Club Wrestling pins down purpose off campus

In 2019, the original wrestling club at MSU disbanded after the roof of the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center collapsed. When spring of 2023 came around, junior and Club President David Long decided it was time to bring MSU Club Wrestling back.

Since then, the club has seen a lot of growth. “Our club has quickly grown from 10 people to about 25 strong,” Long said.

“I've wrestled for nine years and unfortunately tore my ACL,” Long explained. “I started the club here just because I love the sport. I saw that there were a lot of other people who love the sport and at the time I really wanted to compete again. One thing led to another.” 

The club currently competes in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) League in the North West Conference. This year the team will compete in four tournaments and four duals, including some earlier in the season. A wrestling tournament includes multiple schools while a dual pits two teams against each other, according to Long. The club’s next tournament is in Great Falls on Dec. 6-7.

The club had no mats nor a space to practice when it began until it found the Bozeman Wrestling Club (BWC) — a nonprofit organization dedicated to growing the sport, according to its website. The BWC is located about 20 minutes from campus and allots time for MSU’s team to practice Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7:45 to 9:15 p.m.

“We are practicing out here currently because this is the closest area that will give us free mat space and flexibility to practice,” Long said.

Junior Adam Deeney joined the team last year and has since witnessed the club grow. 

“It was pretty small last year; we were averaging four to five people a practice, but it was still something to do and something I could see the groundwork of and get excited about growing it. Now, this year, we have gotten up to 15 to 20 people pretty constantly,” Deeney said.

As the group of wrestlers grows in number, it’s become clear to the members that the club is here to stay for many years to come.

“It's just really fun to see how quickly it has grown and the direction it is going as we head towards competition. It makes it start to seem like that is an actual reality that is possible and not just something we hope the next group will get to do,” Deeney said.

According to Assistant Coach Quentin Parzych, these students are driven to compete and advance the wrestling club.

“I think that my favorite part about being out here is just seeing people who want to keep going farther. They don't want to give it up just yet,” Parzych said.

As a club sport, members enjoy doing an activity they love, according to Parzych. 

“The interesting part is the drive, because no one gets anything out of this, even if you win conference in [a] college club, it means really nothing. There's no scholarships, no money incentive. Everyone here is here because they want to be here,” Parzych said.

Deeney went on to explain that he thinks this is the best sports community he has ever been a part of. “I've never experienced a closer community than the wrestling community which I love and always cherish that and always notice that at any state, any tournament here, at home, at high school, at all levels,” he said.

Additionally, freshman Hannah Hader — who picked up wrestling in high school and qualified for the state tournament that same year — explained that having a strong community has allowed members to build friendships that help them get through the school year.

“It's great making more friends with the guys, especially living in a girl’s dorm. It can get isolated sometimes, but it's good to have a new perspective,” Hader said.

With this growth and passion for the sport of wrestling, the team hopes to eventually purchase mats and practice on campus, according to Long.

“Mats are very, very expensive. We hope to buy some mats in the near future,” Long said.

For more information on the club, check out its Instagram at @wrestlingclub_montanastate or its NCWA profile ncwa.net/teams/mtst.