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JOHN MARSHALL

Coach: Brian Parlin (second season, career record of 9-16).

Last year: 9-16 overall, 4-5 in the Big Nine.

Playoffs: Lost to Albert Lea (63-12) in the Section 1AAA semifinals.

Who's gone: Josh Waldee (27-3, third in section in 2008); Matt Borth (13-20, fifth in the section).

Top returners: Garrett Steiger (125 pounds, 35-4, Section 1AAA champion and state entrant, 2007 section champion); Pen Maclin (285, 29-8, Big Nine all-conference, fifth place at the section meet); Taylor Giordano (171, 19-12, fourth place at the section meet); Luke Robison (135, 22-18, fifth place at the section meet).

Other returning letter-winners: Kyle Frazier, Ryan Galvan, Tyler Lande, Paul Johnson, Ian Naatz, Jared Schuster, Josh Borth, Alex Evan, Marshal Richards, Cole Swanson, Jacob Bosshart, Charlie Stellpflug and Ryan Williamson.

Captains: Steiger, Giordano, Robison.

New underclassmen expected to make an impact: Carter Williamson and Nathan Evan could compete for a spot in the lower weights.

Weaknesses: "We don't actually have a true 215-pounder," Parlin said. "Whoever wins the spot at that weight will be undersized. Whoever wins the spot at 103 will be a first-year varsity wrestler, but we have some talented candidates, so that weight could turn into a strength."

Strengths: "We have a wealth of experience," Parlin said. "Senior leadership will be key. We also have a fairly balanced lineup from top to bottom, and we have some depth on the junior varsity in case of injuries. Having made it to the semifinals of the team section the past three years, along with being the reigning city champs, the team knows what it takes to be successful."

Coach Parlin: "I expect a lot out of this team. We definitely have enough talent to place top three in the Big Nine and go far in team sections. Our goal as a team is to have a better overall individual section performance than we had last year. We wrestle a lot of the A and AA schools in the section, and that will help us because many of those schools have strong programs. Garrett Steiger should pick up his 100th win the first match of the year, and if he puts together an outstanding year and can place in state, he could break the school career wins record of 137 set by Josh Friedt (1994 state champion). Pen Maclin is going to have another great year. He's ready to bounce back from a rough section tournament. Pen's put on another 20 pounds of muscle and is a monster of a heavyweight at 265 pounds. The problem we have with him is that he pins most of his opponents in the first period. Pen needs to be prepared to wrestle a full six minutes if he wants to beat some of the best in the state. Taylor Giordano has the potential to reach 100 career wins this year. He was our top performer at the team camp we attended this summer. The section has a lot of tough 160 and 171 pounders, but I think Taylor could earn a state berth if he wrestles well. Luke Robison and Paul Johnson have been mainstays on the varsity the past few years and both look to have good senior campaigns. Ryan Williamson, Ryan Galvan and Cole Swanson all saw varsity action last year and will be keys to the team this year. We'll need some former JV wrestlers to step up, and some wrestlers who had 10-15 varsity wins last year to up that total to 20-25 wins."

ROCKETS ROSTER

Seniors - Joshua Anderson, Kyle Frazier, Ryan Galvan, Taylor Giordano, Paul Johnson, Tyler Lande, Pen Maclin, Ian Naatz, Luke Robison, Jared Schuster, Garrett Steiger. Juniors - Josh Borth, Alex Evan, Marshal Richards, Cole Swanson. Sophomores - Jacob Bosshart, Juan Canales, Jon Comisky, Brian Kresin, Seth Scott, Charlie Stellpflug, Brett Vanderwiel. Freshmen - Dami Adebayo, Jamie Howland, Ryan Williamson. Eighth-graders - Nathan Evan, Austin Giordano, Hayden Herzog, Tony Latwesen, Tim Moore. Seventh-graders - Nick Borth, Carter Williamson.

SCHEDULE

Dec. 6 - at Rochester Duals, 9 a.m.

Dec. 12 - at Northfield Duals, 5 p.m.

Dec. 13 - at Byron Duals, 10 a.m.

Dec. 18 - Winona, 6 p.m.

