A roster of 27 boys will make up this year's Wayne High wrestling program with an opportunity to see the team in action coming up soon.
Levi Pofahl has been assisting with the high school program for five years as he enters year number three leading the Blue Devil boys wrestlers.
"Our program is continuing to grow," said Pofahl. "Which I believe is a testament to the type of program we are running which stems from the groundwork of when coach (Dave) Wragge was running the program."
Blue Devil boys assistant coaches are Terry Beair, Cooper Coons, Owen Bargen, Will Gunning and Collin Vrbka. Jason Trautman will lead the Wayne High girls team.
Over the summer, Blue Devil wrestlers focused a lot on just getting on the mat and their systems.
"We had open mats twice weekly in the month of June in our room and then attended Battle Creek's wrestling night each week through June as well," said Pofahl. "We also had a large number of our high school wrestlers partake in the camp that the Wayne Wrestling Club hosted here in town in early November."
This year's senior class will be made up of Ethan Gregory, Grant Maas and Taven Ocampo as all will play a vital role in the team's success.
The traditional "conditioning" week prior to the start of practices was held to ensure that the wrestlers are ready to go for the first day of practices. This also gives the newcomers a glimpse of the standard Wayne has within the program.
"The first week of practice is really about getting back up to wrestling speed," said Pofahl. "Working on our systems of technique and conditioning are the biggest priorities for the first few practices."
NSAA official practices began on Nov. 17.
Coach Levi Pofahl is a big proponent for not setting outcome based goals.
"Our motto this year is 'Chop Wood, Carry Water'," said Pofahl. "This means showing up every day with the same focus, energy, attitude and humility for everything we do. At the end of the year if we can look back and say we attacked every day with a positive mindset and attitude no matter the situation, it'll be a success."
The sophomore and junior class will need to step up and fill some of those open weights that comes following the graduation of big point scorers being Will Leseberg, Ty Zach and Zander Liston.
What Wayne High boys wrestling does have going is knowing that they have all of their state qualifiers back in Ethan Gregory, Noah Magnuson, Grant Maas and Maddox Ziska.
Outside of that, there were an additional four to five guys in the district tournament who will be returning that made the blood round. Coach Pofahl highlighted Grady Maas, Emmanuel Gonzalez, Thomas Raymundo and Taven Ocampo plus some others being capable of a big season.
Senior Grant Maas will be wrestling either 150 or 157 this season and first got on the mat during the pre-k division.
He highlighted the summer conditioning and first week of practices.
"We’ve worked on our shots from our feet and getting better all around," said Grant Maas. " I hope the team can take away lessons of grit just as I have."
It's all business this season for the recent commit to Briar Cliff University.
"We want to be competitive in every position and hopefully come out on top," Grant Maas added. "I can’t wait to see the hard work pay off and I hope to see big and loud crowds."
Coach Pofahl also emphasized the biggest key out of their leaders this year will be 'bringing the next guy along'.
"We've had some guys experience success in this sport, so if they can help the others realize they're capable of accomplishing the same things or even more, that'll be huge for us."
Isaiah Zarate is a freshman that could find his way into one of those middle varsity weights while Trent Hays is another name that will be new on the squad, but the sophomore will be a strong 215 pounder.
"One of the biggest improvements I'd like to see is having an attitude that we belong and can hang with any team," said Pofahl. "It's just believing in ourselves and letting that translate on the mat. I believe that starts with us as coaches and really ensuring our athletes know how much we believe in each of them."
Wayne High wrestling will have their annual Blue-White Night on the Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. in the Wayne Early Learning Center being an opportunity for the newer wrestlers to get used to an environment that is new to them so they're a little more comfortable. This will also be the first wrestle off.
The Wayne High boys wrestlers will first join their girls program for a road triangular at Wisner-Pilger along with Summerland on Dec. 4 at 6 p.m.
"The biggest thing before then is just really working on getting our newer wrestlers comfortable on the mat," said Pofahl. "There's not a lot of practice before that first competition when you throw in the Thanksgiving holiday, so getting our conditioning where it needs to be will be a priority."
Home Blue Devil wrestling action will be on Dec. 11 (dual vs. Norfolk Catholic) and Jan. 29 (triangular with Crofton/O'Neill).
"I think we have a team that is pretty locked in and has some high standards," said Pofahl. "We'll be holding each other to these standards and we're excited to compete in front of our fans. We'd love to have a packed gym."
