Descriptions of people associated with this year's Perryville wrestling team usually begin with the same term: first-year. First-year head coach Thad Gough's squad is comprised mostly of first-year wrestlers. Gough, a physics, biology, and environmental teacher, served as an assistant last season. Among the grapplers lost to graduation include state champion Chris Brown, the most decorated wrestler in school history and one of the best the county has produced. The Panthers' roster primarily is made up of freshmen and many of the upperclassmen have limited wrestling experience. Sophomore Zac Zacerous will lead the way. Zacerous qualified for the state meet at 152 pounds last season, a particularly impressive feat for a freshman. Ryan Berger (106) also excelled last season, narrowly missing out on a region tourney berth in part because the Panthers have a couple of meets canceled by snow. "He really came on strong," said Gough. Matt Mannone and Justin Eldreth are among those competing in the 113-pound weight class. Freshman Hunter Zacerous brings wrestling experience to the lineup at 120 pounds. Freshmen Ben Buckless and Jared Hunter are part of the mix at 126. Freshman Brady Krahn has junior league experience and is expected to be in the lineup, possibly at 132 pounds. Junior Chris Campbell wrestled last season and showed improvement. Junior Luke Fritz (160) has shown promise in preseason practices. Sophomore Will Yates (182) is a first-year wrestler. Kelly Biddle (190) wrestled two years ago. Angus Vervier (220) has brothers who wrestled at Perryville and has shown improvement. "We have slightly higher numbers so we should be able to field a more complete lineup," said Gough. "With such a young team it's hard to say what will happen. Hopefully a lot of the guys will take to it quickly. They have good energy and are working hard." Comments are closed.
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