Tamaqua wrestlers are ‘trusting the process’

Trusting the process.

It’s a saying that has been synonymous with the re-build of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball franchise.

But in the Tamaqua wrestling room it’s the message from head coach Jim McCabe for his wrestlers to trust in themselves and in what they spent all offseason working on.

This year’s Raiders wrestling team will have a new look to it, not so much from a physical standpoint, but instead from a technical view.

A majority of the team spent the offseason learning new and more effective moves and techniques during workouts with Coach McCabe and at the Capital City Wrestling Academy, a wrestling club the team belongs to out of Hershey.

“I think you’re going to see some good stuff from this group this season; we had some guys that were close to doing some damage in the postseason tournaments last season, and they’ve put in the work,” said McCabe. “The key will be to stick with what we’ve learned this offseason, and not go back to an old move because it feels comfortable. We have to stay focused on our new moves and techniques where we can get three or four shots at scoring points off one move or setup.”

At 113, sophomore Nick Wall will hold down that spot with Tyler Hazlett getting the nod at 120 and Randy Steigerwalt anchoring the 126-pount weight class. Steigerwalt is someone McCabe said he can see having a solid season if he can get some confidence early, as he’s equipped with a 6-3 frame at a lower weight class.

Sophomore Aaron Coccio at 132 will be counted on to rack up some wins as he was 22-18 a season ago, while Reese Szabo has slimmed down to 138 from 152 last season and is expected to do some damage at that weight class. Joey Minehan will also have an opportunity to help between the 132-138-pound weight class.

Caleb Sell, at 145, could be looking at a 20-win season, Zack Fannock will be at 152, Khalid Holland at 160 and Nate Wickersham at 170 will also be counted on to get to the 20-win mark this season. Carson Krell, who finished 19-15 as a freshman last season, is expected to start where he left off, moving from 170 up to 182. Cole Eberts is a freshman that could also help out at 145.

Brandon Eberts was one of the most improved wrestlers on the Raiders a season ago, and is looking good coming into the 2018-19 season. Alex Ziegler is also much improved, and will look to continue that trend from the 220-pound weight class. Bronson Strouse moves up from the 220-pound weight class to heavyweight this season after a remarkable sophomore campaign in which he went 40-9, finishing as the runner-up at districts and placing sixth at regionals. His goal will be to place at the state tournament this season.

“We have a lot of guys that are now looking to take the next step. We had multiple wrestlers who were wrestling in a round at districts to place and they came up just a point or two short,” said McCabe. “We’re looking to turn that around this season. We just need to take it one match at a time and stay focused and committed to our new approach.”