "wrestle" d1 are not getting much d1 mat time, unless it is at opens ... some kids go to wrestle d1 and never get the time to wrestle like they could possibly get at a d2 or d3 school...Why are kid choosing to go d1 ? notoriety? rather than go to a school that makes sense for them... first of all wrestlers need to go to schools for the right reasons...they are STUDENTS first...wrestling is not a right it is a privilege...i just hope that more kids realize what they are going to school for...that being said..GOOD LUCK to all of the wrestlers moving on to the next level!!!

19-19 tie my prediction

it's ok, But i couldn't let harvey get all the spotlight from trine!!! j/k lol, but honestly harvey has been a man on a mission the last two weeks...he has beaten 2 top 15 kids in the country along with avenging his loss to uindy ...also he finished ahead of the #6 guy in the country this weekend

u can add a 6th wrestler from indiana...i placed 2nd at 174 nick kraus /trine/new prairie

i'd like to put the chip on his shoulder, but phone calls only get you so far...i won't see him again until after state...our schedule @ trine is jam packed!

I hate to agree with combat speed lol, but keigley DOES need to improve the gas tank ... BUT i will say that he is capable of upsetting anybody...that being said, i won't call keigley beating anybody an upset...he is one of the strongest wrestlers i have seen in high school...if keigley improves his stamina i see him placing in the top 5...if keigley gets a chip on his shoulder, i could see him winning it!!! cleveland, keigley, baker, and lentz are all very tough wrestlers though and all of them are capable of winning the title...it should be an exciting weight class!

yes, many wrestlers from indy have wrestled trine/"tri-state" wrestlers over the past few years and even this year...this will be the first dual between the teams though.

Tuesday, January 20th @ TRINE starting at 7 pm EST!!! A TON of former Indiana studs! projected line ups 125: Jimmy Nichols UINDY v. Brandon Harvey TRINE 133: Ethan Harris UINDY v. Thomas Pompei TRINE 141: Matt Irwin UINDY v. Bryan Wight TRINE 149: Lopez UINDY v. Kyle Pittman TRINE 157: Cory Fornal UINDY v. George Markou TRINE 165: Blackwell/Flynn UINDY v. Kyle Long TRINE 174: JT Jenkins/ Smith UINDY v. Nick Kraus TRINE 184: ? v. Louis Posa TRINE 197: Sam Johnson UINDY v. Alex Fleet TRINE 285: Panko UINDY v. ?