Published: November 21, 2009 12:14 am      

Howard County wrestling squads ready to go

Last February, Kokomo’s Dylan Green was where every wrestler in the state hopes to be.

He was alive on Saturday at the state finals.

Today, dozens of wrestlers all around Howard County begin the season scattered at meets around the county and state. In three months, they hope their paths all lead to one place: Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Green took eighth last year at state, claiming a medal after winning his opening match in the 215-pound division. The senior is setting his sights high this season.

“I really think that he can go a long way in the state tournament,” Kokomo coach Ryan Wells said. “Our goal last year was to stand somewhere on the podium, and he did. He got an eighth-place finish and that was awesome. He said, ‘Next year, I’m going to stand even higher,’ and I said, ‘I know you are.’

“He’s better than he was last year, as a wrestler, and he’s stronger than he was last year. It’s going to be fun to watch him this year.”

Western’s Austin Shepherd and Northwestern’s Matt Miller also have state experience. Both stood on the floor at Conseco two seasons ago.

As the new season begins, the aspirations are the same but two new coaches will look to make an impression on their squads. At Eastern, former Western coach Bob Jarrett has come out of retirement to take over, and at Taylor, long-time assistant Gary Kleinknight moves into the top spot.

Below are previews of the Howard County squads in order of their finish at last winter’s Oak Hill Sectional.

Western

The Panthers have 23 wrestlers and a lot of experience. They should hit the ground running this season.

“I like our attitude,” Western coach Chad Shepherd said. “We’ve got two or three, four or five guys that have a lot of mat time under them, but I like our attitude. Our kids … they’ve been a self-policing group. If somebody’s not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, I don’t have to say too much. We have a very attentive group. They want to learn, they want to have a good time.”

At the top of the lineup are freshmen 103 pounders Eric Shepherd and Matt Pinkham. Junior Drew Britten is at 112. Junior Alex Ward is at 119. Freshman Marcus Pingleton is at 125. Senior Billy Heady is at 130. Sophomore Dylan Heady and freshman Adam Shepherd are at 135.

Junior Austin Shepherd has moved up two weight classes to 140. He was a state qualifier as a freshman but his postseason was cut short last winter due to injury. Senior Logun Taylor is at 145 with freshman Cyle Duke and sophomore Vince Lenahan backing him up. Junior Connor Love is at 152. Juniors Nathan Soblotne and Jeff Durbin are at 160.

Sophomore Jake Wiechmann and junior Gavin Bugher are at 171. Sophomore Briar Shoffner is at 189. Junior Bo Weir and freshman Hudson Featherstone are at 215. And seniors Trevor Buckalew and Casey Ling, and sophomore Brad Penning are at 285.

Buckalew, Taylor and Austin Shepherd were semistate qualifiers last season. Love and Weir made the regional.

Virtually every wrestler has several years of experience in the Western system, even the ones who will be new to the varsity squad. It’s a luxury for the Panthers.

“We’re going to make some noise,” Chad Shepherd said. “I think the kids that are leading have a different mentality than those who have led in the past, and I think everybody just gels a little better. … The chemistry has been head and shoulders above anything I’ve had in the past. If we can stay healthy, we’re going to have a lot of fun.”

Eastern

Jarrett returns to coaching for the first time since 1993 when he ended a long stint at Western. He’s enthused about what he’s seeing in his first year at Eastern.

“I’ve done this for a long time. They work as hard as any group I’ve ever had,” Jarrett said. “They pay attention, they listen, and they do everything I ask, and that’s all I could ask as a coach.”

The Comets are still brewing as the squad has only two seniors.

“We should be competitive this year, and tough as nails next year,” Jarrett said.

Freshman Connor Young has the 103-pound spot, junior Blake Pence is at 119, junior Zach Alexander is at 125, sophomore John Horner is at 130, junior Dakota Barton is at 135, junior Logan Hetzner, a move-in from Colorado, is at 140 or 145, and freshman Cade Muer is at 140.

Sophomore Blake Thomas is at 152, sophomore Trevor Bitterman is at 160, junior Jerry Flick is at 171, junior Keegan Callis is at 189, junior Clayton Smith is at 215 and junior Chase Starnes is at 285.

Starnes reached the semistate last season while Horner and Horner reached the regional.

The Comets have 23 wrestlers in the practice room and Jarrett is glad they’ve all stuck with the program. While there is a lot left to work on to change to his style, he’s optimistic about what he’s seen.

Jarrett said that the transition to him as a coach requires “conditioning for one thing, and again it’s just a technique. Different coaches put emphasis on different things. We’re not going to ride people if we can’t turn you on your back in 15 or 20 seconds, we’re going to go right back to our feet. It’s exciting wrestling.

“They’re laughing and joking when they leave [practice]. It wouldn’t matter if we started [the season with] three kids or 50 kids, if you don’t have a kid quit, evidently they’re buying into the program.”

Northwestern

The Purple Tigers hope to be healthy. After five major injuries took kids off the mat last season, the Tigers hope that medical concerns won’t weigh them down this season.

Coach Scott Miller expects good things “if we can stay healthy, and that’s a big if because I had three [wrestlers with] bad shoulders last year, with a couple surgeries and a broken leg, and a knee surgery. But we’re hopeful.”

