Positive signs abound as the Whitehall wrestling team prepares for the upcoming season.

Those positive signs are reflected in the number of wrestlers who will be part of the program this season. Head coach Tim Cunningham said that they have 28 wrestlers competing for spots.

“We have a good group of guys right now,” said Cunningham who enters his 14th season as the Zephyrs head coach. “That’s good because you work with quantity, hopefully we can get some quality out of them.”

Another positive sign is the number of returning varsity wrestlers. The Zephyrs will have back a strong nucleus that begins with their lightweights as Nick Demjan (106), Caleb Staub (120), Joshua Grol (126) and Noah Rex (132) all have varsity experience.

That experience continues through their middleweights as Nikitas Davis (145), Jesiah Davis (160/170), Gavin Morber (145), Brandon Vega (152) and John Kaintz (160) all return as well.

In the upper weights, they’ll lean on the experience of Marwan Rajha (182), Mike Ajami (182/195) and Thomas Klotz (HWT).

Last year the Zephyrs finished 6-13 overall and 1-6 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

The Zephyrs have seven seniors on their roster, and many of them have been fixtures on the varsity roster the last few seasons. Those include Rex, Nikitas and Jesiah Davis, Rajha and Klotz. Additionally, they’ll have seniors Rafat Yacoub and Kori Zacharias who will give them added leadership.

The Zephs also return juniors Jovany Belman, Kaintz and Luis Arzola who also give the Zephyrs a strong veteran presence as all three wrestlers have plenty of varsity experience. Additionally, sophomore Marino Collazo will be an integral part as well.

Cunningham said that this summer was very productive, noting they had a lot of participation in their offseason program. That included participation in the “open rooms.”

“Hopefully, some of that pays off,” he said.

A newcomer to watch this season is freshman Jaden Youwakim. Cunningham said that Youwakin was a two-time finalist in the junior high tournament and will look to make an impact on the varsity this season. They’ll also feature a few more freshman who will give them more options, including Kai Clark, Randy Okunga, Branch Faggins, Juan Diaz, Izak Bright, Ilyass Baakili, Ali Barkley, Austin Baker, Timothy Bisono, Carlos Lorenzo, Tyler Fontanez and Naseer Fairfax.

While Youwakim and Clark have a shot at cracking into the varsity lineup, Cunningham believes that all his incoming freshmen can help them this season.

He also liked where they are in terms of progress throughout the program. In prior years, it was youth coming up with no experience, but now it’s youth coming up with experience.

“They’re not learning from step one,” said Cunningham. “This year we have a little bit of a faster rate because we have guys that have wrestling experience.”

This year the Zephs have a tough schedule, beginning with their opener against Freedom on Dec. 14. They’re also in the tough Hurricane Classic this season which takes place over the Christmas break, one of the top tournaments in the state.

As they embark on a new season, Cunningham wants to see how that experience translates to the mat. He wants to see them compete. With Parkland, Bethlehem Catholic and Northampton on their dual meet schedule, he wants to see that experience result in some competitive matches.