There really aren't any excuses at Liberty when it comes to yearly goals.

No matter who the Hurricanes graduate, rebuilding isn't a word in their vocabulary and that's what head coach Jody Karam expects again heading into this winter.

Entering his 21st season at the helm of the program, Karam lost seven wrestlers to graduation, including state qualifier Grimaldi Gozalez.

Gonzalez was one of two wrestlers to reach Hershey last year, the other is returning senior upper weight Jake Gunning, who didn't medal in Hershey last year after grabbing silver at districts and regionals at 220-pounds.

Gunning returns for his senior already committed to wrestle at Division-I Buffalo next year, giving the Hurricanes another formidable state qualifier in the fold.

Growing more of those wrestlers is the goal for Karam and company.

"Graduation doesn't stop tradition and Liberty always finds a way to develop quality wrestlers," said Karam. "Our athletes put in the work; they just need to learn to be champions and that isn't always something you can teach. For this season, we need to have more wrestlers competing deeper in the individual tournaments. Regionals and states need to be the goal for most of our wrestlers."

Other returners this year include Noah Klingborg (Sr. 170), Orlando Miller (Sr. 195), Johnny Ritter (Jr. 113) and Joey Curzi (So. 106).

Key newcomers looking to fill some holes are KJ Fenstermacher (Fr. 106), Luke Werner (Fr. 113) and Andrew Gunning (So. 285).

Liberty wrestlers have always been known for their work ethic and toughness, which are characteristics that this group brings to table. The bigger question is if they can match last year's 15-5 season, which saw them reach the semifinals of district duals.

"Even though we're replacing a lot of starters from last season, we have an extremely tough group of wrestlers," Karam said. "Our underclassmen committed to the weight room and off-season workouts, and because of that, they are already hardened. Our toughness is going to get us through some matches this year. We aren't known for being the most technical of teams, but we will be tough.

"Lead by some key returners in the upper-weights, we have a chance to surprise some teams and return to the success of a year ago."