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BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell's wrestling team announced its schedule for the 2015-16 season which features three major tournaments and six home duals, three of which are against the top three finishers in the 2014 Southern Conference standings.
"We won't overlook any team in the SoCon this year in terms of conference. We really want to get the program jump started and in a direction that is an uphill climb and eventually try to become conference champions," said head coach Cary Kolat.
"I would obviously say that Chattanooga is a big dual for us as they are the returning champions of the conference," Kolat said. "Their coaching staff has been doing a great job with recruiting and promoting and they have got that program going and they have a lot of booster and administrative support. So right now they are our measuring stick is to pass them, but we cannot overlook Appalachian State, Gardner-Webb and all those programs. They are all starting to make a push in a different direction. I think they are all getting administrative support and wrestling is really starting to grow in the Southern Conference."
The Camels open their season with a home dual against Grand Canyon on Sunday, Nov. 1, in Carter Gym at 1:30 pm.
Campbell will head to West Virginia the following weekend for the Mountaineer Duals hosted by West Virginia on Nov. 8. At the event the Camels will face No. 20 WVU, No. 29 Arizona State and Drexel. Times for the duals are still to be determined.
The team returns to the Creek on Nov. 14 for a matchup against American set to start at 12 p.m.
On Nov. 21, the team travels north to Annapolis, Md., for the Navy Classic, an all-day event hosted by the United States Naval Academy.
Wrestling action takes a little break for Thanksgiving and exams until the team returns home to Carter Gym for their first Southern Conference matchup against Chattanooga. The defending conference champions will face the Camels on Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.
Reno, Nev., is the next stop for Campbell as the team travels to compete in the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20 in the all-day event.
"Reno will be a good one for us. We could see teams like Oklahoma State, Boise State and a lot of those western schools that we won't see before the NCAA Championships," said Kolat.
The team has a break from wrestling to celebrate the holidays with their families and return to action on Jan. 1-2 when they compete at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn.
"The Scuffle will have a few Big Ten schools and a ton of quality opponents with a rank which is good for us again with the qualifying system so it is important that we are there," said Kolat.
The Fighting Camels return to Buies Creek on Jan. 6 for a conference matchup against in-state rival Appalachian State set to start at 5 p.m.
Campbell heads up to Virginia the next day to participate in the Virginia Duals on Jan. 8-9 held at the Hampton Coliseum.
"The Virginia Duals will allow us to showcase. We will see some stronger teams and then individually some of those teams are going to carry ranked wrestlers and hopefully we get them head to head and can pull some wins out and get our guys ranked," said Kolat.
Kolat's squad will travel to Lexington, Va., to take on the Keydets of VMI on Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. The team makes a stop at Gardner-Webb on Jan. 21 for a 7:30 p.m. match against the Runnin' Bulldogs before they return home from their three-week road-trip.
The Camels are home on Jan. 28 as they take on the Bulldogs from The Citadel at 6 p.m. at Carter Gym.
Campbell travels north to Edwardsville, Ill., for a match against the Cougars of SIUE. The match is set for Feb. 13 at a time to be later determined.
February 19 marks the last home and regular season match for the Camels as they host Davidson in Carter Gym at 7 p.m.
On March 5 the Camels will travel to Asheville, N.C., to participate in the SoCon Conference Tournament.
"That is how the schedule looks and I am really excited about having six home duals. We're really excited about trying to get a solid fan base coming and build up that support network that we need to be successful and get the guys excited to go into the area. We love Carter Gym. I love that old little arena, it is a good one for us and hopefully we will pack the place this year," said Kolat.
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