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With the season just underway, here’s a look at the La Salle-Peru, St. Bede, Putnam County-Hall, Mendota and Princeton wrestling teams.
La Salle-Peru
Coach: Matt Rebholz
Top returners: Boys - Reegan Kellett, sr.; Caeden Small, jr.; Austin Herron, jr.; Zach Pocivasek, sr.; Walter Haage, sr.; Caleb Plutt, so.; Jentz Watson, jr. Girls - Kiely Domyancich, jr.; Sarah Lowery, so.
Top newcomers: Boys - Gianni Verucchi, so.; Adrian Rico, fr. Girls - Emily Lowery, fr.; Marisa Eggersdorfer, jr.; Kalista Frost, fr.; Ava Edwall, fr.
Worth noting: With a mix of young and veteran wrestlers, the Cavaliers’ boys team look to perform better in duals this season. “The goal this season is to continue to develop and continue to teach our team the importance of wrestling as a team and as an individual,” Rebholz said. “We did not have much dual success over the last few seasons. This year our goal is to begin the climb back to competing in every dual. To do so we are looking to compete the right way by saving team points as often as possible and fighting for every match. Individually, we want to continue to develop success in tournaments, being able to go deep in tournaments, find ourselves in placement matches and prepare our wrestlers for the state series.” On the girls side, the Cavs have their largest roster ever with 11 wrestlers. Last year, L-P had three girls on the roster. “We are very excited to have 11 girls on our roster this year,” Rebholz said. “Our goals are to continue to develop our girls’ skills and to keep promoting the sport of wrestling for girls at L-P and in the area. As we continue to grow, we can add more coaches to our staff solely focused on our girls and create two stand-alone teams.” Domyancich returns to lead the girls team as a third-year wrestler. Last season, she went 22-2, won the 105-pound title at the Erie Regional and came one win away from a state berth.
St. Bede
Coach: Sam Allen
Top returners: Logan Pineda, sr., 165; Garrett Connelly, sr., 190; Grady Gillan, sr., 215; Jordan Coventry, sr., 165; Jack Maschmann, sr., 175
Top newcomers: Michael Benge, fr., 113; Max Moreno, fr., 126
Worth noting: The Bruins added 12 new wrestlers to the roster and about half bring prior experience to the team. They have a veteran roster with a solid senior class. Pineda (34-10 record in 2023-24), Connelly (29-16), Gillan (16-8) are returning sectional qualifiers, while Maschmann is a fourth-year wrestler and Coventry is a third-year wrestler. “St. Bede has a very good looking roster,” Allen said. “After we get settled into our weight classes in January, we should have high potential to fill all 14 weight classes. That is going to provide us with an edge we’re not used to historically. We will be looking to have a lot of fun as a team this year while enjoying the skilled individuals we have, as well. Freshmen Benge and Moreno “will provide some depth and experience on the lighter side of the weight classes,” Allen said. Pineda, Connelly, Gillan, Moreno and Benge could contend for state berths, Allen said.
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Putnam County-Hall
Coach: Joseph Mecagni
Top returners: Boys - Ben Heerdt, Elijah Leota, James Irwin. Girls - Bailey Herr, Ella Irwin
Top newcomers: Boys - Alex Tucker, Cayden Bouxsein
Worth noting: Mecagni takes over as PC-Hall coach and he inherits a roster with returning girls wrestlers who have had postseason success. Herr returns as a two-time state qualifier for the Panthers. She finished 15-11 last season and placed fourth at the Geneseo Sectional at 190. Ella Irwin fell one win shy of state last season. On the boys side, Heerdt, Leota and James Irwin provide experience, while Tucker and Bouxsein are “promising newcomers to the starting lineup,” Mecagni said. Mecagni said he’s looking for his wrestlers to develop throughout the season. “My goal as coach is general improvement of the wrestlers,” Mecagni said. “They don’t have to win to make me happy, they just have to work hard.”
Mendota
Coach: Dale Meyers
Top returners: Boys - Zach Schmidt, so., 175; Adrian Arteaga, so., 120; Gavin Stevenson, so., 126; Gavin Evans, jr., 157; Corbin Furar, jr., 175; Payton Gagliardo, jr., 190; Rhett Watson, sr., 165; Cole Kleckner, so., 144; Tryvon Rucker, so., 144; Mike Thornhill, sr., 215; Angil Serrano, sr., 285. Girls - Emma Dearing, so., 190; Laina Gonzales, so., 205; Delila Kent, so., 155; Jayleen Jordan, so., 140; Hayden Senders, so., 135; Lea Turner, sr., 170.
Top newcomers: Boys - Koman Denault, fr., 132; Wyatt Ossman, jr., 210
Worth noting: On the boys side, the Trojans don’t fill all the weights, which will hamper team success, but Meyers said Mendota has some individuals who will find success. “It will be an interesting season ahead with missing lower weights as a team, but individually, we will do some damage,” Meyers said. Serrano returns after finishing 18-10 and placing second in the Class 1A Sandwich Regional last year. Meyers said Serrano has a chance to qualify for state. Stevenson, Kleckner, Evans, Furar and Watson also could advance in the postseason, Meyers said. On the girls side, the Trojans return a solid group, led by Jordan and Turner, who Meyers said are potential state qualifiers.
Princeton
Coach: Steve Amy
Key returners: Boys - Ace Christiansen, sr., 144; Casey Etheridge, jr., 165; Kaydin Gibson, sr., 126; Ian Morris, sr., 215; Cade Odell, sr., 285; Augustus Swanson, sr., 106. Girls - Abby Harris, so., 115; Jadeyn Klingenberg, so., 125; Izzy Gibson, jr., 135
Key newcomers: Kane Dauber, fr., 132
Worth noting: The Tigers have three returning state medalists and a fourth state qualifier in camp. Christiansen, the reigning NewsTribune Boys Wrestler of the Year, topped the medal take in third place at 138, finishing 39-7. He will bump up to 144 this year. Odell (32-4) placed fourth at 285 while Swanson (35-3), who was ranked No. 1 for most of the season, placed fifth at 106. Etheridge (32-11) also qualified at 165. They all have an eye on returning to state along with returning sectional qualifiers Morris (22-16) and junior Eli Berlin (190) and the freshman Dauber. Sophomore Jaydon Cooke (11-15) also returns at 126. “Like every year our goal is to win the regional and give ourselves a shot a getting to team state,” Amy said. “We have quite a few individuals who either have the expectations of competing at the state tournament as well as being on the top of the state podium at the end of the season. We just have to keep getting better every day. We have a very talented group with a lot of experience. Any time you return four state qualifiers and three placers it is going to be very exciting.” Amy said the big freshman class that has a lot of experience gives the program a big boost. On the girls side, Gibson returns after going 21-7 and qualifying for state. She was the inaugural NewsTribune Girls Wrestler of the Year. Harris (7-9) and Klingenberg (3-10) were both sectional qualifiers. Sophomore Rylee Backes (100, 4-7) rounds out the team. “They have all put in time this offseason and have gotten much better. They work hard and do a great job of adapting to everything we throw at them,” Amy said.