Unlike their counterparts, Whitehall’s wrestling season has started slowly. However, it has been successful.

The Zephyrs recently won their first two matches of the season, easily defeating Pleasant Valley (59-6) and Allen (63-12).

Veteran head coach Tim Cunningham has a relatively young club this season with a few experienced wrestlers sprinkled in the lineup. He expected to have a better gauge on his squad after they wrestled conference and national-ranked power Nazareth Wednesday.

“Our season is going well, as we are currently 2-0 defeating Pleasant Valley and Allen,” stated Cunningham. “When we wrestled one of the best teams in the state in Nazareth, these are the types of matches we look forward to wrestling in order to see where we are in competing with one of the best teams in the state.

“We also will see what we need to work on to compete at a higher level.”

Senior 189-pounder Melquan Warren is the Zephyrs’ most experienced wrestler. Warren posted a 31-11 mark last season and was fourth at districts and third at regionals, lifting him to be a state qualifier. Warren registered two falls in his opening matches.

Fellow senior Hudson Saylor, who was 15-14 last year at 138, and junior Seth Pascoe, who was 16-12 at 145, both went undefeated in the early going. They will be counted on for their experience this season. Freshman Wilmont Kai also had two pins at 106.

In spite of his team’s success, Cunningham doesn’t want to look too far ahead.

“It is way too early to predict who will go far in the postseason,” he stressed. “The season is not a sprint it is a marathon, and some wrestlers will continue to grow and develop as wrestlers as the season goes on, and others might not keep grinding everyday to get better. All we can ask is that they work hard everyday, make improvements on a daily basis and perform to the best of their ability.

“Right now, nobody is standing out more than the others, they are just wrestling well as a team. After the holiday tournament we will have a better reading on any standouts.”