'M' wrestlers win two to nish schedule

The Michigan wrestling team ended an era this weekend, and it closed it out in style.

With a 20-19 win over ninth-ranked Penn State and a 24-9 thrashing of Ohio State, Michigan coach Dale Bahr, who is retiring after this season, leaves Cliff Keen Arena with two more dual meet victories.

"We're real happy we got the win for coach Bahr," Michigan's Joe Warren said. "He's really meant so much to this program."

The weekend also marked the last two dual matches for a pair of seniors, Chris Viola and Corey Grant.

Grant recorded a 2-0 decision over Penn State's Biff Walzier and got a hard fought win on Sunday against 16th-ranked Buckeye Jeff Bucher.

"Corey's been wrestling real well lately," Bahr said. "He should get a good seed at Big Tens."

Viola finished his dual-meet career with a split weekend, and looks forward to his third NCAA Tournament appearance in March.

Before the match against Ohio State, Bahr was presented with a gift from the Michigan Athletic Department, and a Michigan office chair from his team.

"I didn't expect any of that," Bahr said. "It was a really nice gesture."

Michigan now has two weeks to prepare for the Big Ten tournament, which will take place March 7-8 at Crisler Arena.

If this weekend was any indication, three Michigan wrestlers should have a pretty good chance of picking up a conference title.

Otto Olson, Damion Logan and Warren all picked two convincing victories over Big Ten foes. Olson finished the season undefeated in dual meets, and wrapped up a No. 1 seed for Big tens with a victory over second ranked Glenn Pritzlaff of Penn State.

"We're peaking at the right time," Olson said. "I really wanted to finish strong and for the team."

Warren and Olson accounted for 11 points in the nailbiter against Penn State.

Warren picked up a key pin over 18th-ranked Nate Parker and Logan major decisioned Mark Bost, 22-7.

"It's hard to get a pin when you know you need one," Warren said. "But he gave me an opening and I went for it."

The win over the Nittany Lions solidified Michigan's place in the top tier of the Big Ten conference.

"It's a big win for us," Bahr said. "We got down early and back on our heels but we didn't give up."

Iowa and Minnesota will still present the biggest problems for Michigan, while Illinois and Penn State will also challenge for a spot in the top-three.

Michigan captain Frank Lodeserto, who has been out of the lineup since the Michigan State match on Feb. 5, wrestled in the Ohio State match.

"My ankle feels good," Lodeserto said. "I just wanted get a match in before Big Tens and I'd beaten this guy before, so I knew I could do well."

The two wins this weekend don't mean much in the scheme of things, Bahr said.

"The dual meets are behind us," Bahr said. "The most important meets are ahead of us. It's where you become known nationally, so right now the focus is on Big Tens."

There are only two meets left in Bahr's 21-year career, a fact which is not lost on assistant coach Joe McFarland.

McFarland wrestled under Bahr, coached against Bahr, and will take over the reigns when Bahr retires.

"I'm glad we've had such a good season for him to leave on," McFarland said.

As Bahr heads back to the practice mat this week, he can look ahead to the time he can spend in his new leather chair when the season is over. But in the meantime, he's got a job to do. One that he's been doing for 21 years.

"We've been wrestling so hard this year," Bahr said. "It's been a real joy to coach this team and all the seniors. I can't think of another year that I've enjoyed as much as this one."

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