The SF State men’s wrestling squad is ready to fight back into championship contention after an uninspiring 2005-2006 campaign.

This year they have four aces up their sleeve that come in the form of Locketts.

Returning for his senior year is Virgil Lockett, ranked fifth in the NCAA Division-two collegiate polls. Joining him are his three brothers: assistant coach Donald Lockett, Ali Lockett, junior, and Ben Lockett, freshman.

According to Virgil, having his older brother as a coach and two younger brothers on the team is like living at home all over again.

“We have been wrestling since day one, wrestling in the living room, moving the living room table to the side you know, banging up and down the stairs and what not,” Virgil Lockett said. “It’s like we are back at home, just wrestling around, playing around.”

The Lockett brothers all agree that this year’s team will yield different results than the previous season’s last place 0-14 team. Yet, last season’s poor standings aren’t necessarily a bad thing, according to Ben Lockett.

“Right now we are the most underrated team in the nation, so a lot of teams are going to take us lightly,” he said. “We have no returning All-Americans but we have a lot of guys that have potential to be All-Americans and even national champions.”

The Locketts also have similar goals. They all want to be champions.

“My goals are always the same, to be the champion of the weight class I am in,” said Ali Lockett, who is the biggest of the brothers at 149 pounds.

The Lockett brothers disagree however on one very important subject – who usually wins when they wrestle each other.

“I mostly win,” assistant coach Donald Lockett said. “Lifetime, I’d say 90 percent of the time.”

“I think that’s a little bit of an exaggeration,” Ben said.

“He used to win but not anymore,” Virgil said while chuckling. “I’m in my prime and I take him down when I want to, you can quote me on that.”

All jokes aside, the Lockett brothers bring a serious desire to win, along with a sense of family to the entire team.

“We treat each other like family, brothers from another mother,” Virgil said of his teammates. “We hang out with each other a lot, we are kind of more than a team, we are pretty much a family and that bond makes us a better team.”

Team chemistry is a huge aspect this year and should result in a climb up the standings. Last season was rocky as injuries and members leaving for personal reasons hurt the team as a whole.

“Last year the team chemistry wasn’t there as much, and it didn’t turn out well for the team,” said Will Simmons who is a returning senior and likely to be named one of the team captains. “Even though wrestling seems like an individual sport, it’s really not,” he added.

According to Simmons there is a better support structure in place this year. “Everyone has each other’s back out there so they don’t feel like they are out there alone, they feel like they have the team with them.”

The team’s first test will come in the form of an exhibition alumni match Nov. 10. It will be held at the Main Gymnasium on campus and is free for students to attend. This exhibition will feature current team members wrestling against former SF State wrestlers who have already graduated.

“With every other team you can look online and see who you are wrestling, with the alumni you don’t know who you are wrestling,” said sophomore Kenny Packard who weighs in at 157 pounds. Packard is looking forward to his first alumni match. “Some people are going to be wrestling national champions and not even know it,” he added.

According to Coach Lars Jensen, who is returning for his 24th season, it is the old guys versus the new guys, and it is interesting because often the old guys haven’t been conditioning for years.

The current team members are eagerly anticipating the alumni match to show what they can do on the wrestling mats, and they are excited to kick off the season. They don’t feel the “old guys” coming in pose much of a threat to them.

“We had to do some things to them last year, we had to put a pounding on them,” Will Simmons said of the alumni match last season. “They come in thinking they are going to score so much in the first rounds, then they gas out.”