SARAHSVILLE - Aaron Brown probably didn't expect to have his loyalty tested so soon.

Shenandoah's first-year wrestling coach will guide the Zeps into action against Monroe Central, his alma mater, and Meadowbrook in a triangular match on Wednesday, Dec. 9.

The wrestling is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., with a series of junior high matches.

Brown, a 2004 graduate of Monroe Central, is anxious to get started on his latest endevour.

The challenge will be to transfer some of what he learned in fashioning a 139-16 career record as a high school wrestler himself. As a senior, Brown placed third in the state at 135 pounds in Division III by virtue of a 6-1 overtime decision over Charlie Morris of Middlefield Cardinal at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

Brown's youthful enthusiasm should be an asset.

"Some of our guys like our seniors have been wrestling since the sixth or seventh grade so it's not hard to teach them," Brown said. "They're picking things up lightning fast."

For the season-opening matches, Shenandoah will nearly fill all 14 weight classes.

The main core of the team will consist of seniors Jorge Wilkos (140), Logan Michel (152) and Michael Dodd (171) and juniors Seth Stickley (135) and James Mercer (125).

Others looking to make an strong showing in their season debut are sophomores Ian Wood (130) and Shane Ferguson (145) and freshmen Landon Tomcho (103), Blake Hupp (112), Austin Harmon (215) and Cory Laipply (HWT).

Assisting Brown on his coaching staff is former Caldwell wrestler Justin Seebach, a state runnerup at 135 pounds in Division III in 2005, Leo Michel and Chris Bond.

Brown, 23, also had some limited experience wrestling collegiately at West Liberty University before transferring to the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. In addition to moonlighting as a wrestling coach, Brown also is in his first year at McVay-Perkins Funeral Home in Caldwell where he is employed as an embalmer.