Freshman surprises conference and self

Freshman Ryan Maus never believed the hype until it was apparent it actually was much more. Even as a Georgia 5A state champion wrestler at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Kennesaw, Ga., he came to Truman skeptical about his chances to do well, let alone make it to nationals.

"I thought that [wrestling in college] was going to be a lot tougher than high school, which it definitely is," Maus said. "I didn't even think I was going to start. I was wrestling at the same weight as my brother [sophomore Alex Maus], so I figured I was just going to redshirt, but he ended up redshirting this year. Coach always told me, ‘You can definitely make it [to nationals].' He always kept me up and motivated. So it wasn't ‘till the end that I really started to believe it."

Qualifying for nationals was just one of the many accomplishments Maus had this year, which is why he was voted the Index Freshman of the Year, beating out other qualified candidates including freshman basketball player Nicole Gloor and freshman softball player Kelsey Bollman.

His journey to Truman started with his brother who had decided to go to Truman to wrestle the year before.

"I think he wanted to come here because I was here," Alex Maus said. "It'd be easier to meet people through me, and I guess it was just going to be cool to wrestle on the same team."

Head wrestling coach David Schutter said he expected a lot out of Maus from the beginning.

"I expected him to be a national qualifier [his freshman year]," Schutter said. "I really expected him to be an All-American, and I expect him to be an All-American before he gets out of here."

During the season, Maus acquired a record of 30-14 and was one match away from being an All-American as a freshman. Schutter said his success has a lot to do with his brother.

"One of the reasons he's had so much success so quickly is because his older brother is here," Schutter said. "They were always workout partners, and they'd talk between each other. Especially right in the middle of the season, Ryan was struggling a little bit with it getting tough. Weight was getting tougher to make, and I'm sure Alex lent a shoulder and helped him through some of those rough stretches."

Alex Maus said he was unsure of how well his brother would do.

"I didn't know what to expect, but I thought he'd do really well in college," Maus said. "It's such a different level in college, but I honestly had no idea what was going to happen."

Besides qualifying for nationals and being close to All-American status, he was named MIAA Duals Freshman of the Year and had an immediate impact on the Bulldogs. Schutter said there is a lot more to come from Maus.

"We'll move him up a weight and eventually we'll redshirt him for one year, but we'd like to have two years out of both Maus'," Schutter said. "I expect Ryan to be maybe the best wrestler ever at Truman. Truman has never had a three-time All-American, and he has three more years. He's been right there to the edge, and he's going to go back and work hard and hopefully get it done the next shot he gets."