ARCHBOLD WEATHER

AHS Wrestling Returns 16 Letterwinners





Letterwinners returning on the AHS wrestling team are, front row from left: Angel Luna, Elijah Alvarado, Derek Humbert, Damian Short, Austin Wilson. Second row: Oran Humbert, Matt Petersen, Lukas Rodriguez, Cam Warncke, Mitchell Hogrefe, Zach Meyer. Third row: David Bell, Lukas Rufenacht, Skylar Gericke, Blake Baden, Garrett Grime– photo courtesy AHS

Letterwinners returning on the AHS wrestling team are, front row from left: Angel Luna, Elijah Alvarado, Derek Humbert, Damian Short, Austin Wilson. Second row: Oran Humbert, Matt Petersen, Lukas Rodriguez, Cam Warncke, Mitchell Hogrefe, Zach Meyer. Third row: David Bell, Lukas Rufenacht, Skylar Gericke, Blake Baden, Garrett Grime– photo courtesy AHS

Brian Becher, Archbold head wrestling coach, welcomes back 16 letterwinners to lead the 2014-15 season.

The Blue Streaks are looking to improve on a 21-6 campaign when they finished third in the Northwest Ohio Athletic League, runners-up in the Division III sectional tournament, and runners-up in the dual meet regional.

Archbold replaces ten wrestlers, including state placers Logan Day, Kenny Price and Travis Jaramillo.

Seniors Damian Short (120 pounds) and Zach Meyer (138 lbs.) lead the way.

Short was a 2013 state qualifier while Meyer is a returning district qualifier.

Juniors Garrett Grime (170 lbs.) and David Bell (170 lbs.) and sophomores Elijah Alvarado (126 lbs.) and Austin Wilson (138 lbs.) also return as district qualifiers.

Freshman Gavin Grime, a junior high state qualifier, is a promising newcomer.

“We have six returning district qualifiers and one returning state qualifier, “ said Becher.

“We expect them to provide great leadership both inside and outside of the wrestling room.

“Even though we have great numbers, the weights of our wrestlers are not evenly distributed across the weight classes.

“We expect to have a majority of our lineup represented at the district tournament and a few guys wrestling in Columbus at the end of the year.”

In his 13th season as Archbold head coach, Becher sees Delta as the overwhelming favorite in the league, with Wauseon second and Archbold third.

“Last season, Delta had one of the best Division III dual meet teams of all time,” he said.

“The amazing thing is that they return nine state qualifiers from that team.

“Wauseon lost three good kids, but will still have a solid team as they return five district qualifiers and have two freshmen that should be able to compete in Columbus at the end of the year.

“It is quite rare for a freshman upper-weight to qualify for the state meet, but Patrick Henry had one.

“The depth of our league may not be what it once was, but the top guys at each weight class will most likely be wrestling on Saturday in Columbus.”

Assistant coaches are Kevin Bostelman, Cody Ruffer, Kenny Price and David Eicher.

The Streaks open the season, Thursday, Dec. 18, in a league meet with PH, Delta, and Bryan at Bryan.


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