Indiana Valley has been a nice surprise the last few years. Nice to see them doing good things No SQ return to the line up. They do have a good group of younger kids in the mix tho. Losing Fockler to Perry was a big blow. I would say lighter weights they are as good as anyone. Where they will struggle is 152 to Heavy weight. Not much there or much depth from 170 on. I could see 3-4 SQ if they fall into the right weight classes. Could also see them not sending anyone as well.
Claymont has been down the last few years. Didn’t matter who was coaching them. The talent ran dry it happens in all sports from time to time. Not to forget they lost some really good kids to injury in Akers and Harlan would have been knocking on the door for state last year. I’m sure they would have helped the team out. I think parish was another one that was hurt part of the year. Akers is back out and the jaw seems fixed. Harlan sat out last year as well and sounds like he’s coming back out. Claymont has a few young kids that they can build around. Stewart Fawcett Shaw Akers is a few. Also Sr. Seth Ferguson should be knocking on the door to state this year. I would say if Akers Harlan Parish stay healthy this team will be very much improved. I could see 3-5 SQ this year for Claymont.
Sandy valley has Boggs 106 who should make it to state. Devon Watkins 132 ranked top 15. 132 Brody Marks returning SQ ranked 12th. 160 Gentry 30 wins last year. 170 Reese franks pretty sure he was a SQ from two years ago. Cameron Blair SQ 182 ranked 6th who didn’t wrestle last year. 220 Moyer Ranked 4th. This team will surprise people. They fill every weight class and with Frank’s and Blair back out should really be a nice group of kids. I could see 4-6 SQ for SV this year. With 3 placing. That’s great for SV. If the Crank kid would have had his head screwed on and not got booted out of school and Dom didn’t transfer to Louisville this could have been a top 10 team in D3. League title could be a real close race.
Dover started like 6-7 Freshman 3 Soph and a few JRs. I’m pretty sure they had no Sr in the line up. It’s nice to see Dover with so many young kids. They had a few at districts and 1 SQ. The program has been down for years and the numbers shrinking. 145 Harmon Kiser 160 weaver 170 Lurie 195 should be the leaders in the upper weights. Dover has some good light weights sprinkled in the mix as well. I think they have beat Np 7-8 years in a row. Nice to see them back in D2. They finally got some new coaching on staff that was much needed. Should really help them grow these young kids. I always thought if they had the right head coach Dover could field teams hard to beat. They do it in football and basketball. It’s a shame there’s years with only 15 kids on the team. Maybe with the new coaches new school they can build the program. I have heard twice in the last week tho there is a real high chance they will be losing there best wrestler do to transfer?
Np has Ortt Gamertsfelder and Gibbs that Return. With a bunch of freshman Sophomores in the mix. Np should be very well improved this year. It’s been years since Np was relevant in wrestling. Looking forward to seeing how they compete. They had an excellent middle school team 2 years ago they should be ready to step in At the high school level now. It’s been years since Np beat Indian valley Claymont or even Dover. I would say this could be the year they could pick one of them off. Should be interesting year for wrestling and for Np. Ortt prob has best chance at making state depending on weight class. Gibbs and Gamertsfelder could figure into the mix. Depends on how much work in the off season they put in.
Thanks for the breakdown. Hoping for an exciting year of wrestling in the valley. I think you have to include Carrollton in the area breakdown too. Coach Pasuik was a class act and built a homegrown program that has been consistently one of the best in the area. It will be interesting to see how the coaching transition goes, but I feel like the program is in great hands and will continue to be a top 5/10 team in at district level and challenge yearly for an EBC title.
Indian Valley- Coach Swaldo really laid the groundwork for the success the Braves are having now. Took some lumps early on but saw the process through. Having him as an AD should really benefit the continued upward trajectory of the program. Word is the Braves will be the beneficiary of some "move-ins" this year. New facilities, young + energetic staff.
Claymont- The Stangs are reloading. The wrestling base this community has cannot be matched locally. That being said there has been some disconnect in that base but it has been repaired and many of these factions are back on the same page. Still a ton of talented wrestling families that have kids in the systems. The culture is still there, talent is still coming through. I expect the Stangs to make a jump this year, and the year after that....watch out. This is an important year though to get the train back on track. I agree, I could see 3-5 qualifiers for the Stangs, with Shaw placing in Columbus (maybe another too). The teams last year were going to struggle regardless of who was coaching.
Sandy Valley, I remember if the Groff years SV always had full rosters, solid kids top to bottom, but not a ton of "blue chippers" each year. Coach D has done a phenomenal job of producing "blue chippers" but they have struggled to have those traditional top to bottom full roster SV teams. That will not be the case this year, roster is loaded, could be a banner year for the program. As pipe mentioned, a few high-end kids are returning, excited to catch a few of their duals this year.
Dover could be sneaky good this year. Their issues seem to stem from a fall off in the youth program over the years. The program had some really good teams in the 2015, 2016, 2017 years. Having attended Top Gun for almost 24 years I can remember one of those years the Tornadoes actually had more placers at Top Gun then the Stangs & at that moment it kinda felt like they were going to be a program to watch out for in years to come. Two of those years I believe they were division 1 by a few kids and were still sending kids to state and having underclassmen go 2-2 at the absolutely brutal North Canton District. This year I think they are the darkhorse team in the area. Who are the new coaches? What are their credentials?
New Phila- This program reached its peak under Coach Nutter. Anyone remember those Claymont/Phila battles from the early to mid 2000s? A few classics at the pit. I've always felt that New Phila could be an absolute gold mine. The youth and middle schools programs have been loaded in the past. In terms of wrestling culture, a ton of "Nutter Trained' dads that now have kids in the school system. There are wrestling families in the community. I do agree, Phila will be improved this year. However, there has been some attrition within the program over the years and possibly this year too. Still think this is a sleeping giant.
Would love to see a T-County dual tournament this year. Someone needs to make this happen.