'99-00 SCHEDULE

Dec. 18 -- at Grand Valley    28 -- at Pymatuning Valley Jan. 5 -- Girard    12 -- at Jackson Milton    15 -- at Howland    22 -- at Warren JFK    27 -- at Berkshire Feb. 4-5 -- EWOL    9 -- at Hubbard

By The Herald Sports Staff

Three words best describe the Brookfield High wrestling team this season: young, young and young.

How young? According to Warriors head coach Jim Hennessey, a total of eight freshmen may fill his starting lineup. Due to graduation, there is only one senior returning letterwinner on the squad, Greg Miller, who will compete at 140 and 145 pounds.

Gone are a number of major contributors from a year ago: Steve Wiley (189), Brett Jones (152), Dan Jones (135) and Ralph McFarland (171). In their place is a corps of grapplers looking to compensate for their varsity inexperience with talent and hard work.

"We're young, but we have some solid kids,'' said Hennessey, who is in his second stint as mentor of the program. "A lot of them have been wrestling for a few years, coming up through elementary school and the junior high program.''

At 103 pounds, a pair of freshmen, Eric Vimmerstedt and Tony Simpson, are vying for the starting spot. Sophomore Cliff Gregg, a returning district placewinner, gets the nod at 112. Two more freshmen fill the 119- and 125-pound weight classes. The first is Joey McFarland, Ralph's younger brother, while the second is Steve Kettler. Another battle is set at 130, where junior Mel Harvey and sophomore Srondo Vetillo are jostling for position. Meanwhile, a pair of Millers will wrestle at 135 (freshman Mike) and 145 (senior Greg). The two are not related.

In addition, junior Ed Morrison will compete in the 152-pound bracket, freshman Anthony Johnson is expected to see time at 160, sophomore Dave Bell is slated for 171 and junior Bruce Jones is in the heavyweight division. Fittingly, a pair of freshmen twins round out the lineup in Colin and Kyle Brubaker. Colin will compete at 189 and Kyle at 215. Providing valuable support for Hennessey will be two more freshmen, Nick Gondol (145 and 152) and Terry Neal (215).

Ironically, one of Hennessey's best freshman prospects won't be joining the Warriors this season. Darren Jones, who won the Eastern Ohio Wrestling League (EOWL) junior high championship at 95 pounds last year, moved to Las Vegas. Regardless, of 16 wrestlers, there are 10 freshmen, three juniors, two sophomores and one senior. Despite the high number of freshmen, Hennessey is encouraged, especially since there were only nine grapplers on his roster at the end of last season.

"They're very enthused,'' Hennessey said of his squad. "They're a pleasure to work with. We've got a lot of kids this year, too; enough to put in the lineup to help out. If we're going to lose, we're going to lose with bodies out there.''

Due to low numbers, Hennessey was forced to forfeit many matches last season, one in which Brookfield posted an overall record of 6-10 and a mark of 1-3 in EOWL Division III. Although with so many freshmen on the squad, it may be difficult to eclipse that ledger, the experience the Warriors accrue this season may pay huge dividends in the future.

"It's going to be a learning experience, although I have high hopes for this group of kids,'' said Hennessey, who indicated that Jackson Milton is the early frontrunner in the conference. "It's one of the best groups I've had overall. I'm not saying better wrestlers, but the overall lineup is one of the best I've worked with since I've come back.

This is Hennessey's 15th season with Brookfield. He coached them for 10 years the first time he was at the helm, and this is the fifth year of his second stint. His assistants this season are his brother, Ted, and Scott Thompson, who also handles the junior high program.