With a young and inexperienced team, Catasauqua head wrestling coach Jon Reed wasn’t ready to raise the bar on his team’s chances this season.

However, Reed had a better feeling after his team’s showing in their annual Rough Rider wrestling tournament in which they placed 11th out of 16 teams. Unfortunately, the Roughies were quickly corralled in their first dual match, suffering a 70-0 decision to Saucon Valley.

Yet, Reed isn’t about to have his spirits dampened,

“Overall I thought we wrestled above expectations,” stated Reed about the tournament. “We had lots of kids with little to no varsity experience wrestle their first high school matches and we liked what we saw.

“We still have a very long way to go, but for the first competition of the season we as coaches liked what we saw. The Rough Rider Tournament has grown into a decent little opening weekend event and there are always some top-notch wrestlers as well as less experienced kids so it helps all kids of all skill levels.”

Seniors Evan Reed (152) and Gavin Hacker (127) will look to lead the pack. Reed is coming off knee surgery, and Hacker is coming off a fourth-place finish at districts last season.

Coach Reed cited freshman Jaxson Beaton (215) and sophomore Aydan Frisby (133) for their early contributions.

“These have been Jaxson’s first high school events, and he has been a very pleasant surprise,” said Reed. “We will be looking for big things from Jaxon as he gets into wrestling shape coming off a great football season he had.

“Aydan only had six total wins as a freshman, so to get four wins in the first tournament of the year is a huge improvement.”

The remainder of the Roughies’ lineup will be tested and hopefully mature along the way.

Junior Jayce Perez (121) saw limited time last season, and he’ll be joined by fellow junior Aaron Medero (285). Sophomores Elliot Jones (107), Aydan Ruggear (160), and Elijah Vasquez (139) will look to build on the experiences. Senior Nikoloz Kemashvili (172) is in his second season.

Freshman Lucas Reed (114), Blake Reed (121), and Carter Gonzalez (285) will look to improve throughout the season.

Reed knows he has to be cautiously optimistic. The Roughies will wrestle Palisades this week before they compete in the Chuck Springer Memorial Duals in Norristown over the weekend.

“Overall we have tons of work to do, but we keep stressing the importance of going and battling and competing no matter how long they have been wrestling,” stressed Reed. “They have all been working hard, and we will get back in the room and train to get a little better each day.”