Panther and Tiger Wrestling Teams Look For Improved Seasons

There is some room in the trophy case at Oakville High School for wrestling medals.

The Tigers have not had a medalist at the state meet since 2008.

"We had a couple of guys make it to state last year but did not win a medal," Oakville coach Brett Lieberoff said. "This year we would like to have a few more qualifiers and hopefully at least one of them will come home with a medal."

Junior Jon Bromeier is the team's lone returning state qualifier. He did so at 125 pounds last year and opens the season at 138 pounds (there are now 14 weight classes with different weights than in the past).

Sophomore Dominic O'Neil (132) returns after he missed qualifying for the state meet by just one match last season.

Juniors Jimmy Broderick and Josh Lorenz are also veteran wrestlers. Broderick, a heavyweight, is in his third year of varsity action and won his first two matches this season. Lorenz, who starts at 113, returns after tearing his ACL last season.

Senior Nick Chinea (145) and junior Dan Zehnle (160) also have varsity experience.

The rest of the lineup, which includes a couple of open spots to begin the season, will be manned by freshmen or first-year varsity wrestlers.

Freshmen Tommy Suda (106) and Conner Hardesty (120) are in the starting lineup as are: sophomore Brandon Hampel (126); junior Will Johnson (152); junior A.J. Iven (170); sophomore Aaron Hinsen (182); and senior Eric Simon (220).

"We have a few guys who have gotten their feet wet and a lot of new guys," Lieberoff said. "Right now we need to cut down on mistakes. But they are working hard every day."

Josh Bauer, a former Oakville wrestler, takes over as head varsity coach at Mehlville this season.

This is the first head coaching position for Bauer, who has been an assistant at Oakville and CBC.

"I am looking forward to the challenge of building the program," Bauer said. "I am getting a lot of freshmen and first-year sophomores."

The Panthers will be extremely young this season as senior Dillon Diamond is the only wrestler with at least a full season of varsity action. Diamond, who finished third at 120 pounds in the Parkway South Tournament early in the season, has wrestled on varsity since he was a freshman.

Junior Jarrath Foster (132) and junior Jimmy Sellers (heavyweight) saw limited time on the varsity last year.

The Panthers, who are currently open at 113, 145 and 195 pounds, have a freshman, Brandon Steffe at 106 pounds.

The rest of the inexperienced crew include: sophomore Andrew Hong (126); sophomore Erich Kaletka (138); sophomore Caleb Heiney (152); junior Lawrence Krabbe (160); junior Josh Sitner (170); senior Nick Jones (182); and sophomore Adam Lavine (220).

"I am doing a lot of teaching right now," Bauer said. "It is going to take a lot of time for these guys to trust me. I want them to get more involved in the sport. They won just one match last year and I know they can improve on the dual record. This is a very young team but there is a lot of fight in these guys."