WAYNESBORO – The Waynesboro Area Senior High School varsity wrestling team is young from top to bottom.
There are only two seniors on the roster – Steven Howard (139 pounds) and Wyatt Lowans (160).
Freshmen occupy three lightweight classes – Brennan Hollar (114), Wade Rogers (121), and Riley Sanders (127). Lucas Mummert is only a freshman, but he is competing in the 285-pound weight class, while sophomore Brady Myers is slotted at 172 pounds.
But it doesn’t mean the Indians are inexperienced. Juniors Tyler Rooney (189) and Anthony Ausherman (215) anchor the upper weights, while Sam Young (133), Kamden Stover (145), and Colton Biser (152) help solidify the middleweights.
“Strengths in our lineup are Sam Young, who is a returning varsity starter who has put a lot of time into the offseason, barely ever missing practice, and picking up and learning key positions,” said Waynesboro head coach Casey Glunt, who is assisted this season by Steve Myers and Hunter Faith.
“Steven Howard is an interesting wrestler with a mix of speed, power, and unorthodox technique. He makes for a hard wrestler to beat. I think Kamden Stover and Colton Biser will be strengths in our lineup as well, but they haven’t had too many varsity matches yet in their careers. They are both like Sam Young in that they showed up to the majority of off-season workouts and traveled to team camp with us. They’ve got a lot better up to this point.
“We have returning standout Wyatt Lowans from last season, who I think will be huge for us at 160 again. Brady Myers is strong with the pace he brings to the practice room, and he will bring a hard pace in each match for 6 minutes this season. He was .500 as a sophomore and has some big goals, so we are all excited to watch him. Another strength is Anthony Ausherman, a returning state qualifier at 215 and District 3-AAA runner-up last year. Anthony wants a state medal.”
Ausherman was 28-12 a season ago, recording 16 pins and accumulating 76 takedowns. He is currently ranked 10th in Pennsylvania in his weight class. Lowans was 19-13 last season, with 13 pins and 41 takedowns. He placed fourth at the Section IV championships and qualified for the regional meet.
“I’m optimistic, and I would like to see us make the team district tournament,” Glunt said. “However, our district is very tough. We may need to do more building before this becomes a reality.
“I think it’s reasonable to believe we’ll bring five to eight wrestlers into the District 3 tournament. I would like for us to continue adding to our wall of champions by gaining a sectional champ this year. It would be nice to take multiple wrestlers into the PIAA state championships this year as well.”
Glunt has eagerly put his passion for wrestling on display during his brief tenure as head coach. The James Buchanan grad was 120-28 as a high school wrestler, including 34-2 his senior season. He placed third in the state at 182 pounds.
“I want the kids to go out and wrestle hard and have fun doing it,” he said. “The kids have great skill sets and good fundamentals, but there needs to be a belief in oneself when they step out on the mat to be able to go and execute.”
ROSTER
107 – Michael Brewer (junior)
114 – Brennan Hollar (freshman)
121 – Wade Rogers (freshman)
127 – Riley Sanders (freshman)
133 – Sam Young (junior)
139 – Steven Howard (senior)
145 – Kamden Stover (junior)
152 – Colton Biser (junior)
160 – Wyatt Lowans (senior)
172 – Brady Myers (sophomore)
189 – Tyler Rooney (junior)
215 – Anthony Ausherman (junior)
285 – Lucas Mummert (freshman)
SCHEDULE
Dec. 4, at Chambersburg (L, 48-27)
Dec. 6, at Spring Grove Rocket Duals
Dec. 12, at Carlisle Invitational, 4 p.m.
Dec. 13, at Carlisle Invitational, 9 a.m.
Dec. 16, South Western, 7 p.m.
Dec. 18, at Big Spring, 7 p.m.
Dec. 23, Central Dauphin East, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 27, at Neil Turner Memorial Holiday Wrestling Classic, 10:30 a.m.
Dec. 28, at Neil Turner Memorial Holiday Wrestling Classic, 10:30 a.m.
Jan. 5, West Perry, 7 p.m.
Jan. 10, at Patriot Duals (Red Land HS), 9 a.m.
Jan. 15, at Shippensburg, 7 p.m.
Jan. 18, Inaugural Maidens Duals, 8 a.m.
Jan. 22, James Buchanan, 7 p.m.
Jan. 24, Gettysburg, 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 29, at Greencastle-Antrim, 7 p.m.
Feb. 5, at Carlisle, 7 p.m.
Feb . 7, JV Championships (Spring Grove HS), 10 a.m.
Feb. 14, Section IV Championships (at South Western HS), 10 a.m.
