It was a solid 10-year stretch for the Chambersburg wrestling squad under the tenure of Coach Matt Mentzer, but perhaps the best of those campaigns came in his final season last winter.
The Trojans were sharp, with the team winning 15 matches and advancing to the final of the District 3-3A Duals Tournament for the second time in school history. Later in the postseason, Chambersburg, conquered the Section 3-3A Tournament and sent three wrestlers to states.
It was quite a run, but gone now are several pieces from that dominant Trojans squad, including coach Mentzer himself, who resigned after the season. New Chambersburg skipper Craig Hight inherits a healthy program with a senior-laden group eager to forge their own legacy.
In our high school wrestling previews, we’ll take a closer look at the upcoming season for Chambersburg, while also examining the six other teams from the Local.News1 coverage area. That group includes Waynesboro and Fairfield, which both return regional qualifiers, and Greencastle-Antrim, a squad aiming to build off of last winter’s five-win campaign.
Stay with Local.News1 in the days to come as we continue to preview the winter sports season.
Below are team-by-team previews for the seven teams in the Local.News1 coverage area:
Chambersburg Trojans
Coach: Craig Hight
Division: Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division
Last season: 15-5, 4-2 division
Top projected returners: Frank Barrientos (Sr., 38-11, 31 falls), Cody Seabolt (Sr., 25-16, 14 falls), Zethan Sleighter (Sr., 19-20, 15 falls), Jaccob Stoner (Sr., 28-13, 15 falls), Isaiah Tasker (Sr., 19-16, 4 falls), Isaac Brambley (So., 28-13, 13 falls), Justin Deneen (Jr., 11-16, 4 falls), Brayan Gonzalez (Jr., 8-23, 5 falls), Omar Henchey (Jr., 11-16, 6 falls), Ethan Pazkowski (Sr., 8-20, 6 falls)
Meet the Trojans: It’s going to take quite an effort for Chambersburg to match its production from the 2024 season, a campaign which saw the Trojans claim a runner-up finish at the District 3-3A Duals Tournament and win the team championship at the Section 3-3A Tournament … It was the final season for coach Matt Mentzer, who hung up the whistle after compiling a 122-59 record over 10 years … Chambersburg junior high head coach Craig Hight takes over the reins as the program leader … Hight will be tasked with replacing two state qualifiers in Ashton Romberger and Zach Sherman, and a regional qualifier in Logan Mickey … Luckily for coach Hight, the cupboard is far from bare, as the Trojans bring back a state qualifier in Frank Barrientos and four other region qualifiers … Heavyweight Barrientos, a Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division Second Team selection, pinned 31 opponents last season on his way to a runner-up finish at sections and a fourth-place finish at regions … The Trojans bring back three solid upperweights in Zethan Selighter, Isaiah Tasker, and Jaccob Stoner … Sleighter and Stoner were both Honorable Mention selections in the Commonwealth, and both were podium finishers at sections, while Tasker qualified for regionals with a fourth-place section finish at 172 pounds … The sky is the limit for sophomore lightweight Isaac Brambley, who racked up nearly 30 wins as a ninth-grader and posted a runner-up finish at sections to qualify for regionals … Chambersburg is scheduled to host the renowned MyHouse Trojan Wars on Dec. 27-28.
Opener: Thursday, Dec. 4, at Waynesboro
Waynesboro Tribe
Coach: Casey Glunt
Division: Mid-Penn Colonial Division
Last season: 5-15, 3-3 division
Top projected returners: Anthony Ausherman (Jr., 28-12, 16 falls), Wyatt Lowans (Sr., 19-13, 13 falls), Steven Howard (Sr., 14-7, 3 falls), Logan Smith (Jr., 15-14, 9 falls), Brady Myers (So., 14-15, 8 falls), Tyler Rooney (Jr., 4-1, 1 fall), Sam Young (Jr., 5-24, 2 falls), Michael Brewer (Jr., 1-23), Alexander Duenas (Sr., 1-10, 1 fall)
Meet the Tribe: Waynesboro turns to Casey Glunt to serve as the program’s third head coach in three seasons … Glunt takes over for Daniel Craig … The Tribe graduated a four-time regional qualifier in Jayden Rooney and a two-time qualifier in Calvin Myers, but return enough experience to be competititve this season … Look for Anthony Ausherman and Wyatt Lowans to set the example for Waynesboro this winter … Ausherman got stronger as he battled his way to qualify for the state tournament, taking third at sections before rising up for a runner-up showing at regionals … Lowans will be looking to make an impact in his final season for the Tribe, after qualifying for regionals last year … Steven Howard and Logan Smith are projected to return for Waynesboro after posting winning records last winter.
Opener: Thursday, Dec. 4, at home vs. Chambersburg
Greencastle-Antrim Blue Devils
Coach: Brandon Crouse
Division: Mid-Penn Colonial Division
Last season: 5-12, 1-5 division
Top projected returners: Chance Zimmerman (Jr., 16-8, 6 falls), Aidan Crouse (Jr., 14-10, 9 falls), Kahl Cordell (Jr., 12-10, 5 falls), Landon Hinkle (Sr., 10-9, 9 falls), Jackson Polifka (So., 7-2, 1 fall), Brock Neville (So., 7-8, 2 falls), Carter Kuykendall (So., 5-13, 3 falls), Ethan South (Jr., 4-10), Nathan Painter (Sr., 4-13, 2 falls), Gerard Dominguez (Jr., 3-12, 1 fall), Braden Eckert (Jr., 2-10, 1 fall), Myles Ingram (Jr., 0-11).
