NTL WRESTLING: ATHENS' BRADLEY EXCITED HEADING INTO 2019-20 CAMPAIGN (2019-12-12)
Valley Sports ReportATHENS - After a "really good" offseason, Athens wrestling coach Shawn Bradley is excited about the 2019-20 season.
(Athens opens its dual season tonight when it hosts Troy in the old gym.)
"We have a small senior class, but we have a super-large group of sophomores, and a good group of freshmen coming in," said Bradley. "We're excited.
"Our offseason was really good, so our focus is just building upon what we did in the offseason," added Bradley.
The Wildcats return state place-winner sophomore Gavin Bradley, who was sixth at the PIAA championships, and District 4 qualifiers sophomores Kaden Setzer and Karter Rude, senior Alex West and Keegan Braund, and junior Ben Pernaselli.
They also return juniors Tyler Coy, Kyler Setzer, Zach Stafursky, and Travis Stedge, and sophomores Lucas Forbes, Gavin McGrath, Collin Rosh, and Cameron Whitmarsh.
Newcomers for the Wildcats include sophomores Daniel Horton, Warner Dorman, Ethan Sites, Darel Smith, and freshmen Aiden Garcia, Branden Jennings, Jayden Wright, Jake Courtney, and Riley Hall.
"Gavin Bradley, Lucas Forbes, Gavin McGrath, Ben Pernaselli, Colin Rosh, Karter Rude, Kyler Setzer, Kaden Setzer, Zach Stafursky, and Alex West put in a lot of time and matches over the summer and we are expecting to see some great improvement out of them," said assistant coach Jay White. " Add to that list the freshman from the list above that also spent quite a bit of time with us.
"Just like last year our team is still very young, and we will go as far as the underclassman will take us," noted White. "We are loaded with hard working kids, that put in the extra time over the summer getting better and stronger.
"We fully expect each of those kids to improve on their performances from last year and move further along in the post season," he added.
The Wildcats were in action Saturday, placing fifth in their annual Jarvis Memorial Tournament.
Kyler Setzer, Bradley, and Kaden Setzer will start at 106, 113, and 120, respectively, for the Wildcats, with McGrath, Jennings, and Rude wrestling at 126, 132, and 138 pounds, respectively.
Stafursky is at 152 pounds, with Rosh at 160, West at 170, while Pernaselli will man 195 pounds, and Braund is at 285 pounds.
AROUND THE NTL: "While our league is improved from last year, we are still not where we use to be," said White. "The entire league is only returning four kids that have wrestled at States, and the only two that have a medal are at the same weight.
"I feel the NTL can have a better showing in the postseason than we all did last year," added White. "None of us were able to get a win against a team, not from the NTL during the duals, and none of us were able to crack the top eight as a team at either districts or regionals."
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IN PHOTO: Athens sophomore Gavin Bradley on podium at States last year.
