Waterford wrestler Kam Johnson finished runner-up at last year’s sectional meet at Alexander High School. (Photo by Debbi Offenberger)

WATERFORD — The preseason expectations for Waterford’s wrestling program are indeed high as head man Greg Offenberger returns state qualifier Hayden Jones for his junior year along with a quartet of other district qualifiers in seniors Trevin Zimmer and Cadon Riley as well as 11th-grader Kameron Johnson.

Expected 126-pounder Briceson Cline, who was injured during last year’s Tri-Valley Conference finals, will try to finish his season as a three-time district qualifier.

“We’re looking for him to hopefully be a state placer this year,” Offenberger said of the 157-pounder Jones. “We’re just working on getting them in wrestling shape right now. Probably, 113 will be the only one we’re missing.

“A couple of the guys will be bouncing around at the beginning of the season because we have to allow them time to get down to weight from their hydration tests. I think by the time the end of the year shakes out, by the time we get to dual season and January, we should fill 13 of 14.”

Cline (126), Zimmer (175) and the heavyweight Riley are joined in the senior class by 165-pounder Cole Moore.

Aside from Johnson (138) and Jones, the only other junior is Joel Ware (157).

Coach Offenberger feels like the Wildcats could have several representatives at the state tournament if things work out as planned.

“I mean we’re loaded,” said the coach. “We’re loaded in the middle weights anyway.

“We’ve got a really stout team this year. Probably one of the most talented ones I’ve had in the 10 years I’ve been here.”

Sophomore Rylee White is the expected 106-pounder with lone freshman Phallyn Hutchins likely to hold down 132.

The sophomore class also features Jaxson Malec (144), Coletyn Dyar (150), Maddox Antill (165), Hudson Lang (190), 215-pounder Max Lang as well as Brady Britton (126-132).

“We’ve picked up a lot of football players over the years and the coaching staff on the football team, they’ve bought into the program as well,” added the coach. “Eric McCutcheon and I go way back. We graduated together and both started coaching varsity the same year.

“We’ve got a pretty good connection and those guys really push their guys if they are not basketball players they need to be in the wrestling room. We have roughly a quarter of the boys in the high school on the wrestling team so we do pretty well with our numbers.”

The Wildcats open the campaign on Saturday morning at home with the Waterford Invitational.

“We have a very good culture in our room,” stressed coach Offenberger. “We don’t have a bad kid. Every kid in there is just a super good kid. We don’t have discipline problems.

“I’ve got upperclassmen who have been with me six years because they wrestled with me through junior high and high school. Nobody gets out of line in our room. Everybody knows what they are supposed to do.”

MARIETTA

Marietta head coach Garrett Davis enters his third season at the helm with plenty of reasons to be fired up about his squad.

The Tigers have 23 boys and eight girls on their roster, which Davis said was the program’s highest numbers in at least 20 years.

“Five to six years ago we were down to single digits,” he said.

“They’ve looked good. The level of competition in the room has a different feel right now.”

Marietta had five district qualifiers a year ago, and four of them are back. Zach Carver (175), Jacob Chovan (190 or 215), Eli Vessels (190 or 215) and Teddy Bauer (285) all are hoping to take that next step in the postseason. Davis also mentioned senior Ian Horsley, who was unable to compete at sectionals last year, as someone who “brings the same kind of energy as those guys.”

Marietta also brings up a strong group from the junior high level.

“We’ve got a lot of freshmen who are starting to practice harder and take it a little more seriously,” said Davis, who noted the Tigers will have two or three weight classes they won’t be able to fill at the start of the year.

Headlining the freshman class are Cooper Brown, Cameron Stoke and Gavan Fayad-Douglass.

“Cooper is one of our hardest workers,” Davis said. “He’s been pushing Zach in practice. Cameron’s been hurt and hasn’t been at practice as much, but he had a pretty successful junior high career. Gavan has looked really good and has come a long way from last year.”

On the girls side, three of the eight wrestled last season. The most experienced wrestler is actually a freshman, Debbie Belin, who has competed for the last three or four seasons.

“Wrestling season is a long, brutal season,” Davis said. “We want to keep the competition in our room moving up. We don’t want to be stagnant. Just keep pushing each other forward and not get complacent. We have a really good group of kids. We’ve got some good wrestlers, but more than that, they’re just a good group of kids.”

WARREN

VINCENT — Head coach Jeff Parsons is excited about the potential of this year’s Warren wrestling program.

The Warriors graduated All-Ohioan Aden Strahler, but return five starters to their lineup and have a promising freshman class.

Returning district qualifiers include senior Eric Carr (215) and sophomore Dylan Legleitner (138).

“Eric’s an all-around athlete,” Parsons said. “He’s starting at 215 but may go down to 190. Dylan was a state alternate as a freshman. We’re looking for big things out of him.”

Freshman Kaiden Snyder, the younger brother of three-time state champion Hayley Snyder, will wrestle at 106.

“He’s a little light, but his wrestling ability can usually make up for that,” Parsons said. “He’s wrestled for several years and we expect him to compete really well.”

Classmate Eli Tullius will wrestle at 113. He got hurt as an eighth-grader and missed time but is “really looking good,” Parsons said.

