This weekend will mark the opening of Ed Vatch’s fourth season at the helm of the NIU wrestling squad when the Huskies travel to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for the 13th Annual Tombstone Invitational.

The Huskies, coming off last year’s 15-7 record, are currently carrying only 20 members. The biggest obstacle for them so far has been injuries.

“We’re pretty banged up right now,” Vatch said. “We’re not doing anything different from last year, in fact, we’re not going live as much. We’ve had three shoulder injuries, including John Griffin, who dislocated his and will be gone for the year. That’s a big blow to us.”

At last year’s UW-SP tourney, NIU returned with four champions. Lonnie Morris and John Willems each won freshman division crowns, while Bill Jepsen and Mark Kuehl won open titles.

“Our aim is to match last year’s four champs,” Vatch said. “If we get at least three, our outlook will be pretty bright.”

The wrestlers are randomly placed in a bracket which eliminates all seeds. The double-elimination tourney has two divisions, the Silver (division 2) and the Gold (division 1). Division 2 is open only to freshmen, while Division 1 is open to any wrestler.

The first three rounds and the first round wrestlebacks will be held Friday afternoon and evening. The remaining wrestlebacks, the consolations and the finals will all be Saturday.

“This is a time when we’re unsure how we’re standing,” Vatch said. “All we can do is turn the key and hope the engine starts running. We have exceptional kids and they’re hungry.”

Two of NIU’s freshman hopefuls have left the squad. Sean Kagel and Mike Lewis, both from McHenry-Johnsburg, were looked to by Vatch to help fill some lower weight spots.

“I’m disappointed with their decision, but it is their decision,” Vatch said. “It might hurt us but we’ll go with it. The ‘What if?’ has to become a ‘What is’.”

T.C. Dantzler will return to the Huskie lineup after shoulder surgery last season.

“My shoulder is good and I’m ready to wrestle,” Dantzler said. “I wrestled a lot over the summer and I’m ready to show people what I’ve got.”