MUNCIE, Ind — Ball State may not have a wrestling team, but it does have a club. The Ball State Wrestling Club aims to teach people how to wrestle and have fun.
Club president Cade Illes said the club was shut down during COVID-19, but he brought it back three and a half years ago to grow a wrestling community at Ball State.
Although they do not compete, The Ball State Wrestling Club promotes the opportunity to get your USA wrestling card and compete individually.
“Right now, we just do it for fun, and it is more about conditioning and teaching people how to wrestle,” said Illes. “We have a lot of people who come in who are new and aren’t comfortable competing. People in the club can get their USA wrestling card and compete individually, which we do promote people to get.”
Many club members wrestled in high school and wanted to continue in college. Vince Suruik, a member of the wrestling club, explains that the club allows him to continue doing something he loves and prepares him to be a wrestling coach in the future.
“I’ve been doing wrestling for seven years now,” said Suruik. “I have always enjoyed it, and it’s something that I want to continue to do. It also allows me to coach in the future.”
The wrestling club so far is a small group; one year member of the wrestling club, Jaydn Geller, wants to see this group grow and eventually compete by the time she graduates.
“I want to see the club going to tournaments in the future; I want to hopefully do 10 tournaments a year in the spring semesters,” said Geller.
The type of community the wrestling club has and wants to maintain is like a family. Many of them hang out outside of wrestling clubs and work out together.
If you are interested in the wrestling club, check out their Instagram account, @bsu_wrestling_club, for more information. They meet every Wednesday and Friday from 7 to 9 in RC 213 of the Ball State Rec Center.
Contact Camden Jackson with comments at camden.jackson@bsu.edu.
