Catasauqua’s wrestling team will begin the new year with plenty of promise as well as a challenging January ahead. The Roughies ended December on a high note when they downed Southern Lehigh, 36-21.

In the match, Ben Nosal (220) and Tyler Youseff (195) both continued their strong season by registering falls and Bradley Panto also broke through with a fall at 160. Malik Sharif (113) looked good in a 9-2 decision and Jacob Lastch (182) brought home a 8-3 win. Bradshaw Henning (108) and Tyler Melendez (126) both were awarded forfeits at their respective classes.

Their victory came on the heels of a 57-21 defeat to Bangor after a convincing 65-12 win over Salisbury.

“This was nice win for us,” said head coach Kyle Rusnock. “Bangor is one of the better teams in the league and we knew it would be a difficult match.

“But against Southern Lehigh, Malik (Sharif) wrestled well, and our experienced guys like Nosal and Youseff took care of business. We had some forfeits, but we really need a win like that.”

Rusnock noted that the team should have a full lineup for the remainder of the month.

“We’ll get close,” he said. “We should have everyone make their weight now that the holiday is over. Bradshaw (Henning) will need to stay at 106 and we can go from there. We should have Melendez at 120, (Derrick) Rodriguez at 126, and Oscar Cordone at 132. We’re still up in the air at 138. But we are confident everything will take care of it itself.”

Rusnock continues to be impressed with freshman LaVonte Bouie at heavyweight.

“His record doesn’t reflect what he is doing out there,” said Rusnock, whose heavyweight has one win heading into the New Year. “He (Bouie) has really done a nice job, and he is in a tough weight class. He has faced a lot of seasoned wrestlers so far, and he has really battled.”

The Roughies will face Notre Dame on Jan. 4 before they embark on the Whitehall Duals Jan. 7. They will finish the month with matches against Northern Lehigh.