14A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, December 2, 1999 McFarland, now at the top, aims to lead 'M' there as well Michigan's first-year wrestling coach wants to win it all By Dan Williams Daily Sports Writer It was obvious that Joe McFarland felt strong ties to the Michigan wrestling program when he returned to his alma mater as an assistant .oach six years ago. The former Wolverine grappler left a head coaching position at Indiana to become an assistant coach 't Michigan, hoping that he would ventually take over the wrestling grogram. "This is where I eventually really wanted to take over," McFarland laid. "I love the University and the -ommunity. It's a special place." Last year, when Dale Bahr retired ifter 21 seasons, McFarland got his avish. McFarland, who wrestled for 3ahr in the early 1980s, was named 3ahr's successor. In his final year, Bahr led the Wolverines to a 13th-place finish iationally. "I learned an awful lot from Bahr)," McFarland said. "He's had ome great teams here. I want to con- inue with those winning ways." Michigan has a rich tradition in vrestling dating back to the days vhen Cliff Keen, one of the biggest lames in college wrestling history, poached the Wolverines. In his 42-year tenure that began in 925, Keen coached 52 inidivdual ig Ten champions and nine NCAA Upcoming meets Home meets in Bold 1 champions. McFarland seeks to con- tinue the tradition built by men like Keen and Bahr. But despite the sto- ried history of the program, the sport's crowning achievement is noticeably missing from Michigan's trophy case. "We've never had a national cham- pionship team here," McFarland said. "We're going to set individual goals, but the team concept is very important. I want to win a team championship while I'm here." Sometimes when programs have a great tradition, there's pressure to attain results without making changes. But McFarland isn't afraid to tweak the program. "I'm not really looking to make big changes, but I'm going to do things the way I feel I need to do them," McFarland said. The first off-season was a busy one for McFarland as he made the transition into the head coach's role. Unlike other coaches, he didn't have the luxury of easing into the new job. "I was busy making adjustments, getting my staff in line, and running my first summer camp," McFarland said. "I haven't had too much time to relax." The former Wolverine brings a life full of wrestling experience to the "I bring a passion for the sport," McFarland said. "Wrestling has been a big part of my life since I was in grade school. I've wrestled at every level possible" The offseason has now passed, and McFarland stands at the brink of the 1999-2000 season. So far, Michigan has done well in open meets at Michigan State and Eastern Michigan, but the regular season starts Saturday at the Cliff Keen Invitational. The new coach is bound to feel the burden of lofty expectations. With the return of junior Otto Olson, the nation's top-ranked wrestler in the 174-pound weight class. Olson fin- ished second in the nation last year. The Wolverines also return two All-Americans, sophomore Andy Hrovat in the 184-pound class, and junior Damion Logan in the 141- pound class. But McFarland insists that he did- n't return to the Michigan wrestling program solely to accumulate victo- ries and accolades. "I want to make sure I continue to bring good kids into the program, and make sure the kids have a good experience here," McFarland said. "When they graduate, I want them to be able to come back and say, 'Wow, '9 z yAttj i tf c' t tl r-3-- -- --------, , ___________ :x program. He has a combination of what a great experience I had at DAVID ROCKaINO/OaDa echnical knowledge and enthusi- Michigan.' That's really all you can The Michigan wrestling team took steps towards replacing seniors like Joe Warren (left) by signing two highly-touted recruits, asm. ask for." in the meantime, Michigan will compete in the Cliff Keen Invitational this weekend. Blue scores two wrestlers in fall signing period Michigan's new me: Chris Rodriaues Date Dec. 3-4 Dec. 10, Dec. 29-30 Jan. 7-8 Jan.15 Jan. 16 Jan. 21 Jan. 23 Jan. 28 Jan. 29 or 30 Feb.11 Meet Cliff Keen Invitational Michigan State Midlands Virginia Duals Pennsylvania Central Michigan Northwestern Michigan State Illinois Purdue Minnesota By Jon Schwartz Daily Sports Writer For some sports programs, introduc- ing a new head coach could cause a short recruiting cessation. But for the Michigan wrestling team, that isn't the case. In the early signing period between Nov. 15 and 22, Joe McFarland, the first-year head coach for the Wolverines, was able to snag two key recruits, Ryan Bertin out of St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio and Chris Rodrigues of Walker High School in Marietta, Ga. "We got the two top kids we went after," McFarland said. "They're going to fit in here at Michigan." Not only were these high-school stars high on Michigan's list for recruits, they were truly national leaders. In his weight class, Rodrigues is ranked first in the country, and Bertin is second in his. Both are ranked in the top 25 of high school wrestlers. Rodrigues was also a two-time national prep champ, and last year, he won the junior national championships, the most prestigious tournament for high-school wrestlers. While Bertin's r;sum6 is not as impressive on paper, he still placed sec- ond in the Ohio state championships last year, and McFarland said he has beaten some of the best wrestlers in the coun- try. "Both of these guys are aggressive, hard-nosed, tough wrestlers," McFarland said. "I like both of their styles." But recruiting consists of much more than tracking the wrestlers for a short amount of time and compiling stats. It is a never-ending process at all times to ensure that the future of the program can continue to be successful. "Recruiting is obviously the lifeblood of your program," McFarland said. "You have to have the right kind of kids in your program that you know you can win with. "I'm thinking about recruiting year- round. It is in part because of this that McFarland was so successful in his recruiting so far. While this is his first year at the helm, he has been involved with the Michigan wrestling program for several years. "As an assistant coach, one of my pri- mary jobs was to be in charge of recruit- ing," McFarland said. "I think I'm a pretty good one. I have a good rapport with the kids" The two signees could be a good indi- cator for what is to come for Michigan in this recruiting term. If McFarland can get his two top prospects in the early period, the season and the regular signing term can be focused on maintaining the Wolverines' position as national powers and signing more national wrestling stars. While McFarland equld not name this year's remaining prospects, he did say that he has his eyes on several in-state recruits whose progress the coaches will be following throughout their senior seasons. But for the time being, the new head coach can be satisfied with his success to date and worry about more immedi- ate concerns, such as this weekend's Cliff Keen Invitational in Stateline, Nev. "I'm excited about both of these guys coming," he said. "We keep taking some steps forward as we move along" 125 pounds e 1999 junior national champion s Two-time high school national champion ® Three-time Georgia state cham-* pion Ryan Bertin 165 pounds . 1999 Ohio state runner-up Joe McFarland Head coach m Wrestled for Michigan in the 1 980s Head coach at Indiana before returning to Ann Arbor : w.~ ~ The Green Hornet Radio Show 2 songs off our new abum 50 minutes of Confucionist A Your Site for Digital Audio, F~r~n Ai irfin gnftwarp onri nthpr