Northwestern has 21 wrestlers with a mix of well-seasoned veterans and eight newcomers who haven’t wrestled in high school, and in some cases haven’t wrestled at all.

Freshman Taylor Craft is at 103 pounds, sophomore Drew Miller is at 112, senior Matt Miller is at 119, backed up by freshman Pierce Hasidinton. Sophomore Matt Kidwell is at 125, senior Ian Moss is at 130. Sophomore Jesse Goodnight is at 135, backed up by sophomore Taylor Johnson.

Sophomore Marcus Salazar has the 140 spot. Freshman Tyler Howe is at 145. Junior Thomas Wilkinson is at 152. Senior John Stahl is at 160, backed up by junior Zach Deurloo. Senior Kyle Miller and junior Raymond Monroe are at 171.

Senior Andy Hunkeler is at 189, backed up by junior Drew Donovan and sophomore Jake Griffey, a move-in from Cass. Senior Devin Reed is at 215, backed up by sophomore Heath Pickett. Senior Evan Floyd is at heavyweight.

Floyd and Matt Miller reached the semistate last season, while Drew Miller and Goodnight reached the regional.

The injury concerns aren’t fully behind the Tigers yet. Matt Miller is one of this season’s recovering grapplers after having foot surgery.

“We have a couple guys we have high hopes for,” Scott Miller said. “If Matt’s toe can heal up, we have high hopes for him, and Evan Floyd, I have high hopes for Evan. We also have John Stahl, Devin Reed and Andy Hunkeler. They’re all seniors and I feel can have a good season for us.

“I really think Drew Miller and Jesse Goodnight are a couple good sophomores who will have good seasons again this year. I have some hopes of our new guys catching on and helping out, but they just don’t have much experience yet.”

Taylor

The Titans have a new coach in Gary Kleinknight and an injection of raw talent with several newcomers to the sport. With 14 wrestlers, the Titans won’t be able to fill all the weight classes, but they expect to build momentum for the future.

Kleinknight said that his staff has been aided by some former assistants, and some former wrestlers who want to improve the program.

“It really seems like we’re trying to get the old Taylor wrestling back and it’s working,” he said. “There’s a lot of know-how in the room and the kids know it, they feel it, so there’s a confidence in the coaching staff that the kids are picking up on. We will have a good program again. That’s exciting for me.”

Freshman Matt Johnson will wrestle at 119 or 112. Sophomore Julian Nieto is also at 119. Junior Kris Workman is at 125. Sophomore Ryan Goudy is at 130. Senior Ethan Martin is at 135. And female grappler Shelby Brown, a freshman, is at 140.

Sophomore Gage Kleinknight is at 145. Junior Seth Stockdell is at 152. Junior Brock Newton is at 160. Junior Christian Harvey is back to 171 pounds while senior Cody Scalf and Michael Heiskell are other options at 171. Senior Dalton Tinsley is at 189. Freshman Daulton Arvin is at 215.

Workman was a semistate qualifier last season while Harvey made the regional.

“About half the squad is going to be made up of new kids,” Gary Kleinknight said. “We have some seasoned wrestlers, kids that have stayed on the mat all year — Kris Workman and Brock Newton. We have Gage Kleinknight, Christian Harvey who also stayed active in the offseason. Overall, probably half the team is new, which is fine because it gives us a chance to mold the guys. We don’t have to worry about fixing mistakes or changing the way they wrestle, we’re starting from scratch.

“It’s a young team but it’s an athletic group. We have time to mold them and we have a couple years to build, so it’s a good thing.”

Kokomo

The Wildkats have 30 kids in the wrestling room, giving the team a lot of depth and a lot of hope. As the season begins, Kokomo is ahead of the curve.

“We were talking at practice the other day with the coaching staff. We thought we were at a higher level right now than we were at the end of last season which is a really good thing because I thought we started to peak at the end of last season around sectional time,” Kokomo coach Ryan Wells said. “I was really pleased with how we were wrestling [at the end of last season]. These guys picked up further than where they left off.”

Freshmen Seth Querry and Ed Shumaker will fill the 103 spot. Sophomore Tony Benedict is at 112. Sophomore Zacc Truman is at 119. Sophomore Sebastian Rybolt is at 125. Freshman Brock Elrod is at 130. And freshman Jake Morgan is at 135.

The 140, 145 and 152 spots are not fully sorted but seniors Chris Sheridan and Nick Sheridan are candidates. Senior Dalton Hatt can wrestle at 140 or 145. And sophomore Jesus Rebollar is an option at 152. The 160 spot is also unsettled with junior Austin Colby, senior Tim Dalton and senior Jacob Taylor in contention.

Sophomore Bo Butler is at 171. Sophomore Cameron Colby is at 189. Senior Drake Brubaker can fill the 171 or 189 spot. Green returns at 215. Seniors Andy McLeod and Rick Rhine are at heavyweight.

Benedict made the semistate last season while Truman and reached the regional.

“This area this year, I think anything can happen,” Wells said. “I think all four county schools and ourselves are going to be real competitive with each other. We’ve got a real good shot at being competitive with anybody around here. That makes us very excited. We’re setting lofty goals and I think we’ve got a squad put together right now that can achieve those goals. Everybody’s excited, everybody’s amped up and ready to get the season started.”