We have a very experience team returning with a lot of young talent pushing the returners.

Jack is a three-time top-4 placer at Super Region V, winning the regional in 2022. Jack is a returning All-American. Jack is very passionate about wrestling. He loves to be on the mat and loves the spotlight. He wrestles his best when the pressure is highest.

I am very excited for this year’s team as we return eight starters from last season. From those eight returning starters, we have five NCAA qualifiers and two have earned All American honors. We have the experience, consistency, and the right mentality of individuals in the room that all add value to the growth and improvement of our program. This is a testament to the leaders on the team fostering the environment in a positive way that is going to help preserve the necessary consistency that’s needed for a program to be competitive and successful on a yearly basis. Serving these young men on their journey as they work tirelessly towards accomplishing their goals, is what excites more than anything. I am blessed to be surrounded driven, humble, and grateful young men that are striving for greatness. These young men have established a brotherhood and they are confident in one another. I am excited to see how they perform.

Reece is coming off a fourth place finish at the 2022 NCAA DII National Tournament, UMary’s highest placer in the Division II era, which makes him the highest returning All-American at 133 heading into the 2023 season. Even with Reece knowing that information, he is humble and even more driven to improve every single day, and that goes for every aspect of his life. He has a tireless work ethic and pushes those around him to improve, which is one of the many reasons he was named captain this year as a sophomore. Reece also separates himself by his consistency and confidence in his abilities. He approaches every match the same and that supreme confidence is transferring throughout the rest of the team. I know every time Reece steps on the mat, he is going to give everything he has for those seven minutes.

Our line up is blurry and it's hard for me to predict what our line up will be in the post-season. We have a bunch a young guys that are competitive and some returning vets that are busting their tails to have a breakthrough season. The line up is written in pencil on a napkin right now and it's going to take time to figure out our second semester line up. That excites me!

Darrell is a guy that is full of life and definitely adds some energy and spice to our program. He's a National Champion and had one of the best competitive seasons in MSU Wrestling history last season. He's a great representative for the sport and we're glad he's a Maverick!

We will be led by senior wrestlers Anthony Castro, Cody Dravis, and Sam Grove. We will look to these three to provide leadership throughout the year to a young team mostly comprised of freshman and sophomores. We added a great class of eight high school graduates and three transfers. Those new additions include freshmen 125- Shad Cano, Dallas, TX; 184-Will Price, Vernal, UT; 165-Jonas Anez, Willmar, MN; 165/174-Jacob Reinardy, Owatonna, MN; 149-Beau Daily, Anchorage, AK; 165/174-Wayne Mellon; Ninilchik, AK; 184- Caleb Vacura, Greenbush, MN; and 157-Cody Wienen, Thief River Falls, MN. Our three transfers include 149-Jake Davis, Thief River Falls, MN (Northland CTC), 133-Thomas Carrillo, Rio Rancho, NM (Western Wyoming CC), and 285-Airin Spell, Nashville, TN (Division I Presbyterian College).

Samuel is dropping from the HWT weight class to 197, where we feel he will be more competitive and the weight class suits him better. A starter at 285 during the 2021-22 season, he finished with a record of 10-13, he had one win by fall. two wins by major decision, and six by decision. He competed at the NCAA Super Regional and was named to NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence. He also excelled in the classroom and received the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award. Samuel is currently attending graduate school at MSUM, working towards his master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

I am very excited about the mix we have of returning wrestlers with great experience and our talented group of new guys that joined our program this season. I expect to see some new names in our starting lineup, and I look forward to seeing the impact that they will make.

Oscar has been a consistent leader for us at 125 pounder throughout his career. He finished fifth place in the region last season and will be looking to build on that. He had a great off-season and has put in the work to make a statement in his sixth year with our program.

I am just ready to get rolling this season. We have solid group of returners this year with a lot of experience. We also brought in a big group of freshmen as well so, it is great to see the veterans working with our younger guys as they transition to college wrestling. If we can stay healthy I believe we can have another great year.

We are excited to see Cole hit the mat for us this year. He put together a great run at the end of the season that culminated with him earning a fourth place finish at the NCAA tournament in March. He has been a big reason for our recent team success in dual meet competitions and has helped us change the culture and expectations of our program. Cole also earned NWCA All-Academic honors for his work in the classroom last year and was voted a team captain this year by his teammates.

This year’s team returns 8/10 starters back into the line-up. Our experience, coupled with the leadership from the captains has set this team apart from any other I have coached. They are self-motivated, driven, and focused on their goals. My job is to provide a good training environment and get out of the way. I am fired up to see these guys hit the mats together and see all their hard work begin to pay off.

Caden is a leader both on and off the mat. His work ethic and driver are pervasive, and he consistently motivates his teammates to be better in all aspects of their life. He continually focuses on improving, does the little things right, and gives 100% in everything he does. This is visible not only in his training, but also in his wrestling. He has a hard-nosed style indicative of his mindset. He shows up, beats on guys, and goes the whole seven minutes without stop. His constant attacks and action make him one of the best wrestlers to watch.

With new faces in our line-up and some possible weight changes from our veteran wrestlers, we are excited about the challenge. I am really excited to put the post COVID era in the past and focus on what's really important, the overall well-being of our student-athletes. This should be a very exciting season of collegiate wrestling for the Huskies.

Joey has been one of SCSU wrestling main catalysts over the past four years. He is one of the toughest physically and mentally student-wrestlers that I have had the pleasure of coaching in my career. Bianchini is a leader by example and competes like a warrior. A strong leader on the mat, he also excels in the classroom. He is the complete epitome of what it means to be called a student-athlete.

This group has the experience to understand what it takes to be successful at this level. We are hungry to excel. There is plenty of motivation flowing throughout this group. They had a strong preseason with their individual efforts and attitudes. This group has become closer as a team and are providing the support to one another necessary to achieve greatness.

Tate is the complete package. He's intrinsically motivated to represent himself and our program in the highest of standards. He's been a life-long leader who has the true passion to pursue excellence at this level. His love for the sport of wrestling is energizing to be around. He is highly respected by the entire Upper Iowa University community.

What excites me most is that we have the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in NCAA DII within our conference schedule. I believe our conference is one of the best, if not the best conference in the country and every dual meet is a battle. For the most part, our team is fairly young and unproven. I look forward to some of our guys having break out seasons like I know they are capable of doing.

Shane is one of the self-driven student-athletes that I have ever had the pleasure to be around. He is the type of individual that cares just as much about team accomplishments than his individuals successes. On the mat, he is a hard-nosed wrestler who is always looking for his next scoring opportunity. Parkside Wrestling will forever be grateful to have a guy like Shane Gantz come through our program.