Meet the Blue Devils: Greencastle-Antrim has taken steps forward with 12 dual wins over the last two seasons, following a seven-year stretch that saw the program record just eight wins … Auto racing fans might be familiar with the Blue Devils’ top returning wrestler, Aidan Crouse, who was a contender in the 270 Sprints division at Path Valley Speedway last season … On the mat, Crouse was Greencastle’s only medal-winner at sections last year after placing sixth at 127 pounds … While the Blue Devils are light on postseason experience, they are projected to return four grapplers, in addition to Crouse, who posted winning records: Chance Zimmerman, Kahl Cordell, Landon Hinkle, and Jackson Polifka … With several others expected to return to the lineup, Greencastle will be looking continue building its program, which last qualified for the District 3 Duals Tournament in 1991.
Opener: Thursday, Dec. 11, at Shippensburg
Fairfield Knights
Coach: Jeff Hickok
Division: YAIAA III
Last season: 0-12, 0-4 division
Top projected returners: Lincoln Kearchner (Sr., 20-16, 17 falls), Nathan Anders (So., 5-20, 5 falls), Heath Cramer (Sr., 5-21, 4 falls), Riley Stoner (Sr., 5-14, 2 falls), John Perez (Sr., 1-14)
Meet the Knights: Look for Fairfield’s small squad to be led by the large Lincoln Kearchner, a two-time regional qualifier at 215 pounds … Kearchner, a fourth-place finisher at the YAIAA Championships last season, is six wins away from reaching 50 for his career … Heath Cramer was a district qualifier at 145 pounds for Fairfield last season after taking sixth at sections … Riley Stoner wrestled for both the boys and girls wrestling teams last winter. She posted five wins against boys, including two falls, and went 7-6 with seven pins for the girls and was a sixth-place finisher at sections.
Opener: Thursday, Dec. 4, at York Tech
North Hagerstown Hubs
Coach: Greg Slick
Region: MPSSAA 4A-3A West
Last season: 7-24
Top projected returners: Brady Bruette (Jr., 21-15), Bennett Mayne (Sr., 18-20), Marcello Falconio (Jr., 16-16)
Meet the Hubs: Coach Greg Slick, entering his 47th year as head coach for North Hagerstown, was inducted into the Washington County Sports Hall of Fame over the offseason … Slick has piled up 567 wins — including a state title in 2014 — since he took over the program in the 1979-80 season … The Hubs will be without the services of graduated region qualifier Jacob Sottile, but are expected to bring back three other key wrestlers in Bennett Mayne, Brady Bruette, and Marcello Falconio … Mayne, a 190-pounder, was North’s lone state qualifier last season … Bruette (150 pounds) and Falconio (157) will both be looking for big seasons after qualifying for regions last winter … North Hagerstown finished third in the team standings at last year’s Washington County Championships.
Opener: Friday, Dec. 5, at home vs. Frederick
South Hagerstown Rebels
Coach: Brandon Ashby
Region: MPSSAA 4A-3A West
Last season: 4-14
Top projected returners: Logan Ardinger (So., 24-9), Paul Ngolle (Jr., 17-14), Wyatt Roberts (Jr., 8-11), Braydon Ocasio (So., 12-12)
Meet the Rebels: There’s reason to be optimistic for South Hagerstown, as the team returns a couple of state qualifiers in Logan Ardinger and Paul Ngolle … Ardinger, the 2024 Washington County champion at 106 pounds, took fourth at regionals before going 2-2 at states … Ngolle, a 150-pounder, was also a fourth-place finisher at regionals, before going 0-2 at states … With Ardinger and Ngolle leading the way, the Rebels took fourth at the Washington County Championships … Junior Wyatt Roberts will be looking for a bounceback season after going 0-1 at regionals last winter.
Opener: Saturday, Dec. 13, at Hanover
Smithsburg Leopards
Coach: N/A
Region: MPSSAA 2A-1A West
Last season: 0-13
Top projected returners: Logan Crutchfield (Jr., 19-14), Kaden Dietrich (Sr., 19-10)
Meet the Leopards: The Smithsburg wrestling program will have a much different feel with the September retirement of head coach Joe Dietrich, who led the program for 47 years … Dietrich coached 11 state champion wrestlers and guided the program to three runner-up team finishes at states … It is unknown whether the Leopards have hired a replacement, and an online listing for the head coaching job has expried … Smithsburg graduated one region qualifier in heavyweight Tanner Christ, but brings back another in Logan Crutchfield. A competitor at 132 pounds, Crutchfield was the Washington County runner-up and posted a 1-2 record at regionals … The Leopards will be looking to improve upon last season’s fifth-place team finish at the Washington County Tournament.
Opener: Wednesday, Dec. 10, at Francis Scott Key
