As the Zephyr wrestling team preps for the district tournament, they can look back on another successful year that will guide them into the postseason.

The Zephs ended their season with a win over Jim Thorpe Area High School, capping a 10-9 season that saw them get steadily better as the year progressed.

Right now the team is busy preparing for the second half, honing their skills inside the wrestling room at Whitehall High School. Head coach Tim Cunningham said it's a time when they address and reemphasize the fundamentals, making them ready for the grind of the tournament schedule.

"We are now at the part of the season where we are building confidence and that comes through hard work," said Cunningham. "Our expectations are as always to wrestle to the best of your ability work hard toward the goals you set for the post-season and challenge your self to be the best wrestler you can possibly be at this time of the year."

They also tailor instruction to each individual wrestler, whether it's through watching tape of a match, or simply fine-tuning a move on the mat, each wrestler gets hands-on coaching during this period. It's also a time to have them both mentally and physically fit.

"We expect our wrestlers to now become even more committed than ever and that includes following a proper diet and getting enough sleep," Cunningham said. "Practice is the time where you need to perfect your go to moves from every position, so when you are wrestling in the tournament you do not have to think too much."

In order to have success once the tournament starts, they'll need to be focused and determined to persevere, always battling to the final whistle.

"It really comes down to battling for position and being stubborn on the mat until you wear out your opponent," said Cunningham. "We concentrate on the basics and fundamentals so that we stay in good position and frustrate our opponent into making mistakes. When they finally walk on the mat they need to understand that at that time it is 95% mental and they will only feel confident and have a winning attitude if they work hard leading up to the tournament."

A number of wrestlers have the ability to make it to the final day at the District XI tournament, with Nico Kauffman (18-7), Brad Schuler (13-3), Fouad Haddad (13-2) and Matt Bonshak (25-2), ranked among the area's best.

Bonshak will be looking to defend his title at 160, while the others will look to become first-time champs, giving Whitehall an excellent chance to do well in team scoring.

The action begins Feb 22 at Liberty High School Memorial Gymnasium, and the Zephs will have a full compliment of grapplers ready to make a mark. In addition to Bonshak, Kauffman, Haddad and Brad Schuler, the Zephs will look to You Te Chen, Matt Schuler, Robert Tully, Tyler Bridgwood, Edgardo Rivera, Shiwalla Singh, Adel Sharif and Tyler Schaeffer to make some noise.

It's the time of year they've been anticipating since they first stepped onto then mat to begin the 2012-2013 campaign, and the team is anxious to have success in the postseason. As Cunningham, likes to say, it's a marathon and not a sprint, and now it's time for get ready for the final leg of their journey.