By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— With about 13 seniors, a handful of juniors and underclassmen and a new assistant coach, Pelham High School’s head wrestling coach Eric Pollard is expecting a strong season from the team.

“We’ve got several state placers returning this year as seniors that we are looking for a lot of positive things to come out of,” Pollard said. “We are hoping for a very strong finish this year.”

Among those returning is Hasaan Hawthorne, who took third in the state tournament last year. Pollard called Hawthorne a key component in the team’s line up, along with Gio Adan.

Adan placed fifth at the state tournament last year, coming off a knee surgery. Pollard said he was only in last season for about a month, so they are looking for a strong return out of him.

Ian Schlosser and Karl Nagel both placed sixth last year, and Pollard said they will greatly contributed to the team as well, along with several other seniors who also qualified for state. A couple of those were only one match away from a medal, according to Pollard.

Out of 10 wrestlers who competed in the qualifying tournament last year, nine qualified for state. Only one of those 10 students is not returning this year.

“I’ve got pretty high expectations. They know this is their last go-around with it, so they will basically leave everything on the mat,” Pollard said.  “They know they need to perform, so the pressure is probably more on them than I’ve put on them. They know what it takes. They’ve been to the state tournament, so they know what it takes to get there and it’s their last chance to really shine.”

Joining the team this year is new assistant coach Nick Tucker, who previously coached at Auburn High School. Pollard said Tucker brings good technique and ideas for the program, and he feels very fortunate to have Tucker.

For most of the seniors, this is their sixth year with Pollard as their coach. He started many of them in seventh grade, and he said he is excited to see what they do on the mat this season.

“They are definitely a very unique group, probably the best group I’ve ever had just from top to bottom,” he said.

The team will continue with conditioning and weights until Nov. 2 when they are officially allowed to get on the mats. Their first match will be Nov. 24.