Young Viking wrestlers get crash course

by Eric Keppeler
Grand Island Dispatch, December 8, 2006

Jeff Johnston has seen a lot in his 13 years as varsity wrestling coach at Grand Island High School.

But even he has to admit that he’s never had a roster that was quite so loaded with underclassmen as he expects to carry in the 2006-07 season. But in spite of the team’s relative youth – especially compared to the rest of the Niagara Frontier League – he’s hoping that the learning curve isn’t too severe.

“We’ve very young,” Johnston said. “Every guy has been with the program for at least three years, but at different levels. We’ve got a few guys with a lot of varsity experience, and a lot of guys with very little experience. But they all work hard, and that counts for a lot.”

The Vikings have just one senior in Dustin Lange, who wrestles at 152 pounds. He missed all of last season after tearing up his knee in an early practice, but he looks good so far this year.

Junior Alex Webb placed fourth in Class AAA at 160 pounds last season and went 1-2 in the state qualifier, the only Viking to advance that far. This season, he moves up a class to 171 pounds.

Sophomore Ethan Sharpe won the Class AAA title at 103 pounds two years ago as an eighth grader, but he also missed last season with an injury. This year, he wrestles at 125 pounds.

After those three, there’s not a lot of varsity experience.

“When you’re experienced, you can maybe make a mistake and get away with it,” Johnston said. “When you’re young, you really have no margin for error. When you’re inexperienced, every mistake is magnified. That’s why we’re working so hard to cut down on them.”

In the lighter classes, Johnston has a trio of wrestlers who have steadily worked their way through the program and now get their shot as varsity starters. Junior Joey Amsdill is at 103 pounds, while sophomore Lee Schuster is at 112 pounds and freshman Joe Giambelluca checks in at 119 pounds.

Freshman Andy LaLonde moves up from the junior varsity to compete at 130 pounds, while junior Richie Vanthoff returns at 135 pounds. Freshman Anthony Genova was brought up to the varsity during last season, and he gets the nod at 140 pounds. Sophomores Anthony Gugino and Adam Helman return at 145 and 160 pounds, respectively.

For now, Johnston is handling the 189-pound weight class by committee, and freshman Eric Harden makes the jump all the way from the modified team to wrestle at 215 pounds to round out the lineup.

“We’re making progress,” Johnston said. “The kids keep their heads up and they’re very enthusiastic about being here. They enjoy what they do and they want to get better. We don’t want to take any short cuts to improve. These kids are going to wrestle against a lot of juniors and seniors this year, and they’ll definitely be better for the experience in the years to come.”