Pennsylvania College of Technology wrestlers open their season Sunday at Scranton in the Electric City Duals, and coach Schuyler Frey has his squad ready to go.
“We’re going to be small, as far as numbers, but we’re going to be probably a little bit more spread out (over all of the weight classes) than what we have in the past,” Frey said.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had two heavyweights and I’m really anxious to have some big guys on the team. We have a nice mix of returners and some pretty good new guys,” he continued.
Going into Sunday’s competition are freshman Ben Doll, of Glen Rock, at 125 pounds; junior Aaron Doll, his older brother, at 133; freshman Ron Smith, of Belleville, New Jersey, at 141 (with sophomore Zach Fitzsimmons, of Portville, going at 141 after this weekend); junior Mason Replogle, of New Enterprise, and freshman Seth Johnson, of Warren, both at 149; junior Tanner Leid, of Terre Hill, at 165 now and at 157 down the road; senior Dan Frankenfield, of Dushore, at 184 and later dropping back to 174; first-year senior Colton Shertzer, of Mifflintown, also at 184 in the opener with the possibility of moving up to 197 afterward; sophomore Connor Route, of Canton, at 197 along with senior Pat Fitzgerald, of Port Royal, (he was with the team two years ago); and senior Zach Kane, of Higganum, Connecticut, and freshman Cody Harriman, of Sonestown, both at 285.
“We have a real good nucleus and those guys in the (wrestling) room are really pushing each other and they are showing the freshmen what level we want to be at,” Frey said.
“Until we get everybody at their actual weight, it’s going to be a little rough. We’ll probably be giving up a couple of forfeits along the way, but, once we get everybody at weight, we should have a full lineup.
“In some of the matches and competitions, we should do fairly well, and, in others, against Wilkes, it will be rough. But some of the things we’ve been working on are getting some good guys coming in and keeping everyone healthy and have a pretty decent season. That will help us to recruit good guys,” Frey continued.
Frey stresses aggressive, physical wrestling. “We want to push our opponents for the entire seven to 10 minutes, whatever it takes,” he said.
“One of the things that we’re trying to instill in each of the guys is that, every day, we want them to work to get better. If they work to get better and they’re putting their full effort into it, the wins will come, and hopefully less losses.
“We always want to wrestle the best competition that we can and I think our schedule is pretty good … and our hopes are that in the second semester, toward the end of the year, we’re extremely competitive and, hopefully, surprising a number of other schools,” the coach added.
In five previous seasons under Frey, who is assisted by Rich Shnyder, the Wildcats have gone 22-30 in dual matches. The team again will compete in the United States Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships at the end of the season.
At last season’s USCAA event, Leid finished fourth at 165, Replogle was fifth at 149 and Aaron Doll was sixth at 125.
“We’re going to be small, as far as numbers, but we’re going to be probably a little bit more spread out (over all of the weight classes) than what we have in the past,” Frey said.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had two heavyweights and I’m really anxious to have some big guys on the team. We have a nice mix of returners and some pretty good new guys,” he continued.
Going into Sunday’s competition are freshman Ben Doll, of Glen Rock, at 125 pounds; junior Aaron Doll, his older brother, at 133; freshman Ron Smith, of Belleville, New Jersey, at 141 (with sophomore Zach Fitzsimmons, of Portville, going at 141 after this weekend); junior Mason Replogle, of New Enterprise, and freshman Seth Johnson, of Warren, both at 149; junior Tanner Leid, of Terre Hill, at 165 now and at 157 down the road; senior Dan Frankenfield, of Dushore, at 184 and later dropping back to 174; first-year senior Colton Shertzer, of Mifflintown, also at 184 in the opener with the possibility of moving up to 197 afterward; sophomore Connor Route, of Canton, at 197 along with senior Pat Fitzgerald, of Port Royal, (he was with the team two years ago); and senior Zach Kane, of Higganum, Connecticut, and freshman Cody Harriman, of Sonestown, both at 285.
“We have a real good nucleus and those guys in the (wrestling) room are really pushing each other and they are showing the freshmen what level we want to be at,” Frey said.
“Until we get everybody at their actual weight, it’s going to be a little rough. We’ll probably be giving up a couple of forfeits along the way, but, once we get everybody at weight, we should have a full lineup.
“In some of the matches and competitions, we should do fairly well, and, in others, against Wilkes, it will be rough. But some of the things we’ve been working on are getting some good guys coming in and keeping everyone healthy and have a pretty decent season. That will help us to recruit good guys,” Frey continued.
Frey stresses aggressive, physical wrestling. “We want to push our opponents for the entire seven to 10 minutes, whatever it takes,” he said.
“One of the things that we’re trying to instill in each of the guys is that, every day, we want them to work to get better. If they work to get better and they’re putting their full effort into it, the wins will come, and hopefully less losses.
“We always want to wrestle the best competition that we can and I think our schedule is pretty good … and our hopes are that in the second semester, toward the end of the year, we’re extremely competitive and, hopefully, surprising a number of other schools,” the coach added.
In five previous seasons under Frey, who is assisted by Rich Shnyder, the Wildcats have gone 22-30 in dual matches. The team again will compete in the United States Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships at the end of the season.
At last season’s USCAA event, Leid finished fourth at 165, Replogle was fifth at 149 and Aaron Doll was sixth at 125.