The Eureka men’s and women’s wrestling teams competed on the 13th and 14th of February this year at the Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, finishing off a long and difficult season for an extremely determined group of athletes.
Eureka’s Men’s team placed 4th at the SLIAC tournament this season, falling short of the expectation of 2nd place. The women’s team placed 4th as well. With both teams having been expected to place 2nd, both placed below their spot on the preseason poll. However, there were still many parts of the season to look back on and highlight.
While Eureka’s men’s team had a lower finish than they did the previous year, they made improvements. The mens team’s 174-lb Freshman Sargent Maubauch took 1st place, becoming the most recent SLIAC champion here at Eureka College. The last champions on the men’s team were Trevor Hedges and Gaige Owens when Eureka hosted the tournament during the 2023-24 season.
“Bringing the title back to eureka at home means an extreme amount to me because of the hype and excitement from the home crowd… it feels nice leaving my mark and stamping down the beginning of dominance I believe I’ll bring to the SLIAC conference for wrestling” Maulbauch wrote over text.
Seeing the success in other areas highlights that there are still improvements being made even when the team’s overall preformance may not have been as good as it was previously.
The Women’s team also saw success in areas as well. The women’s team’s junior Madison Farris. Madison has been all conference for the 3rd year in a row and has remained a staple in the women’s team consistently bringing back a place medal every year. She will look to make a run at the conference title next season to become a 4 time all conference wrestler in the SLIAC.
The season may be over but it is a reflection point for the team, as the wrestling program looks back at the season’s ups and downs it is ready to come back better as a whole, not just the wrestlers but the coaches as well.
The Red Devils introduced 6 new members to the coaching staff at the start of this season adding a mixture of experience and awards to their coaching roster. Four of the 6 coaches are Alumni from the previous season and have been staples in the program, the Alumni coaches include Thomas Culp, Gaige Owens, Mckenzie Cook, and Jackson Creasy. Each one of them competed for the Red Devils until last year.
The other two coaches are Brandon Music and Guy Patron; both come from prestigious wrestling backgrounds with a long history within the sport. Patron was a 4-time All-American At Loras College and Music was a staple of The UW-Lacrosse wrestling team, a consistent national dual contender.
Culp had been interviewed previously for an article that preceded the SLIAC conference tournament and gave a quote on how he felt going into the tournament. Now He has given his reflection on the season and how things are looking going forward.
“It definitely wasn’t what we wanted out of the season but it just means there is always stuff to work on… I think that it was a really young group of guys and they did well for the tough schedule we put them through, but it won’t be getting any easier and we have to stay on top of things in the offseason” Culp wrote over text.
The Red Devils may not have had the season they wanted, and still with plenty of ups and downs during the season, the team has continued to bounce back and hone their skills for the upcoming season, and are entering the next stage with a positive mindset.
“We have many prospects coming in and also building on top of very strong returners,… I’ve already began my preparation … to become a more well rounded wrestler, also drilling and being able to improve small adjustments that will put me hopefully into national championship contention in our following season,” Maubauch wrote over text.
“Next year will be different and I’m excited to see what the team will be capable of with a few new additions on both teams,” Culp wrote over text.
The team is looking to make big waves in the conference next year with many new recruits and transfers that will be making their way into the lineup over the coming months before the next wrestling season begins.
