The Northampton wrestling team went on a magical ride last season, culminating in a runner-up finish in the state team duels and dominating team performance to capture the District XI team title at the AAA individual championships.

Five of the K-Kids six state qualifiers graduated, giving some new names a chance to make their marks in the Orange and Black.

Despite the losses, head coach Seth Lisa hasn’t changed his expectations for his wrestlers.

“We know we’re filling our lineup with capable guys and we’ll find out how capable as the season progresses,” Lisa said. “The expectations have to stay the same. We got very close to winning a state title last year and that’s going to be the goal for this crew. We’re confident these kids can pull it together and we’ll have a successful end of the season.”

Jagger Condomitti headlines a group of four returning regional qualifiers. Condomitti’s fourth place state finish last season and his epic battles with Ryan Anderson have garnered the future Nebraska wrestler a national #18 ranking at 145 according to Intermat.

Ethan Szerencsists and Blake Lambert are both coming off fifth place finishes at regionals and Riley Gallagher also earned his way to the postseason’s second week.

Other wrestlers who contributed to last season’s success are: Traisach Roland, Gunnar Wagner, Noah Reichelderfer, Alex Hanley, and Blaise Wagner.

Lisa is also high on incoming freshmen Dagen Condomitti, AJ Dew, and Carson Wagner.

This year will also be a first for the Northampton wrestling program as three girls went out for the team. While girls wrestling isn’t yet sanctioned separately by PIAA, a number of EPC schools have females in their program.

The dual meet season is highlighted by matchups with old rivals Nazareth and Easton over the course of five days in January. Northampton hosts the Rovers on Jan. 11 and visits the Blue Eagles on Jan. 15.

Based on the resumes of their returning wrestlers or their incoming transfers, Nazareth and Bethlehem Catholic have earned the preseason nods as the top-two PIAA AAA teams in the state. The good news for everyone involved is that the title isn’t bestowed, it’s earned in February and March.