Sue Sitter/PCT Panthers Wrestling Coach Craig Zachmeier supervises a team conditioning exercise.

Rugby Panthers Wrestling Coach Craig Zachmeier saw a larger team than in past years report to the first practice of their season Nov. 15.

“Our numbers are way up,” he said as his team adjusted their shoes and began conditioning exercises. “We have 17 kids going out for wrestling this year.”

“Numbers wise, we’ll do well,” Zachmeier said. “We’ll take some lumps. There are some new kids, but it’s always fun to develop as you go and get a little bit of momentum after last year’s state tournament. So, we’ll look forward to picking up what we left behind.”

The 2020-21 season was unusual for the Panthers in many ways, especially at the state tournament. All wrestlers on the team qualified for the tournament, but faced restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Would the team see a return to normalcy after last year’s restrictions? “We hope so,” Zachmeier said.

Zachmeier said he saw some positives for the Panthers this year. “We’re going to be really, really strong in the middleweights. We’ve got the experienced kids and we’ve got new kids, so we have a nice balance,” he said.

Zachmeier said he hoped to see good things from John Jundt and Riley Odden, who have finished strong at regionals and made good showings at state for the past two seasons.

“We’ve got everybody back this year and I think we have seven or eight new kids. Aiden Jensen is back from Leeds. He’s back. So, we have three returning state kids, which is a nice core for our team.”

Austin Schneibel said he looked forward to going to state again this season. “I’m looking forward to placing at state,” he said.

The Panthers travel to Velva for a tournament Dec. 3. Two tournaments are on their 2021-22 schedule, one set for Dec. 11 and a dual for Jan. 13.