By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor

The 2015-2016 season was a very good one for the Glen Este Trojans’ wrestling program. The team sent a pair of individual wrestlers to the state tournament and won the Eastern Cincinnati Conference in dominating fashion.

Head coach Chris Redmond said last year’s team was one he had worked with for a long time.

“It was a group that I’ve been working with for quite a few years,” Redmond said. “I coached them in junior high and followed them up. It was a good, dedicated group.”

The team lost eight seniors last year, including both state qualifiers, Brandon Hertel and Avery Jones. Oscar Santana, who won 35 matches and the league title at 106 pounds, also graduated. Redmond said the leadership that group of seniors showed has left marks on the players that remain in the program.

“They were great group of leaders,” Redmond said. “They led by example. They were hard-working, knew what wrestling and our program were all about. They did a good job instilling that in my sophomore group this year, they set the tone as to what we expect as a program. That’s carried over really well this year.”

The team’s sophomore class is going to play a crucial role in their success this season, as the Trojans return just five upperclassmen from last year’s team. One of those upperclassmen, senior Tristan McGrath, won a pair of matches for the Trojans in the team quarterfinals against Moeller and Sycamore. The Trojans fell to Moeller 40-30 to end the team’s run to state.

Redmond said the team usually finds itself facing off against the Crusaders in the team tournament.

“It’s really tough, we’re always in there with Moeller it seems,” Redmond said. “[We’ve lost to them] the last two years. Two years ago we beat them in a dual for senior night, then we lost to them in the last match. It’s tough. Division I in Ohio is very tough.”

Moeller fell to Elder in the regional finals, but the Trojans would face off against the Crusaders again when the individual tournament came around. The Trojans placed sixth at the district tournament as a team, sending two wrestlers to the state meet in Columbus.

Redmond said in the past the team has viewed it as an accomplishment just to make it to the floor of the Schottenstein Center. That is something he wants to change.

“It’s expected to make it to state, we need to start placing,” Redmond said. “As a coach, I wanted to put a couple kids on the podium the last couple years with the group we had coming through here. I really expected to have a couple state placers but Division I Ohio is a very tough division to put kids up on the podium.”

The Trojans have the talent to do just that. Sophomore Joe Walh qualified for the district meet after placing fourth in the 160-pound weight class at sectionals. Fellow sophomore Matt Lewis qualified for the district meet as an alternate and won his first match before falling in the district quarterfinals.

“[Lewis] puts a lot of time in,” Redmond said. “He wrestles throughout the summer and goes to different camps and things. Last year he had the most wins by a freshman in school history. We’ve been talking about the things he needed to improve on over the summer and he’s looking pretty good right now.”

The team’s goal for the season has not changed, according to Redmond. Glen Este hopes to win the Eastern Cincinnati Conference again this season, but Redmond said it won’t be an easy task for the Trojans.

“It’s up in the air this year,” Redmond said. “Anderson ended up nudging past Loveland to take second. McEntyre’s a great coach and they have a great team. Loveland always produces great numbers and great quality.”

The Trojans will be aided by a schedule that features plenty of chances to challenge the wrestlers.

“I knew we were going to lose a lot with the seniors and I thought about scaling my schedule down a bit,” Redmond said. “At the last minute, I decided to stick with it. We don’t get any better with a weak schedule throughout the season and when it counts you have to get the kids to state. We kept a very tough schedule and I’m hoping it’ll pay off when we get to league.”

The Trojans begin their regular season with a trip to Harrison for the Harrison Duals at 9 a.m. on Dec. 3.