LOCKING CLAWS: Aric Clem (left) grapples with John Mark in a preseason wrestling practice. The Auburn wrestling club team placed fourth in the SEC and 18th at the NCWA championships in Dallas, Texas, last year.

The Auburn club wrestling team began practice for the upcoming season last week.

The team has been diligently preparing for its season-opening tournament Oct. 22 at the Georgia Tech Open.

"We just started practicing three days a week," said Jeremiah Lamphere, a senior on the wrestling team. "Some of us have even been practicing with our high school teams."

Last year, the wrestling team had a good showing, placing fourth in the SEC and 18th at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) National Championships in Dallas, Texas, where 50 teams competed.

Auburn took six wrestlers to nationals. Sophomore Scott Terry placed fourth in the tournament, landing him All-American honors for the second year in a row.

This year, Auburn hopes to improve on last year's success.

"We want to be top three in the SEC and then place top 10 in the nation," Lamphere said.

Although Auburn has set high goals for this season, the road to nationals begins with the Georgia Tech Open.

"We're looking forward to the Georgia Tech Open," said Trey Hamer, a graduate student on the team. "It's an open tournament with about 300 wrestlers. There's good competition from all over the Southeast."

The wrestling team also enjoys home meets at Auburn.

We like the home meets the most," Lamphere said. "All the guys can get their friends and family out there to watch."

Although all the home meets have not been determined yet, Lamphere said they should be announced in the next two weeks.

Lamphere and Hamer both agreed that the University of Central Florida will be the team's toughest opponent this year.

UCF won nationals last year to become the top ranked team in the nation.

Hamer said there are roughly 30-35 wrestlers on the Auburn squad this year.

"It's about 50-50 with young guys and experienced guys on the team," Hamer said.

Lamphere and Hamer have been impressed with a couple of additions to the team this year in Nick Paolucci and Aaryn Melnikoff.

"They are showing a lot of extra effort and have excellent technique. And they have obviously had good coaching," Lamphere said.

"Both of them have strong technique and a great work ethic," Hamer said.

A big addition to the wrestling club program this year has been the Arnold Umbach Fund for Excellence scholarships.

The scholarships were created in honor of Arnold "Swede" Umbach Sr. who spent 27 years as a wrestling coach at Auburn.

The club wrestling team is the only club team to offer scholarships at Auburn.

Last year, the scholarships were awarded to Trey Hamer, Jeremiah Lamphere, Scott Terry and Anthony White.

"The scholarships will really help get high school guys interested in wrestling at Auburn," Hamer said.

The season begins with the Georgia Tech Open and lasts through the NCWA Championships from March 11 through 12, 2006.