Trio of wrestler's ready to take the national stage

KUTZTOWN, PA (March 9, 2010) - As practice wound down on Tuesday afternoon, the atmosphere surrounding Tim Darling, Scott Snyder and Kevin Bolinsky gave a sense of excitement heading into the 2010 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships on Friday March 12 and Saturday March 13 at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

With the wrestlers in successive weight classes from 184 through heavyweight, the three have trained together or with teammate Zac Kisslinger who stuck around to help out while most KU students were relaxing on spring break

"It's a positive that the championship occurs during the week off from school," said head coach Rob Fisher. "There is no worry about missing class and the guys can just focus on wrestling. It's a shame they can't enjoy some time off, but I'm sure they are happy with getting to wrestle at nationals."

Heading to the national stage can be a bit overwhelming for most wrestlers, but this group of Golden Bears are ready for the limelight. In his second consecutive trip to nationals, Snyder (197 pounds) is prepared for what to expect this time around.

"I was very nervous and a bit intimidated last year," admitted Snyder. "That experience helped out a lot though, I think I will be calmer this year. Regardless of how things play out this will be my last competition, so I might as well not hold anything back."

Darling (184 pounds), a transfer from Division I Penn State is no stranger to wrestling among the best, just not necessarily at this level. In high school, Darling was a three-time state champion.

"My goal is to win, thats what the point of the game is," said Darling. "As the regular season winds down at the end of February and beginning of March, my mentality changes. When I get onto the mat I want to destroy my opponents."

At heavyweight, Bolinsky expects to be nervous this weekend between the excitement involved with the tournament and making just his second trip in airplane.

"I'm sure there is going to be some butterflies," said Bolinksy. "But once the first period begins it will go away and become just another wrestling match. I am very excited about making it this far and my goal is to make All-American, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. No matter what this is a great learning experience."

Fisher likes the odds of each his wrestlers finishing in top eight to earn the All-American honors.

"I think they all have a chance to finish in the top eight," said Fisher. "There are some guys in each of their brackets from the midwest who we haven't seen before, but we will just go out there with our game plan."

Session I on Friday will begin at 11 a.m. and last for roughly two hours and session II is set for 6 p.m. The semifinal round starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday and the championship is slated for 8 p.m.

--KU--

Print Friendly Version