Tiger grapplers set for season to begin
For the McClain Tigers wrestling program, the numbers are at a solid level with 15 grapplers, and for head coach Shane Paul, he wants to see continued improvement from his team as they work for a fourth consecutive winning season.
Since Paul has taken over the program, it has shown great signs of life, including having a state qualifier two seasons ago.
This season for MHS, their expectations of a team with four seniors, six juniors, one sophomore and four freshmen are simple in the words of their head coach: "To simply learn and improve over the course of the season."
Last season, the Tigers were third in the South Central Ohio League as a team and defeated Troy Christian (the Division III state champions the previous season) in a dual match last season.
McClain's wrestling team this season consists of seniors (weight class in parentheses) Jason Flowers (145), Dillon Faulconer (145), Michael Aeh (160) and Ethan Paul (182).
Juniors for the 2014-15 season are: Jamaine Barnhart (126), Kaleb Smith (132), Jake Badgley (152), Brandon Nebbergall (170), Gable Smith (195) and Jarrett Milnes (220).
The lone sophomore is Conner Morarity (120), and the freshman class consists of Keegan Rawlins (113), Courtney Walker (113), Tommy Johnson (138) and Jonathan Stroud (138).
"We have some freshmen coming in that are ready to impact the varsity team this year," Paul said. "Keegan was the second-best wrestler I saw at the Washington scrimmage. The workouts his dad put him through in the offseason have made a big difference in his wrestling.
"His strength for a lower weight is a big plus. Courtney will bump around with Keegan and help earn some team points. She won the girls-only state championship in both her seventh and eighth grade years."
Paul also spoke about stepbrothers in Johnson and Stroud.
"Tommy and Jon will both be doing brotherly battles all year trying to find that starting spot in the varsity lineup at 138," the MHS head coach said. "To this point in the season, Tommy has worked as hard as anyone in the room, showing upperclassmen how it is done."
Of the 15 wrestlers on the roster, eight are returning from last season.
Looking at some of the returning wrestlers, Smith at 152 pounds lost in overtime during the district tournament in a match that sent the winner to the state tournament.
Badgley was a South Central Ohio League champion last season and won a match in the sectional tournament. Paul also said Badgley wrestled well in a scrimmage at Washington Senior High School.
Ethan Paul won 24 matches one season ago, and Flowers was a 20-match winner.
"I am looking forward to the daily grind, as always. I am looking forward to helping this very young and inexperienced team, which is the common denominator every year at McClain, achieve great things."
Again, even with the inexperience of the team as a whole, Paul isn't slacking on what he wants and expects from his team this winter.
"Expectations for the team are to simply learn and improve over the course of the season," Paul said. "It would be nice to put together a fourth consecutive winning season. I have made accomplishing this goal very difficult, as this will be our toughest schedule yet under my tenure."
Paul also spoke about the wrestling offseason that saw the wrestlers prepare in various ways.
"The offseason hasn't seen much improvement from a wrestling standpoint," Paul said. "Courtney Walker is the only wrestler who continued to compete throughout the offseason, while Ethan Paul and Dillon Faulconer spent a lot of time in the weight room.
"Keegan Rawlins went through a rigorous 'working man's' workout with his dad in the offseason. Primarily, most of the wrestlers took time off or spent their time working or playing other sports."
Even with the various aspects of their offseason, the Tigers know their head coach won't make things easy. In fact, he expects his wrestlers to give all they have this upcoming season. Nothing less.
"I am expecting a lot from all the wrestlers in the room," he said. "I expect nothing less than their best. Few in the room will have the guts to give 100 percent, quite simply, it is hard. The path of blaming others for one's own shortcomings usually takes over.
"The rigors of the daily practices are brutal, and I am looking forward to seeing who has the guts to give that full effort. In all my years in the sport, both competing and coaching, I have yet to see a full team with full effort. Will this be the year? Time will tell."
With Paul, the Tigers have a coach who said this is his "dream job."
"The thing that I am looking forward to the most this year is, watching this team grow," he said. "It is always gratifying watching a team with so much inexperience grow and accomplish great feats.
"We overcame great odds, that's the sort of thing that keeps me coming back … the daily challenge. A former coach at McClain told me, 'If you can do it at McClain, you can do it anywhere.' There is no place I'd rather be."