Highland welcomes five wrestlers back from last year, has eyes set of MVC championship
As the 2023-24 prep wrestling season begins this week in the metro east, the Highland Bulldogs boys team hopes experience will help them challenge for a Mississippi Valley Conference championship this winter.
“We’re pushing for the conference (championship) and it’s the only title we don’t have and I’m still looking for that,” Highland coach Shorty Ohren said.
Highland has 12 grapplers back from last year’s team that qualified five for the state meet.
Juniors Ashton Zobrist (190/215 pounds), Tyson Rakers (150/157 pounds), Thomas Mitchell (175 pounds), Gavin Merkle (113 pounds), Ethan Greenwald (190/215 pounds) will be the Bulldogs mainstays in the lineup.
Also expected to contribute are junior Dalton Ballint at 126 pounds and Liam Kobbeman is set to compete at 157 pounds.
Ohren also has a freshman and two sophomores and he is expecting good things from them as well this winter.
“They’re improving and they’ve never wrestled before, so they’re looking better and better every day and we really won’t know (with them) unit we start wrestling,” Ohren said.
Ohren believes the Bulldogs’ strong junior class which goes 10 deep will allow Highland to compete well through the season and potentially send Zobrist, Rakers, Mitchell, Merkle, and Greenwald back to state this year.
“Most of these kids have been wrestling for 8 to 10 years through the kids club program and all that and they work well together,” Ohren said.
The Bulldogs begin the season on Tuesday at 6 p.m. with a quad match at Centralia against Effingham, Centralia, and Pinckneyville.
As the Highland girls wrestling program opens its third season, Bulldogs coach Nick Bellamy is downright stoked about the group he has to work with this year.
After two seasons of having less than five wrestlers, HHS hits the mat this time around with 11 wrestlers on the roster ready to compete.
“We had four last year and now we’ve got 11 this year, so we’re super excited,” Bellamy said.
Leading the way will be two-time state qualifier and defending 170-pound state champion, August Rottmann.
Rottmann, a junior has been one of the most dominant girls wrestlers in the state the past two years and is primed for another big season this year.
“She got third place her freshman year, and she got first last year and she’s ranked no. 16th nationally, so we have high expectations for her,” Bellamy said.
Other top returners for HHS include sophomore Amber Rushing at 110 pounds and junior Alexia DiMaggio at 235 pounds.
Newcomers who are expected to help the cause include sophomore Kirstyn Carver . “She’s got that actual athletic ability and we have a lot of girls (like her) that are into wrestling this year,” Bellamy said.
Bellamy said the club’s goals are twofold this season. “Just growing the girls’ team in general and us winning some matches to where we walk in they say oh my gosh, Highland’s here,” said Bellamy.
HHS starts the season on Tuesday at 6 p.m. with a dual match at Edwardsville.
