Chad Beller is anxious.

He already has seen a difference a year can make on the wrestling mats.

The junior is off to his best start for the Catasauqua wrestling team this winter with an overall 8-1 mark, recording falls in half of his victories.

Over the previous two seasons, Beller has battled through his share of injuries, and he finished with an overall 16-12 mark last season. Beller advanced to the quarterfinals last year, but he didn’t finish among the top six placewinners.

This season, he has used his past as prime motivation to wrestle deep into the postseason.

“I feel a lot stronger and I have been working as much as I can,” said Beller, who has wrestled at both 215 and 285. “We really have grown as a team over the last year, and we’re all looking forward to a big season.”

Head coach Joe Russo is confident Beller has noticed the transformation from a year ago.

“He has changed since last year both physically and mentally,” said Russo. “His goal is to make a push for the state tournament. He was 8-1 heading into the Jim Thorpe tournament, and he had beaten two returning district place winners.

“His only loss was to a Triple-A regional winner from Big Spring in our tournament.”

Making changes and wrestling at different weights isn’t anything new for Beller. He won the 160-pound weight class bracket of the district junior high tournament in sixth grade and finished fifth in eighth grade. At the time, Beller had weighed between 130 to 160.

Soon after, Beller saw his weight increase to 180, but he confirmed it wasn’t all muscle weight.

“I put on weight, but it was a lot of fat,” he noted. “I knew I had to do some more weight training and take things more seriously. I was always trying to find a way to get out of practice.”

In his freshman year that was marred by COVID, Beller battled neck and bad injuries that basically shelved him for the season.

Last year, he began to focus more on weight training and put on 25 pounds of muscle. Even though he was a pure 189-pounder, Beller wrestled some bouts at 215.

“I was pretty conditioned at the start of the season last year,” he said. “This year, I had to do more conditioning at the start of the season because we didn’t condition enough during football.

“I feel like I am in very good shape now, and I can notice the difference.”

Wrestling and football have been a positive combination for him. Beller started wrestling in second grade – due to his family’s close relationship with the Hartranft family – and began playing football at the age of five.

This past fall, Beller was a standout linebacker and also was a steady center for the Rough Riders. He will move into a running back role next fall, a position he relishes. Beller did have a handful of carries this past fall.

“I wasn’t fond of playing on the line last year,” he said. “I have always been a fullback, and I’m looking forward to playing there.”

“He is a very tough, hard-nosed kid,” said head football coach Travis Brett. “He did a great job for us at linebacker, and is the type of player who can change a game. We’ll have him in the backfield next season.”

Until then, Beller will focus on the second half of the wrestling season. The Roughies participated in the Jim Thorpe tournament recently.

Beller isn’t selling himself short this season.

“I think I have a chance to place at states,” said Beller. “I can just hope for the best. I will be very happy if I can get there.”