The Whitehall wrestling team just completed a solid season, establishing themselves as a program on the rise in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

They finished 10-7 overall and 4-5 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. They bumped up three spots in the A Division of the EPC, using a blend of youth and experience to catapult them into the middle tier of a division that had two teams place among the top three in the state at the recently completed PIAA 3A wrestling championships in Hershey.

The challenge moving forward will be to maintain the progress that they’ve made, and with a strong nucleus returning, especially among the lightweights, the future looks bright for the Zephyrs.

However, they lose a strong group of seniors who formed the backbone of the 2016-17 season. That list includes Noah Rex who was a mainstay throughout the program, a consistent performer who had 20-plus wins this season. They also lose Nikitas Davis, Jesiah Davis, Marwan Rajha, Thomas Klotz and Rafat Yacoub, all of whom were part of the recent upsurge in Zephyr wrestling.

The cast of retuning wrestlers is led by freshman Jada Youwakim who was the team leader in wins with 23. He also finished sixth in the District 11 Individual Tournament, capping off a terrific freshman season. They’ll also have Caleb Staub, Luke Rex and Nick Demjan, a trio of returning lightweights who have varsity experience.

Also returning to the fold are Jovany Belman, Josh Grol, Gavin Morber and Kai Clark, another solid group of wrestlers who should bolster their lightweight ranks, with Clark establishing himself as someone to watch with 16 wins as a freshman.

The middleweights took the biggest hit due to graduation, but they have a returning veteran in John Kaintz.

The upper weights will have some experience as well with Michael Ajami, Izak Bright, Tyler Fontanez and Julio Diaz all returning.

Head coach Tim Cunningham said that he witnessed their progress throughout the season, and that’s what ultimately led it to being a successful year.

“I do believe we improved on a daily basis throughout the season and it started showing on the mat in January, and then in the postseason,” said Cunningham. “We finished off our dual meet season winning seven of our last nine meets and defeating Pine Grove in the finals of the Panther Duals.”

That was a significant achievement for the Zephs, defeating a Pine Grove squad that wound up finishing third in AA District Duals this season.

Cunningham said that they’ll need to keep pushing forward.

The season doesn’t stop because the calendar turns to spring.

“We need to make sure these guys work hard this offseason so when they do peak in the post season they are at a high enough level to be placing hardware around their necks and wrestling longer into the post season,” said Cunningham. “We have quite a few returners next year that have the ability to take it to the next level but champions in March are made in the offseason.”

Cunningham has said that all the avenues to get better are available to their wrestlers. They are in the weight room three days a week, and the wrestling room is open every Wednesday. They will also make a weekly excursion to a club wrestling room for those who want to improve their physical and mental toughness.

That hard work during the offseason pays dividends during the postseason.

“We are taking guys to tournaments every weekend and hope to see even more wrestlers participating in the tournaments,” said Cunningham. “As a staff we know it is our job to get these guys to the next level and get back on the podium when it matters. Hopefully this offseason we get the majority of the guys to buy into the hard work that it takes in order to be district place winners.”

To achieve those goals, Cunningham said that he’ll need the assistance of some wrestlers who will embrace leadership roles.

“I’m hoping to have a few team leaders this offseason step up and direct the team in the right direction working hard in the weight room and wrestling with no excuses just plain and simple hard work,” said Cunningham.