It's crunch time.
The dual-meet season has ended, and the Michigan wrestling team is preparing for the Big Ten championship, being held March 8-9 in Minneapolis.
The Wolverines are striving for high personal and team goals.
Since practice makes perfect, the coaching staff has fine-tuned the practice schedule to help the team improve.
Practice time has decreased, but intensity has increased. After warming up with running and stretching, the team does hard drilling for 20 to 30 minutes.
Next up is live wrestling for a few matches with different partners, getting the team ready for live situations. This lasts about an hour.
"We're pushing really hard this week," tri-captain and All-American Airron Richardson said. "(We're) stressing ourselves out, and hopefully we'll be ready to peak by the Big Tens."
Yesterday, the team endured an intense weight-lifting workout in the morning.
When it came time for afternoon practice, Michigan assistant coach Joe McFarland planned to have the team warm up, wrestle hard and be done in an hour.
"When they walk outside, it's still light out," McFarland said. "Most of the season long, we're in here working out, and by the time these guys got out of here, it was dark."
Shorter, more intense practices provide the team with both physical and mental benefits.
"We're planning our schedule so we have some hard days, some real hard days and some days where we're going a little harder," McFarland said. "We've really tried to increase our intensity in our workouts, and we're trying to get (the team) out of practice a little sooner.
"It's important that we go into the Big Tens and peak with our conditioning. At the same time they have to be fresh mentally."
There is a higher degree of excitement and enthusiasm from the team in the practice room.
"(There is a feeling of) anticipation," All-American tri-captain Bill Lacure said. "We have a lot of young guys on the team, a lot of guys that have never experienced a Big Ten tournament. I feel like they're really excited.
"For the guys who've been there, it's a chance to improve. Maybe this is our year to send everyone to nationals."
The Wolverines aren't very concerned with nervousness being a problem for anyone's performance.
"They want to get there, and they want to wrestle," McFarland said. "I don't think that (nervousness) will be a problem, though. Most of these guys are nervous before they wrestle anytime. We've been through a whole season already. It's not like they're going to see anybody they haven't seen already or at least watched."
Beyond anticipation, the conference championship provides an opportunity to erase any bad memories from the regular season.
It's as if each wrestler gets a fresh start.
"I think it's a chance to effectively have a new season," Richardson said. "For all of the guys who didn't wrestle as well as they wanted to during the season, everyone is equal at the Big Tens. It's still a chance to qualify for nationals."
Although the coaches know that the team is prepared and can perform well, it is important that the wrestlers themselves believe in their abilities.
"We've worked hard this year," McFarland said. "I think we've proved that we can wrestle with the best teams in the Big Ten. The key is whether or not these guys believe that. We've got some guys on the team - some of our leaders, so to speak - that need to be in there fighting to win a championship next weekend."