Chemistry not easy to master, Bears coach learning great talent doesn't always equal wins

The Forum, Fargo, North Dakota

01/11/1997

Chemistry not easy to master, Bears coach learning great talent doesn't always equal wins
By Jeff Kolpack

It was 10 years ago, with one month left in his job as student body president at North Dakota State, when 24-year-old Jack Maughan packed his bags for Greeley, Colo. He took over a Northern Colorado wrestling program that was hanging by a thread.

On Tuesday night, in a 30-17 loss at St. Cloud State, Maughan felt 10 years younger and it wasn't because of some New Year exercise plan. His UNC program, now hanging by a thick, strong rope, took a few steps back in time.

"The other night was like a flashback when we were just flat-out horrible," Maughan said. "We got beat by St. Cloud, which is embarrassing. When I first came to UNC, the biggest goal was to field a team. Now with football winning a national championship, it's like, ?When's yours?'" The Bears came into this season with the possibility of having eight All-Americans on their roster. They're currently wrestling with six. But as NDSU found out last year, that doesn't mean success on the mat. Heading into tonight's North Central Conference clash at the Bison Sports Arena, the Bears are trying to turn their advantage on paper into points.

The Bears were ranked as high as No. 3 in the NCAA Division II wrestling poll this season. They have since slipped. Meanwhile, with a young team, the ninth-ranked Bison are on the improvement track. Last year's veteran-dominated team has moved on, and apparently so has the bad chemistry.

"It seems to be better," said Bison junior Ryan Wolters. "We have a lot of hard workers and I feel like we're a lot tougher." Wolters, for one, feels less pressure. He won a Division II national championship as a freshman. Last year, he alternated between heavyweight and 190 pounds and never did regain the form that he displayed the year before.

Neither did his team.

Last year, the Bears had flashes of challenging for the national title at the Division II championships in Greeley before finishing fifth. But that was last year. They followed the St. Cloud loss with an unimpressive 19-16 win at Mankato State on Wednesday. Which brings this question: Has UNC taken over NDSU's role of not measuring up to its talent? "With a team like that, it's hard to motivate them early," said Bison coach Bucky Maughan, Jack's father, of the Bears. "He's got to turn it around now and he knows it. We could see a team that's had a wake-up call or it could go the other way. We don't know. He has a bunch of people we haven't beaten." Speaking of not winning, the son has yet to beat the father in a dual. The score is 9-0, with the last few coming down to the final one or two matches.

"It's a big thing with Bucky and his son," Wolters said. "It's not like we have bad feelings off the mat with them but when we get on, it's kind of like a war." NDSU is the only school a Maughan-coached UNC team hasn't beaten in conference play. This week, the Bears are just looking to find their potential.

"We had people who were hurt and ineligible," Jack Maughan said. "Basically, we're getting it together now. I've had to become more of a jerk instead of being more positive, which I'd rather be. It's not exactly the way I want to coach but you have to change to how the team is." It's a change Bucky Maughan has welcomed this season.