"We will be improved this season and our goal is to compete at the conference level," ninth-year coach Troy Dell stated. "I think that is what we've been striving for the past several years and we have some guys now who can help us get over that hump and win a conference championship."
There will be more depth on this year's team.
"We will fill all of the weight classes this season," said Dell. "We're a little thin in numbers, but outside of that we should be a pretty solid lineup."
The team participated in three tournaments early this season and has made strides toward its ultimate goal.
The Bullets' solid lineup is led by sophomore Matt Shank (Reedsville, PA/Indian Valley) and freshman Andrew Goldstein (Easton, PA/Easton).
Shank moved up to the 149 weight class after finishing second at the CC championships last year at 141. He has seen early season success at the Ithaca Invitational and the Springfield Invitational, placing fourth and fifth, respectively. He currently has an 8-4 record and leads the team in technical falls (1), major decisions (2) and reversals (5).
Quickly seeing success at the collegiate level, Goldstein comes from a strong high school program where he placed seventh at the Class AAA state tournament as a senior. He currently leads the Bullets in wins (10), technical falls (1) and takedowns (47). Goldstein, who wrestles at 141, achieved a second-place finish at the King's Monarch Invitational and a fifth-place finish at Ithaca.
Senior Mike Pattanite (Tabernacle, NJ/Holy Cross) is following a strong junior campaign in which he finished second at the CC championships in the heavyweight division. This season he has a 7-5 record and marched to a second place finish at the King's Monarch Invitational by pinning three opponents. He leads the team with four pins.
Two other Bullets who have had early season success are senior Caleb Seufert (Gaithersburg, MD/Northwest) and sophomore John Leinberger (Great Falls, VA, Langley). Seufert had a second-place finish in the 165 weight class at the King's Monarch Invitational and leads the team in escapes (21). Leinberger, who wrestles at 184, placed sixth at Springfield and pinned three opponents during the tournament. His three pins rank second on the team behind Pattanite.
Gettysburg is also relying on the upperclass leadership of seniors Jeff Morgan (Reston, VA/Langley) and Aaron Fuchs (Chester Springs, PA/The Hill School), and junior Alex Emmer (Baltimore, MD/Boys' Latin). Emmer has won four matches, pinning one, while both Morgan and Fuchs have three wins this season.
In addition, the Bullets have youth on the roster that is getting great early season experience that will carry over into the CC season. Sophomore Michael Stambaugh (Gettysburg, PA/New Oxford) and freshmen James Stevenson (Wyncote, PA/Cheltenham), Daniel Clarke (Hamilton, NY/Hamilton Central), and Richard Masella (Little Silver, NJ/Red Bank Regional) look poised to have strong CC campaigns.
According to Dell, continued success this season will be determined by, "improving, being coachable, taking what is taught in practice and applying it to the mat, and trying to break some old habits and replace them with better ones. That is the way to be successful."
Once again, Dell sees Ursinus as the team to beat in the conference. The Bears have won three consecutive conference championships. The coach also thinks McDaniel will be tough again with a strong lineup of middle weight wrestlers.
Each CC team brings back a talented squad and last year's addition of Stevens Tech and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) made the conference even more challenging. The fight for this year's title should prove to be one of the best ever and Gettysburg will be in the thick of the CC title hunt.
The Bullets open the CC season facing host Washington and Lee in a quad meet on Jan. 7. The team is also anticipating a quad meet against three conference foes at Johns Hopkins with Muhlenberg and Ursinus on Jan. 21.
Gettysburg's only conference match at home is against McDaniel on Feb. 1.
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