North Xtra: Teams struggle but still compete with low numbers
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It has been an uphill battle for coaches Tim Giel and Joe Eisel, but both have high hopes as their teams enter the Section 3-AA tournament, which will take place Saturday at Avonworth High School.
Giel, the coach and athletic director at Avonworth, and Eisel, the co-head coach at Shady Side Academy, fielded squads with five wrestlers during the 2011-12 season.
"We have five freshmen," Giel said. "It's been an uphill battle to rebuild a program from scratch, but we're making strides in the right direction. We have four more eighth-graders who will probably move up to the varsity next year. We also have 30 kids in our elementary program. I'm encouraged, but also realize it's going to take some time."
Giel is thrilled to be hosting the Section 3-AA tournament.
"It will be a learning experience for our freshmen," Giel said. "We will have a chance to see how they do against the best kids in our section."
Avonworth's top entry is Darion Trimmer, a 120-pound freshman who has a 17-11 record.
"Darion has a lot of potential, but still has a few bad habits we're trying to break," Giel said. "I was glad to see that [Kittanning's PIAA champion] Jason Nolf moved down to 113. That makes 120 a little easier."
Shady Side Academy also has five entries in the Section 3-AA tournament and all five are underclassmen.
"We had 11 kids on the team last year and eight were seniors," said Eisel, who shares the coaching duties with Nic SanDoval. "We started this season with five kids and they all stuck it out. It's not easy to have such a small team, but the kids have done a good job of dealing with it.
"We have a middle school program, but we've had a couple lean years. It's going to take a few years until we recover, but Nic and I are up to the challenge."
Shady Side Academy's top entry is Nolan Wise, a 126-pound sophomore who has an 18-14 record.
"Nolan was a runner-up in the section last year at 112," Eisel said. "He even qualified for the Southwest Regional [by placing sixth in the WPIAL]. Our goal is to get Nolan to Hershey [for the PIAA championships] this year, but it will not be easy since 126 is one of the deepest weight classes in the WPIAL."
First Published February 16, 2012 12:00 am
