Coach Duroe committed to turn direction

"If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed."

The ancient Chinese proverb hangs on the bulletin board of Cornell College's locker room. Head coach Mike Duroe relayed that message to his wrestling team following a sub-par performance at the NCAA Division III Championships March 9-10 in La Crosse, Wis.

"We've got to change our direction," said Duroe via phone Wednesday morning on a recruiting trip in the Chicago area. "I want to see our program get back to where we were and beyond. I'm more committed than ever in 33 years of coaching to make that happen. I feel a sense of urgency."

The Rams saw their run of five consecutive top-20 NCAA team finishes end two weekends ago. Cornell placed 38th with 5.5 points and failed to crown an All-American for the first time since 2005. The Rams carried a No. 12 national ranking into the tournament.

"If we have a couple All-Americans, we probably feel different," said Duroe, who owns a 90-60-2 dual mark in seven seasons on the Hilltop. "Maybe this is a blessing, for us to fall back to where we were seven years ago."

Duroe knows the team must retool in 2012-13 after graduating seven senior starters, all of which qualified for the national tournament at least once over the past two seasons. The veteran squad compiled a strong 11-4 dual record, all four losses coming against top-3 nationally-ranked foes. Cornell went 6-2 in Iowa Conference duals and placed fourth at the IIAC Championships with 115 points.

The Rams bring back Brent Hamm (174), Alex Coolidge (197) and heavyweights Carl Gaul and Wyatt Bauman to the starting lineup. Coolidge was a national qualifier as a sophomore this season.

Cornell's coaching staff looks to pull in a big recruiting class, hoping to increase the roster size to 36-40 wrestlers. The Rams finished this season with 26 on the team.

"Right now, we're scouring the country coast-to-coast to find the best student wrestlers available," Duroe said. "We're building relationships with programs and coaches to position ourselves to be national contenders. I want to make sure wrestling remains strong at Cornell for a long time."