As the UW Oshkosh wrestling season approaches, sophomore Beau Yineman is not letting last year’s success affect his mindset. “I’m not worried about what happened last season. I’m never worried about the rankings. Rankings don’t mean too much; execution means a lot to me.”

Yineman capped off an undefeated season last year with a first place finish in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Conference wrestling tournament. Finishing in such a dominant fashion earned Yineman notoriety as the conference’s top 197 pound wrestler, but he chooses not to pay attention to preseason rankings.

“I’m much more focused on wrestling to the best of my ability than anything like rankings,” said Yineman. “The ranking doesn’t make me a better wrestler, training and getting better makes me a better wrestler.”

In the offseason, Yineman has developed a balance between competition and recovery. “I like to spend my summers working and relaxing, and wrestling when I can so that I’m fully rested mentally and physically coming into the season.”

Over the summer, in addition to more conventional means of relaxation such as fishing and kayaking, Yineman also accomplished an impressive athletic feat: running a marathon with almost no training. “I trained one time,” he said, “My friend put me up to it, and I really enjoy challenges and pushing myself mentally, so I decided to go for it.” Yineman added that “I thought it was fun, but I don’t think I’ll ever do it again.”

His impressive athleticism is complimented by his ability to set goals for himself and work on smaller aspects of his technique. “When I go into practice, I like to pick a certain area and work on it throughout the whole practice. I think being able to focus like that and working on what I need to do has really helped me to improve.” Yineman also competes in the Under-23 national freestyle wrestling circuit.

In March, he was named an All-American in the USA Wrestling Senior Nationals Freestyle Tournament, which features some of the best college wrestlers in the United States, including division one national champions and United States World Team members. “It was definitely a great experience and I learned a lot,” said Yineman. “Wrestling guys at such a high level definitely gave me something to work towards.”

To prepare for the season, Yineman has been lifting weights and attending open-mat practices, but is looking forward to getting back into the wrestling room with his teammates and coaches. “I’m excited to hone some more skills with the coaches. Practices are a lot better for live wrestling and training because everybody is dialed in and focused.”

Although his prospects for an individual season are promising, Yineman said that he is most excited about competing with his teammates in dual competitions. “One of my favorite things to do is the team duals. Wrestling for my teammates and being able to cheer them on in their matches is a lot of fun.” Yineman also said that the team is focusing on winning the WIAC conference tournament, held this year at the Kolf Sports Center on February 12. “It looks like we’ll be having a good team and a good culture this year,” said Yineman.

The Titan wrestling team kicks off the season on Sunday, Oct.10, with an event known as “Scuffle on the Sidewalk”, an inter-squad dual meet that takes place outside by Blackhawk Commons.

The event will begin at 10 a.m.. The first competition of the season for UWO will be the Pointer Open at UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 6.