In his first five years in charge of the Northwestern wrestling team, head coach Jim Moll has never been able to fill out an entire lineup. Even after a significant increase in the number of wrestlers between last year and 2013, the Tigers were forced to forfeit a number of weight classes last winter.

That will change this season as the Tigers suit up enough wrestlers to compete in each of the 14 weight classes.

With the full roster, the Tigers mental focus toward matches figures to improve.

"We were close last year, but we had some skin issues that kind of hurt us," Moll said. "It's good for the kids. Sometimes if you're going into a match giving up for or five forfeits, mentally that is hard to deal with, and knowing your team has a pretty slim chance of winning giving up that many points."

Alex Russo and Anthony Fillis return as the only two Tiger seniors, rounding out a squad that finished 1-7 in the Colonial League (4-14 overall) a year ago.

Both figure to provide plenty of senior leadership, in particular Russo, who has taken drastic strides in the offseason.

"Russo put a lot of time in during the spring, summer and our fall workouts," Moll said. "He was here a lot. Something really clicked I think with him over the offseason.

"There is a steep learning curve with wrestling. Some sports it's just run fast or throw a ball. Wrestling has a little more to it. There's a steeper learning curve, and it takes a little bit longer to figure out everything that's going on. He gets it this year."

Junior Quentin Bernhard returns at 120 pounds after coming within one match of qualifying for the PIAA tournament last season.

Replacing Bernhard at 113 pounds is sophomore Baily Wehr. Wehr finished in sixth place during last year's district tournament.

"He [Wehr] made district semifinals last year," Moll said. "He upset two kids at districts, and took sixth at that tournament."

Junior Jarett White is also back as one of the more experienced Tiger wrestlers.

Two freshmen, Matt Peters (106 pounds) and Caleb Clymer (145 pounds), enter their first season on the high school circuit. And despite their inexperience on varsity, both should see plenty of opportunities in 2015.

"He [Peters] has been wrestling for the program for a long time," Moll said. "He does a lot of work in the offseason outside of going to clubs, camps and tough tournaments."

Clymer, meanwhile, has seen how individuals achieve success up close and personal.

"He comes from a wrestling family," Moll said. "He has two brothers (Scott and Ben) that were state champs, and one that was a district champ for me and is a junior high coach now. He's a tough kid and a good athlete."

It's a solid mix of both youth and experience, but the camaraderie has been evident since the first day of practice.

"They all seem to get along with each other pretty well," Moll said. "Before practice, we're all hanging out in the locker room having a good time. We've had some groups like that in the past, but this just seems like a larger group of kids."

Northwestern and Salisbury both finished with one conference win last year, followed by Notre Dame (Green Pond) as the lone winless team in the Colonial League. Despite that struggle a year ago, which was partially a factor of all the forfeits, the Tigers are aiming much higher this winter.

"Our goal is top four," Moll said. "I don't see a reason why we shouldn't be competing to be in that group of four."