As the Whitehall wrestling team prepares for the District 11 Individual Wrestling Tournament, a group of up-and-coming Zephyrs have just completed their own successful year on the mat.

These wrestlers compete in the Valley Elementary Wrestling League. The VEWL is comprised of 32 teams divided among four divisions with Whitehall wrestling in the Northwest Division.

The Little Zephyrs finished 4-3 in their division and 6-4 overall. They are coached by Shane Schmeckenbecher who is in his third year as the head coach. Before that, he spent five years as an assistant.

The Little Zephyrs have between 50-60 wrestlers who are split into three groups: novice, intermediary (junior varsity) and top level (varsity). Who gets slotted where is determined by wrestle-offs, said Schmeckenbecher. Participants range from kindergarten through sixth grade, and then it’s onto the junior high program where they’ll continue to gather experience which will come in handy as they encounter schools who can draw some of the best wrestling talent in the area.

Schmeckenbecher is proud of the fact that all their wrestlers are homegrown. They are local kids who attend classes in the Whitehall-Coplay School District who will one day suit up for the maroon and gold.

“We can develop some pretty good wrestlers where they can go into the junior high and varsity programs and have some success,” said Schmeckenbecher.

The Little Zephyrs had a number of highlights this season, including a 45-35 win over Parkland Red, one of two Parkland squads that wrestle in the VEWL.

Schmeckenbecher also said that the Little Zephyrs gained strength as the season progressed, something that bore fruit once the postseason tournament got underway last week.

“I thought we finished strong and that’s what made our season more than anything,” said Schmeckenbecher.

That strong finish produced seven place winners among the junior varsity squad and six among the varsity. That list included the following junior varsity wrestlers: 61 lbs. Ryan Lindenmuth 2nd place, 3rd grade; 61 lbs. Johnny Gajdos 3rd place, 3rd grade; 61 lbs. Damond Pascoe 4th place, 4th grade; 64 lbs. Nolan Schmeckenbecher 4th place, 3rd grade; 85 lbs. Brendan Sargent 2nd place, 6th grade; 90 lbs. Cole Guerney 3rd place, 5th grade and 120 lbs. Jakub Gloc 3rd place, 4th grade.

The varsity place-winners included: 46 lbs. Mason Nomie 5th place, 2nd grade; 50 lbs. Matt Nomie 7th place, 3rd grade; 58 lbs. Mason Thomas 8th place, 2nd grade; 70 lbs. Nathan Mendez 3rd place, 5th grade; 85 lbs. Tyler Cunningham 1st Place, VEWL Champion 6th Grade and 90 lbs. Xavier Arner 2nd Place 6th Grade.

“That’s pretty good,” said Schmeckenbecher.

Among that group, Cunningham and Arner each had undefeated seasons. Cunningham topped his year with the VEWL Championship and then followed that up with a first place finish last weekend at a local all-star tournament that featured over 50 teams, defeating both the No. 1 and No. 2 wrestlers to capture the crown.

“That’s pretty impressive,” said Schmeckenbecher of Cunningham’s undefeated season at 85. “That’s difficult to do.”

Equally impressive was Arner who took second at the VEWL last week, losing 2-0 in sudden victory in the finals. Over the course of five seasons as a Little Zephyr, Arner had a 73-19 record, finishing among the top six each of those seasons, three of which were in the top two.

Schmeckenbecher said that Arner was dedicated throughout the year en route to his finals appearance.

“That’s a lot of hard work that he put in,” said Schmeckenbecher. “Getting to that spot is pretty impressive.”

Cunningham’s unblemished season was the culmination of a sparkling run as a Little Zephyr. He complied a 98-9 record over seven seasons. He finished among the top three in the VEWL Varsity Tournament in each of those years.

Schmeckenbecher said that Mendez had a strong season as well, finishing with just one loss during the regular season. As a fifth-grader, Mendez will have one more year as a Little Zephyr and will become the cornerstone of next year’s team.

“We’re expecting big things from Nathan,” said Schmeckenbecher.

With Whitehall in a constant battle with some elite teams at the varsity level, a good feeder program is essential to stay competitive. Some of the current Zephyrs who have come through the program are Caleb Staub, Noah Rex, Nick Demjan, John Kaintz and Nikitas Davis, with each wrestlers looking to advance once the D-11 tourney begins next week.