Two seasons ago, the Gillett/Suring wrestling team had seven freshmen who were thrust into starting roles.
Now, they are juniors, along with two seniors, and will be relied on this season.
“I feel pretty comfortable with the amount of experience we have, but we could always use more,” second-year head coach Mitch Szwet said. “The guys have seen a lot of wrestling matches, but it’s time to start capitalizing and fixing some of the mistakes we’ve been making throughout the years.”
Szwet has liked what he’s seen thus far this season from his wrestlers.
“I think we’re a hard-working team, and we’re going to be in good shape,” Szwet said. “We’re an aggressive team and a fairly young team, only having two seniors. We have a lot of guys who are hungry and want to prove themselves.”
The Tigers return seven of 10 wrestlers who competed in regionals a year ago. The other three were lost to graduation, Jeremy Cibulka (132), Bryce Cibulka (160) and Tyler Herning (195).
Junior Alex Zeitler was the lone wrestler who advanced to sectionals last year with a 21-13 record, but did not place.
“Alex is one of our hardest working kids in the room,” Szwet said. “He’s very, very quiet, and he’s a kid that leads by example. The kids really look up to him. … With that being said, he’s got some improvements he needs to work on. He’s up a weight class this year, which means bigger, stronger kids.”
Junior Garrett Kohls (120/126) went 19-13 and took fourth in regionals last year.
“I think those two are going to put together some really good seasons for us,” Szwet said.
Szwet believes seniors Grant Fischer (138), who finished 19-14, and Colin Weiss (145), 23-15, will also excel this year.
Gillett/Suring opened the season on Dec. 2 with a double dual at Bonduel, taking on Bonduel and Wittenberg-Birnamwood, with Fischer compiling two productive matches.
“He wrestled two pretty tough kids and pinned both of them,” Szwet said. “He really works the program and the way that we preach Gillett training wrestling. He’s really picking it up and doing well.”
Szwet looks to fill 13 of the 14 weight classes, with 15 on the roster. He hoped to find a 106-pound grappler, but the athlete didn’t make weight.
However, the coach believes plugging the 13 of them into weight classes will be an advantage for Gillett/Suring.
“That’s going to mean a lot, especially when wrestling a lot of the other smaller schools in northeast Wisconsin. Many schools around here struggle to fill 14 weight classes,” Szwet said.
Szwet is relying on freshmen Arion Befay (113), Sam Davis (132), Reid Winkler (132) and Donovan Herbst (285) to be key contributors.
“From what I’ve seen from practice, they’re hard-working kids. They want to do good, they want to do what’s required of them,” Szwet said.
Szwet hopes 13 athletes get to regionals, with a few of them advancing to sectionals.
“I would be disappointed if we didn’t send four,” Szwet said. “Hopes are always high. I’d like to send eight or nine.”
Szwet said the wrestlers with the best chances to head to sectionals are Zeitler, Kohls, Fischer and Weiss, and a few other wrestlers have a chance, including Brett Milhans (13-22) at 170, Broden Bennin (15-12) at 182 and Mitch Umentum (160).
“All these guys are solid, it’s just time to make the next step,” Szwet said.
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