Dec. 20 - at St. Charles Duals, 10 a.m.

Jan. 8 - Mankato West, 6 p.m.

Jan. 10 - at Flanagan Invitational (Cresco, Iowa), 11 a.m.

Jan. 12 - at Rochester City Championships (Century), 5 p.m.

Jan. 15 - Mankato East, 6 p.m.

Jan. 22 - at Austin, 6 p.m.

Jan. 24 - at Henry Sibley Invitational, 9 a.m.

Jan. 29 - Owatonna, 6 p.m.

Feb. 5 - at Faribault, 6 p.m.

Feb. 7 - at Cannon Falls Duals, 10 a.m.

Feb. 12 - Albert Lea, 6 p.m.

Feb. 13 - at PEM triangular, 5 p.m.

Feb. 19 - Section team tournament, TBD

CENTURY

Coach: Steve Larsen (sixth season, 38-102 career record).

Last season: 8-11 overall, 3-6 in Big Nine.

Playoffs: Lost to Albert Lea in quarterfinals.

Who's gone: Corey Zastrow (25-9); D.J. Tenney (26-11); Jarad Watts (22-12, moved out of Century school district); Brian Christenson (18-16, did not go out for wrestling).

Top returners: Chad Zastrow (29-9, first in section at 146 last season); Mitch Miller (15-20, third in section at 103); Sam Gaul (14-22, fourth in section at 215).

Other returning letter-winners: Mike Babcock, Drew Loechler, Gabe Miller, Brian Russell, Jared Busse, Erich Moyer, Joe Ginther, Drew Miller, Mitch Brown.

Captains: Babcock, Loechler, Gabe Miller.

New underclassmen expected to make an impact: Clint Allen and Jake Allen at 103; Luke Babcock at 119 or 125; Essa Shariff at 125 or 130; Jake Mandelko at 130 or 135; Stephen Kuster at 171.

Weaknesses: "We lost two very good seniors and two other promising wrestlers who I was not expecting to lose," Larsen said. "As in most years, we have some holes in the upper weights as well."

Strengths: "I think our team will improve as the year goes by," Larsen said. "With some hard work, we can be competitive. We have some wrestlers who showed promise last year who can be respectable on the varsity this year. We have some wrestlers who were on varsity last year who should be better this year."

Coach Larsen: "I expect our kids to work hard on a daily basis and to improve throughout the season. We know that there are some teams that we cannot compete with. But this could be one of those years when we do surprise some teams later in the year. Over the last three years or so, we have gained some respect as a program. Once again, we want to be a respectable team and to be at our best at the end of the season. Chad Zastrow is clearly the top wrestler on this team, but there are a number of wrestlers who could turn the corner this year. I would not be surprised to see Mitch Miller have an outstanding season at 112. Mitch made a strong showing at the section tournament. He defeated wrestlers with higher seeds and ended up wrestling for true second. Another wrestler who may do well down the stretch is Sam Gaul. Sam will probably start the year at 285, but he is undersized for that weight class. Eventually, he may compete at 215."

PANTHERSROSTER

Seniors - Mike Babcock, John Fletcher, Sam Gaul, Joe Ginther, Drew Loechler, Gabe Miller, Brian Russell. Juniors - Derrick Allen, Eric Allen, Jared Busse, Stephen Kuster, Jake Mandelko, Erich Moyer, Brad Pastika, Essa Sharif. Sophomores - Luke Babcock, Drew Miller, Mitch Miller, Chad Temple, Victor Then, Chad Zastrow. Freshmen - Tim Breider, Mitch Brown, Collin Phillips. Eighth-graders - Clint Allen, Jake Allen, Zach Larson. Seventh-grader - Nick Pastika.

SCHEDULE

Dec. 6 - Rochester Invitational, 9 a.m.

Dec. 12 - at Northfield Invitational, 5 p.m.

Dec. 13 - at Park Invitational, 9:30 a.m.

Jan. 10 - at Cannon Falls Invitational, 10 a.m.

Jan. 12 - Rochester City championships, 5 p.m.

Jan. 15 - Austin, 7 p.m.

