NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊWhen Pat Powers started coaching Manchester High School's wrestling team 11 years ago, the Squires had just come off two seasons with only two victories. Only six boys went out for the team.

In his first year at the helm, Powers helped Manchester double that win total.

Now, in Power's 11th year as head coach, Manchester has sported several winning seasons. In fact, the Squires have been above .500 for the past three seasons.

"When I first came, the program was down," said Powers. "They had only had one win a year in the previous two years. Six kids came out for wrestling my first year.

"My first year, we doubled the wins. The next year, we doubled it again and won four meets. Now we have had winning records the past three years."

However, Manchester is not content with winning season records. They want something more.

"We want to win more than just dual meets," said Powers. "Now we want to win some tournaments as well. We want to take part in the team state tournament, but that will be hard to do with the inexperience we have right now."

Even though the Squires are inexperienced, Manchester no longer faces the challenge of low numbers. Now the Squires consistently have enough wrestlers to make a strong team.

"We usually have no less than 17 wrestlers on the team," said Powers. "We have been as high as 24, but we usually have right around 17."

Although Manchester will have 17 wrestlers this year, the Squires will face a challenge this year after losing several strong wrestlers to graduation. Gone are semistate qualifiers Greg Groombridge, Eric Sommer and C.J. Brown, who have now graduated. Seniors Zach Fitzpatrick and Tristan Gawthrop graduated last year as well.

However, regional qualifiers Lucas Zapf and Gabe Halverson will return to lead the Squires on their quest for another successful season. Joining Zapf and Halverson are returners Matt Rhodes, Joseph Planer and Nick Winters. Add sophomore Ryan Shockey to the mix, and Manchester has a young core of returning wrestlers that hope to continue the Squire streak of winning seasons.

"We are very young," said Powers. "Our main goal this season is to gain experience and utilize our talent.

"We should be all right with the talent we have, but we are inexperienced both mentally and physically. We are not weak, but many of the kids do not have a lot of wrestling experience."

The Squires will begin their quest for a fourth consecutive winning season November 29 when they host the wrestling team from White's.

Tippecanoe Valley Vikings

Head Coach/Years: Scott Smith, fifth season

1998-99 record: N/A

Key losses: Rafael Villalon, David Reese, Mike McNeal, Mark Wortley

Key returners: Nathan Strohschein, Nathan Shewman, Kevin Day, Brian Long, Tyler Kottkamp

First match: Saturday in the Warsaw Super Duals

Coach's quote: "Our goals for the season are basically the same as always, be competitive and put forth the effort required to win. Again, we will not have enough wrestlers to fill every weight class, so we just try to do the best we can individually in head-to-head competition."

Triton Trojans

Head Coach/Years: Sam Davis, 29th season

1998-99 record: 5-12, 0-7 NSC

Key losses: Brandon Chapman, Josh Hooley, Matt Wanamacher, Justin Vining, Justin Lemler

Key returners: Errik Lemler, Lee Ulmer

First match: Saturday in the Warsaw Super Duals

Coach's quote: "We got a lot of kids who are hard workers. Probably the biggest strength of this team is the overall attitude about learning and working hard. We've got a lot of young kids, and we are inexperienced. We hope they keep improving and learning through the season, that's all I can ask. I also hope we can win a few, but we are very young and inexperienced."

Warsaw Tigers

Head Coach/Years: Tony Boley, fourth season

1998-99 record: 12-4, 5-1 NLC (2nd in the NLC)

Key losses: Adam Harter, Matt Zeller, Tim Roe, Steve Fribley, Steve McKinley

Key returners: Joey Navvarro, Isaac Perry, Kris Hueber

First match: Saturday in the Warsaw Super Duals

Coach's quote: "We are very young. We have 32 wrestlers but only two seniors and six juniors. Out of those six juniors, only two have varsity experience. Our goal is to try to improve quickly and get some young athletes to step up. Our schedule is very tough, and we need them to mature very quickly."

Wawasee Warriors

Head Coach/Years: Kevin Taylor, second season

1998-99 record: 13-5, 4-2 NLC

Key losses: Kevin Carr, Chet Wortinger, J.J. Davis, Jamie Salazar, Jason Hendrix, Tyler Cline, Ken McIntosh

Key returners: Josh DeGood, Craig Jensen, Tom Bryan, Josh Roa

First match: Nov. 23, Concord at Wawasee

Coach's quote: "We lost quite a few to graduation. Probably our biggest strength is team unity. They are a close group of kids and they work hard in the wrestling room. That will pay off later in the season. We are an inexperienced squad with a lot of younger kids. We want to get them accustomed to what it takes to be in the state tournament."

Whitko Wildcats

Head Coach/Years: Rick Troxel, first year at Whitko

1998-99 record: Not available

Key losses: Brad Sprunger, Greg Rakoczy

Key returners: Keith Bird, Drew Shilling, Jordan Schrader, Jim Baumgartner, Phillip Ringle, Troy Grube, Justin Welty.

First Match: Nov. 30, North Miami at Whitko

Coach's quote: "The guys are working hard in practice. This year we have a full squad, something Whitko hasn't had in three or four years. We want to make sure the wrestlers improve as wrestlers. If they improve as wrestlers, the wins will come themselves. We want to become more solid fundamentally." [[In-content Ad]]