Todd Taylor and Kevin Leibrock
Graduation hit Avon hard this year.
The Orioles enter the 2009-10 season without two key members of their sectional title team from a year ago — two-time state qualifiers Dalton Jones and Andrew Leach.
Corbin Richards (145) and Isaiah Alfs (152) also graduated after wrestling at semistate last year, as did regional qualifier Scotty Maxwell (140).
“Hopefully we can find someone who can step up and replace them,” Orioles coach Israel Blevins said. “It’s hard to replace both (Jones and Leach). They’re two-time state qualifiers and they placed the second time.”
Despite the heavy losses, Avon still returns plenty of experience.
Leading the Orioles this season will be senior Cole Brandt, who finished 32-9 last year in the 171 lb. weight class and made it to state.
Brandt will again wrestle at 171.
“He’s improved quite a bit and he’s worked hard,” Blevins said. “He’s basically wrestled every opportunity he’s had and we’re excited to see what he can do this season.”
Other returners with significant varsity experience include junior Ladale Fitzgerald (103) and seniors Blaine Hall (112), Nick Acosta (125), and Matt Rassbach (135).
Hall earned a regional title last season, while Rassbach joined him at semistate by placing third at regional.
Blevins said underclassmen will make up some of his lighter classes, and freshmen Jordan Mueller and Tasker Strobel will compete at the 103 lb. spot.
Sophomore Steven Klein returns after wrestling at 119 pounds last season.
“We have a lot different team this year than we had last year,” Blevins said. “A lot of guys haven’t been in the varsity line-up before and we’ve got a lot of new, young faces.”
As for team goals, Blevins said they’re the same as they’ve always been — compete for county, conference, and sectional titles.
“We expect the kids to be competing for that,” Blevins said. “Right now, I’m not sure what other teams lost, and we lost a lot. But we still have the same expectations.”
Brownsburg
The Brownsburg wrestling team lost more than a dozen wrestlers to graduation, including two athletes that placed at the state tournament — Nate Richey and Adam Howland.
But thanks to a program with strong numbers, head coach Jason Catellier doesn’t anticipate much of a drop off.
“We lost a pretty deep senior class with two state placers so we’ll have to rebuild in those areas,” he said. “I still have 50-60 kids in the wrestling room and a big group of freshmen. I have a high outlook on the season and I hope my guys do too.”
Justin Fuller returns to the team after qualifying for the state tournament last season. Catellier expects him to continue to wrestle at 119 lbs. for his senior season.
“He’s doing a great job leading our team right now,” Catellier said. “He’s been working very hard. He’s at the same weight class, is very confident, and has his head on straight.”
Senior Chris Oaks was a sectional and county champion at 125 lbs. last season and is expected to have a big season for the Bulldogs.
“Chris has been wrestling his whole life,” Catellier said. “He’s excited about his last year wrestling in high school. He’s a great asset.”
Trent Worden, Toby Rumschlag, and Matthew O’Bannon will help round out the senior class, while junior Dustin O’Bannon will also be a key contributor.
The Bulldogs look to add more personnel when the football team’s season ends, including Luke Huston and Jonathon Stinnett.
“We have a pretty strong core of guys,” Catellier said. “Right now the biggest problem is probably not having the guys from the football team. But having your school’s football team advancing this far is a great problem to have.”
Freshman Austin Arnold — a three-time county champion in middle school — is also expected to factor in at the 103 lb. spot.
Catellier is also excited about his crew of managers which includes Aimee King, Maegan Starkey, and Cody Johnson.
“I believe they are the best group of managers in the state,” he said.
Brownsburg hosts its invitational Oct. 21.
Cascade
The Cascade wrestling program took another step in the right direction last season, repeating as West Central Conference champions and placing third in the county meet.
Though the loss of graduated seniors Justin Arnes, Colin Ernst, and Garrett Smith will certainly hurt, head coach Ryan Parrish is confident the program will continue to improve.
“You can’t replace those guys,” Parrish said. “But we are excited about the team we bring back, it’s not like we are just a bunch of freshmen.”
Ethan Guernsey and Cody Blackburn will lead the Cadets’ senior class. Guernsey won his weight class (119 lbs.) at county.
“Ethan worked his butt off this offseason and we are expecting even more from him,” Parrish said. “We want him to win at regional and wrestle in the state tournament.”
Blackburn battled injury last season, but is expected to be a key contributer this year.
“He broke his foot last year,” Parrish said. “We got him back at sectional, but he was in no shape to wrestle. He had 20 plus wins as a sophomore and we’re expecting the same kind of results from him as a senior.”
Justin Helmick and Cyle Hill will headline a strong junior class for the Cadets. Both wrestlers were semistate qualifiers last season.
Skyler Pintor will remain at the 103 lb. weight class for his junior season and classmate Kent Doss will help fill the void left by Arnes, Ernst, and Smith.
