Austin Trotman will return to the NCAA wrestling championships a bit older and wiser.
Trotman, a former state champion at Mount Tabor High School, is one of two Appalachian State wrestlers who won Southern Conference championships and qualified for the national finals, which are scheduled to start today and run through Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Kyle Blevins will compete in the 165-pound weight class and is in the field for the first time. Trotman is making his third trip at 184.
"I know what to expect," Trotman said. "I went with high expectations before, but I have a heightened sense of things this year and I know what needs to be done."
Trotman, a junior, made his first appearance at the national championships in 2008 as a freshman and won his opening match before being eliminated with losses in his next two. He had a long wait for a second chance — after a knee injury forced him to redshirt the 2009 season. His return trip last year ended in disappointment with tough draws against top-10 wrestlers and two straight losses.
"I can't really use that as an excuse, because they're all tough at that level," Trotman said.
JohnMark Bentley, ASU's coach, said he thinks that Trotman will be more prepared this time around.
"I think it helps tremendously that he's been twice, because he's seen it, he's been there in that atmosphere," Bentley said. "He's not going to be shell-shocked, and he knows he can compete with all those guys; he's beaten some of the higher-ranked wrestlers. This time, he's going to be one of the veterans there."
And, Bentley said, Trotman is wrestling as well as ever.
"I'm really excited about his chances," Bentley said. "He has a lot of different attacks, and he's peaking at the right time. He's a phenomenal athlete, and an extremely hard-working kid. He does everything right in training, and he has an excellent chance for it all to pay off this time."
Trotman, who has a career record of 89-29 and finished last season ranked 19th in the nation, will go for at least All-America status, obtained by finishing in the top eight. He said he has purposely not looked at the brackets to see who he'll be matched against.
"I'm only concerned about what I need to do, what I can control," Trotman said. "I'm not even looking at this as the biggest tournament, just the last one.
"I would like to win the whole thing, and I'll go to win. That's what I've been training for. My expectations are extremely high, but they should be for anybody who competes."
Bentley said he likes Trotman's chances.
"When he's on, he can beat anybody in the country," Bentley said.
tbowman@wsjournal.com
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