By TYLER DRUMMOND
of The Gazette
The SPASH wrestling team has come on strong in the last few weeks after a slow start to the season. The Panthers are currently 7-5, and have won their last three dual meets.
"We're a young and inexperienced team," said head coach Todd VanderLoop. "They're a great group and they're more than willing to learn.
A rundown of the Panthers roster this year looks like this:
At 103 is sophomore Kyle Roth. Roth is 25-2 this season and is ranked third in the state at his weight class.
Aaron Nelson is at 112 pounds, and is 22-5 in his second year as a Panther wrestler. Nelson is ranked seventh in the state in his weight class.
At 119 is senior Brandon Raikowski. "Brandon has been a varsity wrestler for the past four years and you wish you had 14 of him on your team," said VanderLoop. "He works really hard and he has a big heart.
Following Raikowski is Derek Onstad at 125 and Brian Novotny at 130.
At 140 is senior Jon Slezak. "Jon is a two-time state qualifier and one of the best wrestlers in the state," said VanderLoop. Slezak is currently ranked third in the state at the 140 weight class.
Senior Jason Wroblewski is next at 145. "This is Jason's first year as a varsity wrestler but he's really stepped up to the challenge," said VanderLoop.
Following Wroblewski is fellow senior Tim Peterson at 152. "Tim was a very successful varsity reserve the past couple of years," said VanderLoop. "He's been behind some tough competition and now his time has come and he's really taken advantage of it."
Yet another senior in the lineup is Tate Roselius at 160. "You can basically say the same thing about Tate as I did about Petersen," said VanderLoop. "He's been behind some great wrestlers in the past and now it's his chance to shine. He's worked really hard in the off-season and he's a real leader at the 160."
The upper weights are filled by Chaz Self at 171, Josh Pascavis at 189 and Carey Mullenburg at 215.
Rounding out the roster is senior heavyweight Matt Wanta. "Matt is one of our best leaders," said VanderLoop. "He's accomplished some big things and we expect even bigger in the coming weeks." Wanta currently has a 22-4 record.
Coach VanderLoop is very quick to compliment his seniors as great leaders. "They really lead the rest of our team on and off the mat."
Another group that he is quick to praise is his assistant coaches: Mike Kurtz, Duane Groshek, Jon Burdick and Roland Hackler. "They really help to make my job less stressful and they work really well with the kids."
This is VanderLoop's first year as the head coach at the varsity level. For the past few years he had been the assistant coach to Gee Pope who stepped down as coach after last season. "I really love working with the kids because they're all such great kids," said VanderLoop. "It's also a really great opportunity and I am happy to have taken over such a tradition-rich program.