Hartland's Austin Eicher making return trip to NCAA Championships
EAST LANSING — Hartland knows well that it doesn’t take former wrestling star Austin Eicher long to adjust.
His 60 wins as a ninth-grader for the Eagles in 2011 is the most by any newcomer in program history. So it came as no surprise that Eicher was a Mid-American Conference champion as a redshirt freshman at Northern Illinois and reached the Division I NCAA Championships.
And it certainly doesn’t come as a surprise that Eicher is back at the NCAAs again, this time representing Michigan State in the 133-pound bracket in St. Louis after electing to transfer to the Big Ten program and return closer to home.
Eicher, who won two matches at the Big Ten championships but had to forfeit his final two due to an injury, enters the three-day event that begins 11 a.m. Thursday and runs through Saturday with his eyes on more than just making an appearance.
That’s essentially what it was last year, he said. This year, he’s hoping for more.
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“I’m even more excited this year,” said Eicher, who lost both of his matches last year. “Last year, it was awesome just because it was New York City and my first time there. I was excited to wrestle, but I was just kind of there for the experience. Now, this year, I’m more excited to compete. I think I’m going to wrestle better this year. I’m not just happy to be there.”
Many local wrestling fans will remember Eicher’s sophomore season in high school, when he compiled a 52-4 record and finished second in the 119-pound weight class. He would love nothing more than to have that type of finish in his sophomore college campaign.
“The ultimate goal is a national championship,” he said.
However, he would have to do it in an underdog role, especially since he isn't one of the 16 wrestlers (out of 34) to be seeded.
Eicher wasn’t shy in sharing his reason for that. The Spartan sophomore is 21-16 going into NCAAs and said he struggled at the start of the year because he was “up and down, mentally” after having issues with his weight. However, he’s since overcome those.
“Once it got to the postseason, I knew what I had to do to make it back,” Eicher said.
Eicher was a four-time state placer in high school and one of only two two-time state champions in Hartland history — the other being Jeremy Bommarito in 2007 and 2008 — so he knows how to turn it on when it matters most.
The hope is that he can do that again Thursday morning when the real March Madness begins.
For Eicher, it begins with Northern Iowa’s Josh Alber, who Flowrestling.com has ranked No. 12 in his weight class. Alber defeated Eicher in January 2016 by a score of 9-3. They have not squared off this season, but Eicher still plans on drawing from that past match.
“It’s not an excuse, but I was a little bit sick. But I know how he wrestles," he said.
If Eicher wins, it could then very well be a rematch against Michigan’s fifth-ranked Stevan Micic. Eicher lost at the Big Ten championships to Micic via a 12-4 major decision, only the fourth time he gave up bonus points in a match this season.
Regardless, it’s a tough road, and he’s aware of that.
But after winning a MAC title a season ago, getting to NYC, then performing as he did to close out the Big Ten season, Eicher has momentum. And while a national championship may be a stretch, maneuvering his way into the top eight, he believes, is within reach.
“Just to get on the podium and get All-American honors would be awesome,” Eicher said.