Hammond School’s wrestling team has good news and better news this year. The good news: the team had no seniors last year, therefore, no major shoes to fill. The better news: they are returning a squad that includes several state champions.

Those young men include Gervais Baker, who earned his first state title last season at 103 pounds; Matthew Kay, a runner–up at 103 last year; and state champ the year before; Guy Castles, who is a two–time state champion; Bradford MacGillvary, title–holder in 2008 at 135 and a runner–up last season at 140; and Joseph MacDougall, who earned his first title last season at 215.

There have also been some changes in weight class that will help shore up the team according to coach Randy Wolfe.

“Reb Boyd, who was a runner–up state champ last season at 145, is our 160, and Harrison Dobbs has been sharing time at 171 and 189,” Wolfe said. “We have quite a few middle school kids on the team, which makes the future look very bright for us.”

Those young wrestlers include Stephen Mitchell, Cody Sims, and Gantt and Ray Castles.

“All of these young wrestlers show a great deal of promise and are just a few out of about 15 middle school guys,” Wolfe said.

So far, the team is 4–1, with the only loss coming at the hands of Cardinal Newman, the defending state SCISCA champions. The Skyhawks are right on their heels, however, currently ranked second in the state.

Wolfe said he is preparing his team to reclaim the state title after being edged out last year by the Cardinals.

“I’ve talked over and over to my guys about the difference between competing and contending. We don’t want to just compete; we want to contend,” he said. “We are working hard between now and the state championship to prepare for another match against them, possibly in the finals. Our top performance goal this year is to reclaim the state title.”