Hungry And Ready: AU Wrestling Takes Ownership Of Upcoming Season

As the summer heat continues to rise, so does the excitement of a new campaign for Ashland University's wrestlers.
 
With the fall still a few months away and the competition of the wrestling season not beginning until the winter, summer serves as a major point in time for Eagle wrestlers to grow.
 
"They have to really be focused on staying hungry and training through the summer instead of taking it off," head coach Colt Sponseller said. "It is a time for them to really take ownership of their wrestling career and build."

Many wrestlers will compete in summer tournaments or national competitions, allowing them to meet and compete against other individuals they would not normally face in their collegiate careers. The summer also gives them time to be on their own and really invest in themselves.

"This (time period) allows them to find their own places to train, build their own workouts and set a schedule," Sponseller said. "When athletes take ownership of their craft, they can really jump levels, even out of season."
 
While the summer may not have a structure overseen by the AU coaching staff, when the student-athletes return in the fall, they certainly will.
 
"Since we are a winter sport, our student-athletes will not return until the first day of school and we will start preseason strength and conditioning training the second week of school," said Sponseller.
 
In 2024-25, the team had multiple wrestlers help lead the team to a Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship, and others who made their marks on the national stages, as well. Fortunately for the Eagles, they did not lose out on much of that core that shaped their successful previous season.
 
"We have nine starters and seven returning NCAA qualifiers coming back, so they are a tested group," Sponseller said. "I am looking for that group of veterans to really push everyone else to another level through their experience on the mat. They got a taste of where we need to be in order to reach our goals.
 
"It is a matter of staying focused on building and to stay the course through the grind of a wrestling season."
 
Many of the returners for the Eagles will keep the team in contention for repeating as conference champions and pushing for further placements at the national stage. However, it will not be just them that opens the ceiling of the program to new heights in 2025-26.
 
The incoming class is full of talent featuring various wrestlers who competed at a high-level during their high school careers.
 
"I am excited about all of the freshmen that are incoming," Sponseller said. "I think we have a great class that will complement the team well. We have heavyweight Mike Millin, 165-pounder Quinten Harrison, and 184-pounder Robert McCrork, who were state runner-ups in Ohio during the 2024-25 season.
 
"They bring a work ethic and fire that will push the returners, improving the team significantly."
 
With a plethora of talent, the expectations are high for the Eagles this coming winter, as they hit the ground running when the student-athletes return in August.
 
"We want to be the best team we can be. That will be the focus for next year," Sponseller said. "We want to get a team NCAA trophy, but that is not until March, so the focus will be on getting better every week and competing with effort day in and day out.
 
"If we do that, wins will come. But our overall expectation is to compete to our standard every week that we hold ourselves to. If we do that, great things will happen."