NCAA College Preview Series: #9 Tiffin
2021 National Finalist Sugey Ceja. Photo courtesy of Tiffin Athletics.
by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek
TIFFIN, OHIO - Tiffin hit the preseason rankings at #9, though they ended last season at #7, placing seventh at Nationals, and then had an outstanding recruiting class. Returning four All-Americans, this squad looks to make some noise at Nationals Duals and the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships this March…and will certainly be a tough out for anyone and everyone in duals action during the regular season.
Here’s an interview with Head Coach Nick Goebel.
1. What are your reflections on last season?
Last season was a challenging, yet successful one for sure. We were constantly trying to find competitions to attend or trying our best to host them. We would be training hard and ready to go and then all the sudden it would get cancelled. But we didn't let Covid beat us and we definitely didn't allow it to interrupt our training or get in the way of our goals. We kept our eye on the prize and just kept training and preparing ourselves to reach our goals like nothing ever happened. We stayed positive and kept faith that there would be a national tournament. Not only did that national tournament happen, but we also got to host it here at Tiffin University, which was quite an honor! Even with all of the adversity our ladies had to overcome, we still had a great season finishing with 6 All-Americans and 9 Academic All-Americans.
2. Talk about your returning class. Who are some of the women you have high expectations for this year?
We have 4 of our 6 All-Americans returning this season.
Shanna Morris (101) - Shanna has been an All-American the past two seasons for us. She is coming into this season with some high expectations for herself, as do we as a program. She is a senior on the team now and has helped shape the culture of this program with her constant hard work and positive attitude.
Sugey Ceja (116) - Sugey has been a National Runner-Up the past two seasons. But trust us when we say that she is not satisfied. We have never seen a better version of her than we do right now. She is hungry and our expectations for her are obvious—top of the podium.
Taylor Hites (155) - Taylor has also been an All-American for us the past two seasons. Each year she climbed higher up on that podium. Our expectations for her are to keep climbing even higher on that podium. And to let it fly her senior year! This is a girl that could beat anybody if she truly believed she could.
Morgan Davidson (170) - Morgan was an All-American taking 6th at nationals as a true freshman. She definitely made a name for herself and definitely proved that she has what it takes to be on top of that podium one day. Our expectations for her would be to improve on last season, believe in herself, and never be content.
We had a really good freshman class come in last year that I'm excited to see have a full "normal" season this year, including Trinity Berry (123) and Nia Miranda (143) who both lost close matches in the blood round at Nationals. Our expectations for them would be take advantage of this full season and improve on last season and find a spot on the podium, preferably the top.
3. Talk about your incoming freshman class. Who do you expect an immediate contribution from?
We had a big and talented freshman class come in this year. We had 13 incoming freshman join the squad! Of those 13, three of them were ranked nationally including: Olivia Shore (101), Solana Mottola (123), and Taryn Martin (170). I am beyond excited to see this ladies make statements together! I expect all three of these ladies to make an immediate contribution. We don't plan to watch them lose very often, if at all. What I'm really excited about is watching some of these "hidden gems" we got as freshman make a name for themselves. Some other freshman I expect to make immediate contributions to this team include: Diandra Tejada (101), Grace Jones (109), Alejandra Hernandez (123), Arianna Carrasquillo (130), Sairra Tapp (130), Michal Buska (136), Nile Jernigan (136), and Hollie Espinoza (191).
4. How do you feel about your preseason?
This preseason was awesome. We could feel the culture that we want finally coming around. We had a big group of competitive freshman come in this year that who were not afraid to compete with the "big dawgs." The first week of preseason training is always our favorite. Hell Week. This is a good test to see who's got it and who doesn't. Who's competitive? Who quits when they get tired? Does their body language or attitude change when they are frustrated and tired? Or do they keep their composure and not let it test their character. Preseason is always a good determiner of who the leaders on the team are going to be for the year. One of my favorite quotes, "All women are created equal, some work harder in preseason."