“As a junior at 103, we expect Skyler to do some good things,” Parrish said. “Kent will be back down to 130 or 135, with Arnes and Smith in there he was kind of the odd man out. We think he’ll be successful.”
Freshman Ben Marci is also expected to contribute for the Cadets at the 112 lb. spot.
Cascade’s season starts at the Mooresville Invite Nov. 24.
Plainfield
Plainfield coach Paul Nicodemus is understandably optimistic about the new wrestling season. The Quakers return nine wrestlers that placed sixth or better at last year’s sectional meet.
“This is one of the most experienced teams I’ve ever had,” Nicodemus said. “With that, you hope comes success.”
Leading the way will be junior Dustin Parrish who won county and qualified for semistate last season at 145 lbs.
“He wrestles year round and you can really tell,” Nicodemus said. “He’s at a level where at the first day of practice he could go out and compete.”
Three regional qualifiers return for the Quakers — junior Kalob Heald (who was also the 119 lb. Mid-State champion) and seniors Sam Ulrich and Grant Collicott.
Other key contributors will be junior Erick Drake and seniors Dalton Boyer (a semistate qualifier as a freshman), Tyler Cozart, Sean Loughlin, and Elliott Hughes.
“It’s the first time in a long time I can go through the projected lineup and find almost all juniors and seniors,” Nicodemus said.
Collicott, Boyer, Cozart, Hughes, and Drake all join the team after successful postseason runs with the cross country and football teams.
“It’s great, they’ve got a lot of leadership they can carry over to wrestling for us,” Nicodemus said.
With plenty of talent and experience, Nicodemus is hoping to compete for county and conference championships this season.
“I know that Brownsburg is returning a lot of quality athletes and Avon graduated a lot of good kids but is always deep,” he said. “I’m anxious to see how much this experience helps. It will be interesting to see where we fall.”
Plainfield opens its season at the Brownsburg Invite Nov. 21.
Tri-West
Leading Tri-West in 2009-10 will be a trio of seniors — Ryan Kolb, Quaye Bealmear, and Andrew Mocherman.
All three have ventured far into the postseason.
Kolb dominated the 152-lb. weight class last year, taking conference, sectional, and regional titles. Mocherman was a regional qualifier at 112 lbs. a year ago, and Bealmear reached the state meet at 125 lbs. in 2008.
Bruins coach Steve Bealmear is counting on the experience of those three wrestlers to help guide his squad.
“We should be really strong this year,” Steve Bealmear said. “We have a lot of leadership returning with our seniors.”
The Bruins graduated three regional qualifiers in Justin Meyer (119), Damon Jones (140), and Drake Gadberry (189). Helping offset those losses will be a strong junior class, led by fellow regional qualifiers Travis Kahl (160) and Cory Miller (171).
Sophomore Alex Stahl (189) returns to the team, and freshman John Staten will contribute at the heavyweight class.
Last season, the Bruins improved to fourth place in the Sagamore Conference, and finished seventh at sectional.
Bealmear has high hopes for 2009-10.
“I would like to get top three in the Sagamore,” he said. “I’d also like to get maybe top three in the sectional.”
Danville
Danville coach Steve Pugliese is pleased to report his team’s numbers are up heading into the new season. Citing increased interest in wrestling, he projects to have more than 20 on the roster in 2009-10.
“I think we’re going to have every weight class filled,” Pugliese said. “Obviously, that’s a step in the right direction. We haven’t had these kind of numbers in quite a few years, so that says a lot about what’s going on down at the junior high level.”
The Warriors must find replacements for several graduated seniors, including semistate qualifier Hunter Mason (285) and Matt McKinney (145), who wrestled at regional.
“Those guys are hard to replace,” Pugliese said. “It was always nice having pretty good bookends with (sophomore) Jordan Judy at 103 and Hunter at heavyweight. I don’t know if you can replace them, but we’ve got some kids that have been in the program now for three or four years.”
Judy returns at 103 after winning conference, county, and sectional titles last year as a freshman. He was runner-up at regional and wrestled at semistate.
Senior Sam Brewer also returns after qualifying for regional at 152 lbs. last season.
“I think they’ll fill the void pretty well,” Pugliese said. “I’m not looking so much for the wins aspect as much as I am for guys that can control the room.”
Other key returners for the Warriors include junior David Haak (140) and senior Merrick Heitkamp (189).
The Warriors will also feature a large freshman class, including Neal Molloy, Braden Montgomery, Jordan Shearin, and Jackson Butler.
Danville finished sixth in both the Sagamore Conference and sectional last season. Pugliese said a larger roster should lead to more success this year.
“A lot of it is based on numbers,” Pugliese said. “When you go to a tournament and don’t score any points in three weight classes, you’re not going to finish above anybody. This year, we’ll have the numbers to have competition for spots. It will mean a little more to them when they step out for real.”
