Whitehall will begin its wrestling season with an optimistic and realistic outlook on several fronts.

“We’re really happy with our numbers this year,” said longtime Zephyrs’ head coach Tim Cunningham. “We lost some kids due to COVID last year, and they didn’t come back.

“We usually beat the teams we’re supposed to beat, and we’ll hold our own against the others. We know it will be a challenge for us this year because we wrestle in the number one district in the country.”

Cunningham noted the Zephyrs likely will be without junior Josef Grol, who is lost for the year with an injury, and senior Mike Hernandez, who is hoping to return from an injury. Grol would have been the team’s 170-pounder, and Hernandez would wrestle at 215.

Senior Xavier Arner, who was second in the district and a state qualifier, will be 152, and fellow senior Tyler Cunningham, who was fourth in districts last year, will be at 130-138. Arner begins the year with a lifetime 68-16 record, while Cunningham has a 56-16 slate.

Cunningham also has a good vibe about senior Johnny Colon, who will fall between the 126-132 range.

Juniors Hudson Saylor (145), Chandeler Romain (170) and Melquan Warren (189) along with sophomores Damond Pascoe (113) should be steady contributors and fill out the lineup.

Cunningham stated the remainder of the lineup hasn’t been decided as of the time this article was written.

“We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores,” he said. “The rest of our weight classes are still up in the air.

“There will be a lot of young guys looking for spots.”

The Zephyrs opened the season at Pocono Mountain East before they hosted Northampton last week.

“We know we are in a tough conference,” said Cunningham. “Northampton will be a tough test for us because they traditionally are one of the best programs in the state.”

Yet, Cunningham likes his chances.

“We’re pretty happy with the state of our program,” he said. ‘Our kids work hard. It’s our job to get them through this the best we can.”

Whitehall 60 - Pocono East 15

106: Dayvion Marshmon (WHS) over (PMEH) (For.)

113: Damond Pascoe (WHS) over (PMEH) (For.)

120: Josh Marrero (PMEH) over Nolan Schmeckenbecher (WHS) (Fall 1:20)

126: Keegan Demarest (PMEH) over Cory Wilson (WHS) (Fall 1:11)

132: Mikey Hollar (PMEH) over Johnny Colon (WHS) (Dec. 7-2)

138: Eduardo Robles (WHS) over (PMEH) (For.)

145: Tyler Cunningham (WHS) over Angelo McEaddy (PMEH) (Fall 1:22)

152: Xavier Arner (WHS) over Camryn Sopko (PMEH) (Fall 1:36)

160: Seth Pascoe (WHS) over (PMEH) (For.)

172: Victor Cala (WHS) over (PMEH) (For.)

189: Chandeler Romain (WHS) over (PMEH) (For.)

215: Melquan Warren (WHS) over Luke Spece (PMEH) (Fall 1:59)

285: Tuan Do (WHS) over Evique Macias (PMEH) (Fall 2:15)