5. Talk about some of your team's goals this season. Are there any specific events you're excited about?
Our team’s goals this season are to always give 110% and be relentless with everything we do. We believe that good things will come to those who put in the work. So if everyone puts in the work, our goals of winning a national championship will be much more easily attainable. We really want to bring home a team trophy this year, and we believe we can be one of the top 4 teams in the NCAA for sure! Both at the national tournament and National Duals. We also want to bring home another Northeast Regional Championship. We won the first-ever one last year and plan to do the same this year—as well as our goal to always strive to be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday. Strive to be the best version of yourself as possible. 1% better everyday. There are a few events we're looking forward to the most and those include: NCAA National Duals (favorite one of the year!), Desert Duals in Vegas, Brawl at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, the first ever Women's Midlands Championships, and obviously Regionals and Nationals. We also host a dual meet tournament, Dragon Duals, which we're pretty pumped about. We think there should be around 10 teams coming including both NCAA and NAIA schools.
6. What are some things you've built into your program that you credit for the success you've had so far?
Perfecting the basics and fundamentals of wrestling. We start every year off from square one. And we try and make sure everyone feels confident and comfortable in the most common seen positions in wresting. We do a lot of shots and front headlocks. Over and over again. Along with laces and gut wrenches. We believe that everything is habit-forming. So we try and make sure the habits we are forming are effective habits to be forming. We also talk a lot about staying in good position, owning the mat, and constantly stalking your opponent forward. And we try and utilize push outs this way. Lots of matches are won by 1 point, or by criteria. We can also win some matches "mentally" this way. By showing our opponent that we never stop and don't ever plan to until the 6 minutes is up. Another thing that we believe gives a lot of credit to our success is that we utilize the weight room a lot. Our main focus in the preseason and offseason is to get our women strong, matured, and explosive! And then we focus on maintaining those gains as much as possible during the grueling season. Lifting weights consistently is just another advantage they expect to have and they can also trust in their training knowing that they are utilizing every resource they can to be the best athletes they can be. Last but not least, encouraging our wrestlers to surround themselves with people that share the same goal as them. We try and inspire them all to be high-achievers, and not to settle with mediocrity.
7. Who are some of the personalities in the room that are providing leadership and shaping your culture?
Our three team captains are great examples of people in the room that provide leadership and help shape our culture:
Taylor Hites - Everyone respects and listens to Taylor Hites. For good reason. We want our team surrounded by morally right young women and we don't know how she could have a better moral compass. Not satisfied unless she has a 4.0 and got a productive workout in. She is an amazing role model on and off the mat. If someone is looking for a hard workout, they go to Taylor. If someone is looking for help with a class, they go to Taylor. If someone is looking for life advice, they go to Taylor. Even as a coach, I have asked her advice and opinion on numerous occasions simply because I trust her and value her opinion.
Sugey Ceja - Sugey simply just leads by example. She is who everyone in the room is trying to beat. Not just at wrestling either. She shows up every day focused on practice/competition. She is a work horse and she inspires a lot of people. You'll hardly ever catch her make a mistake and she's definitely not afraid to hold her teammates accountable if they are making mistakes. She is also a scholar All-American every year making her a model "student-athlete." She is naturally a winner and we want our team surrounded by winners.
Shanna Morris - She is the positive spirit in the room every day. She never fails to show up every day grateful for her opportunity to better herself on and off the mat. She helps shape the culture simply by showing up every day with a positive and productive attitude, and she gives her best every single day. She is relentless in every situation. And she has a winning mindset who responds to her wins the same way she responds to her losses, with integrity.
I would like to finish by saying that all three of these women were here since day one and have definitely helped shape the culture of this program. They all have stepped up on numerous occasions when it was needed for someone to step up. They fit our mission perfectly, which is to "Build life champions through hard work in a positive atmosphere."
8. Anything else you’d like to mention?
We almost got a brand new team this year and we are getting very anxious to see what they can accomplish TOGETHER. Also would like to give a special shoutout to our Athletic Trainer, Tom Miller, for always going above and beyond for our program and our ladies. Not only is he our AT, but he also steps in as an Assistant Coach role from time to time. We appreciate you and your commitment to this program. Staying healthy is half the battle and he does his best to make sure of that. Hope everyone has a great season and Go Dragons.