A sure sign of a strong wrestling program is when 33 athletes show up for the first team practice, yet the coach isn’t happy with the turnout.

“We could use a few more bodies,” said head coach Paul Mullen. “A lot of them are bunched up in the same weights.”

While Mullen is hesitant to use the term “rebuilding,” the team graduated a slew of highly successful seniors off last year’s 9-1 team, from which a school-record four wrestlers made the 4A state championships.

One of the four, senior Esteban Herrera, will help lead the team this year as the only returner with state experience, in the 215-pound weight class.

“We’re looking pretty good, we have a lot of talent on the team,” said Herrera, who placed fourth at regionals last season to earn his state berth. “I need to be a little bit of a leader, be aggressive. I was in the same position the sophomores were in a couple years ago, so I want to help them get to where I am, by working hard.”

Also returning are senior co-captains Jimmy Brookman and Nolan Thomas. Brookman, who wrestles at 152 and 160, looked to have a great chance to qualify for state last season but got ill during regionals and missed the cut. Thomas, representing the Mustangs at 135, has trained hard year-round to prepare for his senior year of wrestling.

“I just want us to get better each day, so by February when we got to state, we’ll be ready,” Mullen said.

SEASON OF CHANGE

The 2008 wrestling season will bring a couple significant changes to the program.

One of them is the addition of Catherine Kelly, who weighs in at 112 pounds, a weight class that Redmond desperately needed to fill in order to not lose team points.

She is also the first female wrestler ever to try out since Paul Mullen took over in 1992.

“She’s a good kid,” said Mullen of Kelly, a sophomore. “It’ll be interesting, since once we get to Kingco, they have a separate girls’ tournament. She’ll be wrestling for Redmond, but as a team of one.”

Adding to the excitement of having a girl on the team will be the new 4A Kingco alignment, which include Newport, Skyline and former 3A powerhouse Issaquah, which ran a 7-1 league record last year en route to winning the Kingco tournament.

The Eagles face the Mustangs at home on opening night Tuesday, Dec. 9.

“Just to try to improve,” said Mullen when asked what his goals were for the season. “We lost a lot of points, lost two state placers … we’re just going to work hard and see what we can do.

“If we don’t cover all of those lower weights it’s going to be hard in the dual meets, but we should still have pretty good points when we go to tournaments.”

CLOSE-KNIT GROUP

Mullen describes this year’s group of seniors as especially tight, due to the fact that most of them have been wrestling together for years. Having reached the end of their high school wrestling careers together, they are ready to go out in style.

“What makes this group key is how close knit they are, they started out as sophomores together and achieved success the last two years,” Mullen said. “They stand by each other and are very supportive, a great group of young men who work very hard at their wrestling.”

And most importantly, the seniors themselves know that they are a part of something special, a chance to be on of a successful team, participate in a sport that they love, and develop relationships that go beyond the mats and locker rooms.

“It’s been a lot of fun to be in this room,” Herrera said. “We’ve built a lot of really tight friendships.”

REDMOND WRESTLING AT A GLANCE

• COACH: Paul Mullen, 16th year

• LAST SEASON: 15-6 overall; 9-1 in 4A Kingco, three-way tie for league title

• 2008 TURNOUT: 33

TOP RETURNERS (name, weight class)

• Sr. Esteban Herrera, 215: Team’s only returning state participant placed fourth at regionals last year.

• Sr. Jimmy Brookman, 152/160: Co-captain looks for strong showing as a senior. Illness during regionals prevented him from qualifying for state last year.

• Sr. Nolan Thomas, 135: Regional qualifier and team co-captain will lead by example. Great work ethic.

• Sr. Sean Holt, 140: Regional qualifier will replace graduated state wrestler Trevor Long at crucial weight class.

KEY NEWCOMERS (name, weight class)

• Soph. Catherine Kelly, 112: First female Mullen has had on the team in 16 years. Will help fill team’s lack of lower weight class entries.

• Sr. Matt Carey, 285: Starting lineman for Mustang football team decided to try out for wrestling this year. Should make immediate impact in upper weight classes.

• Jr. Kyle Notturno, 125/130: Would have competed at varsity level last year until early-season injury took him out for the rest of season.

KEY MEET

• Tuesday, Dec. 9 vs. Issaquah: The Eagles are a powerhouse wrestling program, featuring seven returning state participants and nearly as many returning lettermen (27) as Redmond had tryouts. If the Mustangs can stay competitive in their season opener it will be a sign of good things to come.

DID YOU KNOW?

Last year’s Mustang wrestling team was the Class 4A state academic champion. All 13 players on the varsity roster had an outstanding cumulative team GPA of 3.440.

AT THE NEXT LEVEL

Cary Hooper, who placed fourth at state last year in the 171 weight class, is now wrestling for the United States Military Academy at West Point.