Fresh off an 18th place finish in the NCAA tournament, the Cal Poly wrestling team is back with its sights set on a Pac-10 championship. Of the 10 spots in the starting lineup, seven wrestlers rank in the top-25 in the country including one All-American.
Junior All-American Boris Novachkov, who is ranked No. 4 in the country at 141 pounds, said his goal is to win nationals.
“I’ve had a taste of it, I took seventh,” Boris Novachkov said. “I’m just trying to climb that ladder.”
Boris’ big brother Filip, who is ranked 10th and will compete at 131 pounds, will be at his side all season.
“My brother is definitely one of my best workout partners, if not the best,” Filip Novachkov said. “I drill with my brother everyday. He’s one of the toughest people that I’ve ever wrestled. It’s definitely good for both of us.”
Ryan Smith, a junior who will wrestle at 197 pounds, said there is a reason why the team has such high goals.
“(My goal is) to be a National Champion,” Smith said. “You’ve got to set your goals high so if you fall short you are still hitting All-American.”
An added dimension to the team is the addition of two transfers, senior Barrett Abel from UC Davis, which cut the wrestling program last spring, and redshirt sophomore Atticus Disney from Minnesota. Both wrestlers found themselves in the preseason top-25 after changing schools.
Even though the addition of transfers did not change the dynamic of the team they are “a lot better than last year,” Filip Novachkov said.
A sign of that improvement was visible on Saturday as Disney and Abel won their first matches as Mustangs in a dual meet against Cal State Fullerton.
Disney did not waste time against Kurt Klimek, who was ranked ahead of the Mustang heavyweight. Disney found an opening in the first 15 seconds and stepped into a head throw, taking his opponent straight to his back. After a brief struggle, Disney got the pin to end the dual.
“It went well, what more can you say?” Disney said. “First collegiate match ever, so it was fun to come out and get a pin in front of all these people.”
Disney’s pin solidified the Mustang’s 36-14 win over Fullerton, as Cal Poly won seven of the 10 matches.
The Mustangs will wrestle at home three more times while students are in school, but an important match takes place against Wyoming in Mott Gym on Jan. 14. The contest is the first in a series of three tough matches as the team travels to Oregon State and Boise State, which is ranked No. 2 as a team, the following week.
Another change from last year is the head coaching position as Mark Perry, an assistant from last season, now accompanies John Azevedo as co-head coach. Perry, who won two individual national titles at the University of Iowa in 2007 and 2008, said in his eyes, Azevedo is still the head coach.
“He is modeling me the way he feels appropriate and after this season I’ll take over,” Perry said.
Perry’s recent experience as a nationally recognized collegiate wrestler may prove pivotal in helping the Novachkovs toward championships of their own.
“I think there’s some things they can learn from me,” Perry said. “The Novachkovs have to do things right if they want to be NCAA champions this year, in every aspect of their lives.”
As for the Novachkovs, they are determined to do just that.
“My ultimate goal is to win nationals,” Filip Novachkov said. “It’s my last year and I’m putting everything out there. I have nothing to hold back. I want to wrestle the way I’m capable of and end up on top.”