Seniors PJ Harshbarger (144) and junior Brodie Bolen (120) provide Warren’s roster with experience and are projected to have big years. Rounding out the projected starting lineup will be freshman Ezekiel Huck (132), junior Hunter Barnes (150), sophomore Owen Eller (165), freshman Carter Toncray (175), junior Gavin Cox (190) and junior Andrew Kiggans (285). They don’t have 126 or 157 filled.

Overall Warren had 22 boys and 10 girls on its roster.

“We’ve got a lot of boys 190 and up this year,” Parsons said. “The football team likes to send their kids out, and we have a good relationship with their coaches. We’ve got a lot of guys right on the edge of making the varsity lineup — they’re just stuck behind somebody else at the moment.”

The Warren girls will be led by All-Ohioan Emma Gorrell (115), who was sixth at state as a freshman last year. When the girls host their Hat and Shirt Shop Invitational on Dec. 14, Gorrell will actually be competing in the Ironman that weekend.

Other returning district qualifiers include sophomore Trinidee McKenzie (145), senior Kendra Hescht (130) and senior Isabella Wilson (100). Senior Kate Pierson (125) is a four-year wrestler who the Warren coaching staff has high hopes for.

Also starting will be junior Gretchen Deal (135), junior Josi Waterman (235), sophomore McKinleigh Conger (190), and freshmen Adelynn Russell (140) and Jayne Knotts (110).

“Knotts is a well-known wrestling name at Warren,” Parsons said. “Her grandpa and dad were wrestlers for us, all of her uncles. It’s a big wrestling family. I’m excited to see if that family tradition comes into play with her. She’s doing really well in practice.”

Speaking of family ties, Russell is the younger sister of former Warren wrestler Alivia Russell.

“Numbers are a little down for the girls, but we do have a really good team,” Parsons said. “We’ll forfeit some weight classes, but we’ll compete in most every tournament we go to.”

FORT FRYE

BEVERLY — Fort Frye’s numbers are as good as they’ve ever been, with 17 boys and two girls competing on the high school team and 15 wrestling at the junior high level.

So, the quantity is there. In terms of quality, head coach Josh Seagraves is very optimistic about the potential of this group.

“We’re still really young, so it’s kind of like a rebuilding year,” he said. “I’m just excited. These are large numbers for Fort Frye. It’s a great thing we’re building and I’m excited to see how these kids grow and compete.”

The Cadets have one senior on their roster in Bradley Snodgrass.

Otherwise, Seagraves thinks Gavin Rauch (132), Grayson Goodwin (190) and Steven Lenhart (285) all are capable of doing damage late in the year.

Seagraves called Judah Kesselring an “X-factor” and said “he could upset some people this season.”

Freshmen Ethan Buckey (138) and Zane Campbell (165) are coming off strong eighth grade years. Campbell was a state qualifier while Buckey was an alternate.

Overall Fort Frye will fill 11 out of 14 weight classes on the boys side.

For the girls, Annberlee Weckbacher (170) and Zoey Campbell (190) both qualified for districts last year.

“Zoey was a couple matches away from making state last year,” Seagraves said. “Both are getting better. Girls wrestling is still new, so they’re both learning and getting better.”

BELPRE

BELPRE — The climb continues for the Belpre mat program of head coach Josh Gibson and assistant Todd Packard, even if it’s going a little slower than hoped.

“Obviously we want it to keep growing. We’d love to have full teams, junior high, high school and girls wrestling,” admitted coach Gibson. “We’re progressing. Being a new sport and not having a peewee program, most of these wrestlers are first, second year wrestlers.

“It’s encouraging that the ones who have come out in the past are returning. It’s really helping us establish a base and we’re working to start a youth program so that we can work toward a full team in the future. The ones who are here that are returning have shown tremendous advancement year after year.”

Belpre’s only senior is returner Christian Robinson, who is expected to compete at 144. The junior class has a pair of letter winners returning with 215-pounder Nathan Tippie and 115-pounder Kayleigh Sheldon. Junior Erica Mosser is competing at 125.

A pair of sophomores will be on the mats for the Golden Eagles in 110-pounder Kayden Cleveland and 150-pounder Desirae Sells.

“Wrestling is not the easiest sport to recruit for and once you get them out here, it’s a difficult sport, and thus it’s difficult to retain kids that haven’t done it,” admitted coach Gibson. “They’ve got a steep learning curve and they are doing an amazing job. They come in with great attitudes. They work hard. They show up. They are consistent.

“Yeah, they are going to take some lumps right out of the gates, but they have great attitudes and we’re seeing a tremendous jump in success, especially from the returners that have gone through the tough year, gotten that out of the way and continued to be resilient and come back. That shows, it speaks to their character, and we’re really excited to see what they can do this year.”

Five freshmen dot the BHS lineup with Brooklynn Cross (120), Jimmie Staats (132), Harper Rogers (135), Gavin Henthorne (138) and 215-pounder Bryce Bowman. “Jimmie’s got a tough position being a freshman going up against juniors and seniors that have a couple more years of weight lifting and experience,” said coach Gibson. “It’s a tough road, but we’re excited to see how they can handle it.

“We’re excited about Erica this year. She’s come into the room with zero experience and is really getting after it. We’re excited to see how her aggressiveness in the room is going to translate into matches.”