It’s no secret that Northampton’s wrestling program is primed for a return to prominence this season.

After years of dealing with individual success in the postseason, this year’s Konkrete Kids enter the season ranked fifth and sixth respectively in the state by two different publications, giving Northampton plenty of hype as they gear up for the winter.

With returning state champion Julian Chlebove (So., 120/126) leading a pack of ultra talented light weights, Northampton will be as tough as anyone down below.

The question is how well does the rest of the lineup perform in order to compete with balanced teams like Bethlehem Catholic and Nazareth?

“We have some question marks at the top of our line up,” said head coach Seth Lisa. “Hopefully they keep learning and working hard and improve. We have a large amount of guys from last year’s team coming back. We fill our weight classes better this year.”

Joining Chlebove are a pair of senior veterans in Dan Moran (126/132) and KJ Fenstermacher (132/138, transfer from Liberty).

Moran is a three-time state medalist and Fenstermacher brings two state medals under his belt to give Northampton a one-two-three punch of bonus points between them and Chlebove.

Throw in Devon Britton (So., 138/145, state qualifier), Cade Moisey (Sr., 170/182, state qualifier), Logan Ninos (Jr., 113/120), Michael Kistler (So., 138/145), Chance Wandler (Jr., 152) and Zach Rooks (Sr., 160) as returning wrestlers with experience and success.

With Bethlehem Catholic and Nazareth both coming into the season ranked first and second respectively by PA Power Wrestling, Northampton will have their work cut out for them in challenging for the East Penn Conference crown and the District 11 3A title.

The Kids open the season on the road next Wednesday against Emmaus before heading to the Beast of the East tournament the weekend of December 17.

Northampton will get regular season shots at both the Golden Hawks and Blue Eagles, as they host Bethlehem Catholic on January 11 and welcome Nazareth a week later on January 19.