CURWENSVILLE – Eleven lettermen, five of whom have earned more than one monogram, give Duane Wriglesworth good reason to be cautiously optimistic for his third season as Curwensville Area High School wrestling coach.
\”We\’re looking forward to having a successful year,\” Wriglesworth said. \”We do have a good nucleus coming back, and we should have some good leadership in the senior and junior classes, so we\’re excited about that.
\”But we\’re still young, and we have some holes to fill. We don\’t have a light schedule. And you always have to be concerned about injuries and illness.\”
The Golden Tide returnees are seniors Nick Caldwell (8-11 last season), Justin Johnston (9-15), Brett McCracken (20-12) and Jarrett Sloppy (13-14), juniors Tyler Peters (20-16), Nathan Russell (14-13), Justin Smith (6-18) and Duane Wriglesworth III and sophomore PIAA Class AA placewinner Derek Brothers (32-9) and Brett Sutika (17-13).
McCracken will be working on his fourth letter. Johnston, Sloppy, Peters and Thomas are two-year lettermen.
Brothers became the first Curwensville freshman wrestler to win a Northwest Region championship and place in the state tournament. He and McCracken were District 9 runners-up, while Peters placed third to qualify for regionals and Thomas wound up fourth, just missing a chance to advance.
Caldwell, who would have plugged a hole in the heavy weights, probably will miss most, if not all, of the season because of a preseason football injury, but its possible all of the others could be in the Golden Tide lineup on some nights.
\”If we can get all the holes filled, I think we can have a balanced lineup for the most part,\” said Wriglesworth, who foresees juggling wrestlers at different weights depending on how they match up with the opposition.
Curwensville will be solid in the lightweights with Brothers (112 pounds), Peters (119) and Sutika (125), all up a weight.
Johnston (135), Wriglesworth III (135), Thomas (140), McCracken (152), Smith (152) and Sloppy (160) will keep the Golden Tide very competitive through the middle and upper middle weights.
The top of the lineup is a concern with Russell (215) the lone experienced matman in the last four weights.
Sloppy or Smith could bump to 171. Sophomore Jonathon Michaels might the answer there or at 189. Junior Walter Koontz is set at heavyweight.
Freshman Greg Koptchak will be the 103-pounder, with sophomore Bucky Adams possibly dropping down to that weight in January. His presence at 112 gives Wriglesworth depth among the bantams.
Junior Cody Palmer (135) and sophomores Wes McGarry (130) and Richie Michael (130) are in the mix in the middle, too.
If the Golden Tide lives up to its higher expectations on the mat and stays healthy, bettering last season\’s 6-6 record is a very likely, even against a rugged schedule that includes perennial District 9 Class AA powers Ridgway, Redbank Valley and Brookville and Class AAA foes Clearfield and Punxsutawney.
Curwensville, which lost 33-32 to Port Allegany in the first round of the District 9 Class AA Dual Meet Tournament last season, has had back-to-back 6-5 regular-season records under Wriglesworth. The Golden Tide was 1-1 in the 2006 District 9 Duals.
Three-time PIAA Class AA placewinner Nick Sipes (189), Matt Holland (152), Joe Hawkins (215) and Brandon Padgett (171) were the seniors on the 2006-07 squad.
Sipes, Curwensville\’s first four-time District 9 champion, finished his brilliant career 122-13, the school record for wins and No. 21 on the District 9 all-time list.
He won two Northwest Region crowns and was runner-up once.
In the state tourneys, Sipes was runner-up as a sophomore, fourth as a junior and third as a senior.
Chuck Shaffer is the varsity assistant coach. Rob Brothers, Joe McCracken and Brett Hoover are volunteer coaches. Mike Bookhamer and Steve Keller are junior high coaches.
The Golden Tide is booked for 11 dual meets and tournaments at Penn Manor, Redbank Valley, Cambria Heights and Grove City.
All dual meets are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. except for the Clearfield match, which will start at 7.
The Curwensville roster, with (*) denoting lettermen:
Seniors
Nick Caldwell (*), 189; Justin Johnston (*), 135; Brett McCracken (*), 145; Jarrett Sloppy (*), 160; Ryan Smith, 152.
Juniors
Don Gillingham, 119; Walter Koontz, 215; Cody Palmer, 135; Tyler Peters (*), 112; Nathan Russell (*), 215; Justin Smith (*), 152; Jeff Thomas (*), 140; Duane Wriglesworth III (*), 135.
Sophomores
Bucky Adams, 103; Derek Brothers (*), 112; Wes McGarry, 130; Richie Michael, 130; Jonathon Michaels, 171; Brett Sutika (*), 125; Matt Schultz, 130.
Freshman
Greg Koptchak, 103.
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The Curwensville schedule:
December
4 – at Moshannon Valley
7-8 – at Penn Manor Tournament
13 – Redbank Valley
19 – at Brockway
28-29 – at Redbank Valley Holiday Tournament
January
4 – Punxsutawney
5 – at Cambria Heights Invitational
10 – West Branch
15 – at Clarion
17 – Ridgway
22 – at Johnsonburg
25-26 – at Fred Bell Tournament (Grove City)
31 – Marion Center
February
5 – at Brookville
7 – Clearfield