Jan. 17 - at Richfield Invitational, 10 a.m.

Jan. 23 - at Mankato West, 7 p.m.

Jan. 24 - at Zumbrota-Mazeppa Invitational, 10 a.m.

Jan. 27 - at Mankato East, 5 p.m.

Jan. 29 - Faribault, 7 p.m.

Jan. 31 - Century Invitational, 10 a.m.

Feb. 5 - at Albert Lea, 7 p.m.

Feb. 12 - at Winona, 7 p.m.

Feb. 14 - at Owatonna, 9 a.m.

Feb. 19 - Section team tournament, TBD

MAYO

Coach: Dwight Gingerich (15th season).

Last year: 14-11 overall.

Playoffs: Lost to Owatonna in section semifinals.

Who's gone: Aaron Carlson (section champion); Brian Tremain (section champion).

Top returners: Jake Minske (state entrant last season); Mike Minske (placed sixth at the state meet last season); Marcus Wolf (state entrant last season); Zach Hanson (state entrant last season); Warren Brink (third at the section meet).

Other returning letter-winners: Cory Black, Jake Hanson, Aaron Martinson, Kevin Kimlinger, Zach Hermes, Blake Patton, Colton Koster.

Captains: Jake Minske, Brink, Zach Hanson, Mike Minske, Cory Black.

New underclassmen expected to make an impact: "We hope someone steps up," Gingerich said.

Weaknesses: "Mayo still has low numbers and not much depth at any weight," Gingerich said. "We must be healthy to beat anybody who is good. We must also get a lot of pins to offset two or three openings. Hopefully we'll be a full team at the end of the year."

Strengths: "We are a more physical team than last year," Gingerich said. "And we have between six and eight very tough seniors."

Coach Gingerich: "The Mayo attitude is to individually wrestle to dominate in all phases of wrestling. If we do that individually, the team will benefit. By dominate, I mean to keep the pressure on relentlessly, score and rescore, pinholds, putting points on the board, being aggressive, never give up, never satisfied with a close win, mentally tough and know you're going to win. I'm hoping Warren Brink will have a breakout year. He's one of our hardest workers during the season and in the offseason, and he has a great attitude. He's a great guy who's respected by all. I also hope each of our seniors end the season with no regrets as they have worked very hard in the offseason to improve. I still think Owatonna and Albert Lea are head and shoulders above the rest in the conference and the section. But hopefully we will give them a little scare at the end of the season."

SPARTANS ROSTER

Seniors - Corey Black, Warren Brink, Aaron Burt, Jaime Gonzalez, Zach Hanson, Zach Hermes, Kevin Kimlinger, Jake Minske. Juniors - Colton Koster, Aaron Martinson, Mike Minske, Blake Patton, Lee Schimek. Sophomores - Johnny Sarceno-Guzman, Marcus Wolf. Freshmen - Justin Ashbaugh, Zachary Clement, David Kujawa, Nicolas Tremain, Drew Burt. Eighth-graders - Jason Callahan, Ethan Carlson, Jacob Hanson, Devon Patton.

SCHEDULE

Dec. 6 - at Rochester Invitational, 9 a.m.

Dec. 12 - at Faribault triangular, 5 p.m.

Dec. 13 - at Byron Inviational, 9:30 a.m.

Dec. 19-20 - at Minnesota Christmas Tournament, 2 p.m.

Dec. 23 - Albert Lea, 7 p.m.

Dec. 30 - at Pine Island Inviational, 10 a.m.

Jan. 8 - Winona and Northfield, 5 p.m.

Jan. 12 - at Rochester City Championships (Century), 5 p.m.

Jan. 15 - at Mankato West, 7 p.m.

Jan. 17 - at Stewartville Invitational, 8 a.m.

Jan. 29 - Mankato East, 7 p.m.

Jan. 31 - at Kasson-Mantorville Inviational, 10 a.m.

Feb. 5 - at Austin, 7 p.m.

Feb. 7 - at Blaine Inviational, 9 a.m.

Feb. 13 - Owatonna, 7 p.m.

Feb. 19 - Section team tournament begins, TBD