The Bradford Owls’ wrestling team opens its 2009-10 season at
the two-day Hickory Tournament today.
The Owls are looking to build off a successful 2008-09 campaign
in which the matmen posted an overall team record of 14-11. The
team competed in the District 9 Class AAA team tournament, but
suffered a 54-20 quarterfinal defeat at home against
Punxsutawney.
“To end last season over .500 was a pleasant surprise,” noted
Owls fourth-year head coach Rob Cosper. “I knew our kids were going
be solid, but we put together some real strong performances
throughout the year which gave us some quality wins. Last season
has given us confidence that our program is turning a corner. This
season our kids are confident that when our team steps on the mat,
we can compete with anyone on our schedule.”
The Owls get to test that confidence in an always-crucial
matchup against Port Allegany on Dec. 15 when they host the Gators
at the Owls Nest.
“We have two big AML (Allegheny Mountain League) dual meets in
December against Port Allegany and Cameron County,” said
Cosper.
“Looking at the AML schedule, our lineup is as strong as it has
ever been in the time I have been here. If we can get in the right
weight classes and perform on the mat, we look to do great things.
As always, Port Allegany and Smethport are the teams to beat in the
AML. We look to step up to that challenge.”
The team is anchored by seniors Gage Bunker, Jake McMurtrie and
Zach Smith, who will serve as captains. All three have been in the
program for four years and have provided the Owls with outstanding
leadership qualities.
Juniors on the team are Ben Cox, Francis Durnein, Mark Havers,
Ryan Orner, Matt Ostrander and Evan Smith.
“This group is lead by Havers, who is looking to build off of a
one-loss season,” noted Cosper. “Mark provides us with a strong
example of dedication that top wrestlers need. Most have limited
varsity experience, but following Mark’s example they are looking
to have breakout years.”
Sophomores include Zach Britton, Kyle Colosimo, Rob Hilfirty,
Dan Kline, Travis Laird, Dylan Lamberson, Luke McMurtrie and Ryan
VanGuilder.
“This group shows that we have positive numbers for
underclassmen,” said Cosper. “This is one of the largest groups of
sophomores in a while. There is a nice weight mix at the level,
which should provide extra depth that we haven’t had in years
past.
“There are freshmen competing in the middle school program that
will come up next year, but none that could fit into our team needs
this year.”
Projected weight for the Owls this year follow:
103 Pounds – “Returning letterman Evan Smith will be there to
start the season,” Cosper said. “He will give us a good strong
start to our lineup,” he added.
112 Pounds – Moving up to the 112-pound weight class is
returning letterman Luke McMurtrie. “We want to see him improve on
his solid freshman year,” Cosper said.
119 Pounds – Also moving up in weight class is VanGuilder at 119
pounds. “We look to see him improve on his freshman year when he
got some time under his belt at 112 pounds,” the coach said. “Laird
will also wrestle at 119 pounds. He will give us some flexibility
at that weight.”
125 Pounds – “We will have fill in at 125 pounds, but with the
lighter weights as strong as they are, we can slide around a little
bit and cover that if we need to,” the coach noted.
130 Pounds – “Returning letterman Bunker will wrestle at 130
pounds. Bunker worked really hard during the cross country season,
so he is coming into the preseason in great shape and we are
looking for a very solid senior season out of him,” Cosper said.
“He seems to be hungry to improve on his district position from
last year.”
135 Pounds – “Britton is expected to give us a strong 135-pound
weight class,” said Cosper. “He placed second at districts and
looks to rebound in regionals.” Last season Britton posted a record
of 22-5.
140/145 Pounds – “Ostrander and Orner are returning
letterwinners who learned a lot from last season,” the coach said.
“We are looking forward for them to give us some real solid
performances at 140/145-pounds.”
152 Pounds – Jake McMurtrie is another senior returning
letterman who has had a strong preseason. Expected to help out at
the weight are sophomores Lamberson and Hilfirty and junior Cox.
“These three guys are first-year varsity wrestlers and that will
some action with lineup changes,” Cosper emphasized.
160 Pounds – Junior standout and returning letterman Havers will
make the transition to 160 pounds from 152 pounds. Havers earned
second place at 152 pounds in the 2008 PIAA Class AAA tournament
and was defeated only one time last season, posting an amazing
record of 31-1. “He has worked hard to bounce back from a football
injury and has so far been able to work himself into pretty good
shape this preseason,” noted Cosper. “Mark is the type of kid that
has his goals set. If he can stay healthy and keeps working hard
this season, then he will reach those goals.” If Havers slides up
to 171 pounds, look for sophomore Colosimo to fill the
position.
171/189 Pounds – “Senior Zach Smith is looking to have a strong
final year,” Cosper said. “Zach is also willing to help the team
and slide up to wrestle at 189 pounds depending on the matchups. We
expect to see quite a bit of him at 189 pounds.” Smith is a
returning regional qualifier with a third-place finish at district
competition. Smith posted a 17-8 record last season. Also looking
to help fill a spot in the lineup is Durnein, who will slide around
at 171-189 pounds depending on where the team needs him.
215 Pounds – “Kline will be able to fill in our upper weight
needs depending on the matchup,”ˇ said Cosper.
Assisting Cosper at the varsity level is coach Chad Wilcox.
“This is Chad’s third year coaching,” Cosper noted. “He is a
very dependable assistant coach.”
Volunteering to help Cosper and the Owls this year is Don
Britton.
Coaching at the middle school level are Jamie Miller and Matt
Gilligan.
“These two do a fantastic job recruiting our middle school
grades, which really helps to build our program for the future,”
explained Cosper.
