The wrestling team is set to open its season on Friday, Dec. 6 at the Chartiers-Houston Invitational. The tournament boasts 28 wrestling programs participating, which will make for some tough competition for the Black Hawk grapplers. The Hawks will toe the line beginning on Friday afternoon, and many hope to reach the medal stand Saturday afternoon.
The defending section champions and WPIAL semifinalists return 10 starters from last year’s squad, including senior captains Ethan Higgins, Aden Stout, Seth Miller, and Michael Gibson. Higgins, last season’s 145-lb section champion, enters the season with a team-best 83 career wins, after reaching the medal stand at last year’s WPIAL tournament.
When asked about his goals for the season, Higgins said, “I want to get over 100 wins and place at states.” Higgins is slated to start the season in the starting 152-lb spot.
Stout, the team’s vocal leader, is slotted at the 139-lb spot and enters the season with 64 career wins.
“We didn’t end up where we expected to last year, but we plan to come back strong and prove that we deserve to be at that state tournament,” Stout said.
Miller reached the podium at WPIALs as a junior and hopes to punch his ticket to Hershey this season. The 133-pounder heads into his senior campaign with 61 career wins, while Heavyweight Michael Gibson returns for his second season, after tallying 16 wins last year.
Multi-sport athletes Ryan Walsh (189 lbs) and Hunter Goelz (215 lbs) will join Gibson at the upper weights once again. Walsh stars on the baseball team, while Goelz is a standout on the gridiron. Both enter the season with 42 wins on their belts.
Senior Jaden Palombine is coming off a successful junior season at 107 lbs, in which he collected 22 wins and intends to wrestle at 114 lbs this season.
A trio of sophomores return to the starting lineup this season, including Pierce Reinhart (121 lbs), Colton Fisher (127 lbs) and Ian Bucheli (145 lbs). Fisher garnered 20 wins, while placing sixth at the Allegheny County Championships, while Bucheli tallied 18 victories and reached the podium at WPIALs.
A season-ending injury cut Reinhart’s freshman season short, after earning 11 wins, but he figures to be one of the top contenders this season at 121 lbs in western Pennsylvania.
Returning lettermen from last year who are poised for breakout seasons are senior Mak Miller, and sophomores Caleb Crawford and Aws Al-Saadi. Adding depth to the squad include senior Pedro DeMira, juniors Dom DeMira, Ali Al-Tekreeti, Diyor Islomov, Jed Johnson, Umid Mamed, and AlexNikiforov, as well as sophomores Zayniddin Akhmedov, Maxx Meussner, and Nathan Ward, and freshmen Mathis Miller and Jenish Rimal.
Tyler Nauman returns as the Mat Boss for a third season, along with assistant coaches Zach Gmitter and Jordan Dunlap, as well as Bethel Park alumni Hunter Kernan, Ace Bonaccorsi, and Noah Seeberger. Joining the coaching staff this season is Ryan “Goose” Gossett.
The Hawks will compete as a team for the first time on Dec. 11, when they host rival Peters Twp. at 7 p.m. in the main gym.
The black and orange will then head north to the Hampton Duals on Dec. 14 and then wrestle at Mt. Lebanon on Dec.18.
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