Not even two weeks into the wrestling club, the Sac State team has over 30 athletes. Wrestling is the latest club sport introduced by Dan Benedetto. Benedetto?s initial action involved only one person, but it it has spread like fire on dry grass.

“We almost had to beat people off with a stick because so many wanted to join,” said Dave Petterson, a sports club graduate assistant.

Sac State formerly had a wrestling club which diminished due to lack of competition. There were hardly any other schools with a wrestling program.

“They hung in there for a while wrestling each other, ” Patterson said. “It just got boring.”

The wrestlers will have no competing schedule this year, but will face exhibition challenges. Since it?s just an infant sport, there isn?t even a place for the wrestlers to practice; they don?t practice.

“Hopefully they will have somewhere to practice by (this) week,” Patterson said. Although wrestling as a collegiate sport is unlikely, Patterson has high hopes for the program.

“It should become a fully-fledged club sport,” Patterson said. “It?s simply what intercollegiate athletics chooses.”

Getting a sport club started is really simple. Anyone with an idea for a club can introduce it to Patterson at the Recreation Center. Anybody interested in wrestling sign-ups can sign up in the Recreation Center.