The Chambersburg wrestling team appears to have plenty of talent and experience at the low end of its lineup, and also at the top end.

So the success of the Trojans, as a team, will likely come down to how well the middle can hold up its end of the bargain.

Karl Shindledecker

Chambersburg opens its season Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Spring Grove Duals, taking on Hempfield, the host Rockets and Waynesboro.

"We have a couple of plug-and-play pieces down low and again up high where we can move some guys around and get matchups that favor us," Trojan coach Matt Mentzer said. "We're a little inexperienced in the middle, but we have some good athletes in there. I'm happy with the 23 kids we have. They're a hard-working group, they don't complain and they bring it every day in practice. This particular group is easy to root for."

A look at the team starts with senior Karl Shindledecker, who was a PIAA runner-up last year, to go with his third-place finish as a freshman. He was 23-2 and both losses came against state champion Mac Church of Waynesburg, 4-3 in the regional final and 2-1 in overtime in the state final. Shindledecker may start the season at 132, but expects to be at 126 for the postseason.

Mentzer said, "I've seen more focus from Karl in the practice room. I'm excited to see what he can do. There's something special about that kid — when he wants to go, he can really go."

Two other veterans and two newcomers in the lighter weights will make Chambersburg strong from 106-132. Junior Rylan Carter (20-5 last year) and Luke Mentzer (16-5), should eventually settle at 113 and 120, respectively. Mentzer was a Section I champion last year. Two freshmen will also make their presence known — Zach Sherman at 106 and Ashton Romberger around 126.

"We have high expectations for those two freshmen," coach Mentzer said.

At the last three weights, sophomore Aiden Hight (11-10) will likely be at 189, juniors Zach Evans (18-7) and Ethan Faytol (7-7) will rotate between 215 and 285, and junior Avery Kuhns (2-8) will also factor in at 285. Evans (6th) and Hight (8th) placed in the National High School Championships last spring.

"In those last three weights, I don't expect too many losses," Mentzer said.

Ryder Davenport

At 145, returner Tyler Jones (3-6) is slated to start and senior Ryder Davenport (17-8) will hold down the 160 spot.

Mentzer said, "Ryder is a good leader and it's real important to him to get to districts for the first time."

There are three weights with inexperienced wrestlers fighting to see who will be in the lineup. At 138, it's between sophomore Riley Beecher and senior Reese Spedden. At 152, its a battle between seniors Jared Hepner and Andrew Hull (who was hurt last year) and sophomore Noah Valentine, while at 172, juniors Garnett Pisle and Bryce Johnson are facing off.

"I think a lot of the guys could make a big jump this year and we could have multiple state qualifiers and maybe multiple state placewinners," Mentzer said. "Team-wise, we can be in the mix to qualify for districts. We'll see how we measure up right away when we hit Hempfield —  I think they're one of the favorites to win districts.

"We may wrestle six to eight teams this year that are ranked in the top 25 in the state, so it's not going to be easy."

In addition to the Spring Grove Duals, Chambersburg will compete in the Carlisle Holiday tournament (Dec. 17-18), once again host the 51-team Trojan Wars on Dec. 29-30, and host the Chambersburg Duals on Jan. 8, taking on State College, Red Land, Mercersburg Academy and Highlands.

The postseason will revert back to the structure it had before the pandemic caused many changes last year. Section I will be a one-day event at Mechanicsburg (Feb. 19), District 3 will at Spring Grove on Feb. 25-26 and the PIAA Championships are two weeks later.