LEBANON — What the Lebanon High wrestling team lacks in experience, it makes up for in numbers.
Just three years ago, a statement like that would have been shocking to read. Lebanon started its wrestling program in 2018 with a mere four members. Since then, the Raiders’ roster size has increased sixfold, just in time for their first season in the varsity ranks.
“The first couple years, it was so new to everybody,” head coach Chauncey Wood said. “We had four kids the first year, and then our next year we had 14. Coming into this season, we figured we’d have 15 or 16 kids. We didn’t expect this.”
Of Lebanon’s 24 wrestlers, just four have competed for the Raiders before. The team did not have a season last year due to COVID-19, so even those returnees — juniors Alex Blish, Drew Sanchez, Dustin Jarvis and Logan Rafter — will be shaking off the rust. Lebanon opened its season Wednesday evening at ConVal, which Wood said is expected to be one of the top teams in NHIAA Division III.
Wood, also Lebanon’s varsity baseball coach, has coached wrestling since 2004, first in New York and then at Newport High. Since arriving at Lebanon, he has quickly assembled one of the largest teams in the division.
“Mike Stone, our (athletic director), really helped us kick this off,” Wood said. “He stood in front of the (school) board on many occasions convincing them to let us get going. We had to maintain our program and show sustainable increase in numbers. The board thankfully chose to let us continue and deem us a varsity sport.”
Other than the four returnees, most of the Raiders are completely new to wrestling. That includes their two seniors, Simon Amaro and Sebastian Yates, who played soccer and football, respectively, in the fall.
Amaro developed a passion for combat sports as a fencer, even going to the Junior Olympics. He had wanted to wrestle last year before the pandemic intervened.
“(Wrestling) reminds me of (fencing),” Amaro said. “The baiting-the-guy-in aspect of it and the strategy. The reason I wanted to do it this year, even though it was just going to be a single year of wrestling for me, was the coaching. I just thought it was worth it.”
Blish had never wrestled before joining the team his freshman year. But now, as one of the team’s veterans, he said he and the other returnees have been tough on the newcomers, and he has seen drastic improvement in just the few weeks the Raiders have been practicing.
“I know what it’s like to be a new wrestler,” Blish said. “It’s scary. The lights are on you, and you’re against this one other guy. All these guys have a lot of courage to go out and do that, so I’m proud of all of them.”
Sophomore Abigail Stone is Lebanon’s only female wrestler, and she may have the most experience on the team. Stone (no relation to Mike) works with a private coach in Bow and practiced with the Raiders as an eighth grader, while they were still an independent team.
Stone said she tried to convince several other girls to join the team, but most were involved in other sports like basketball, hockey or cheerleading. She had played soccer and softball since she was in elementary school but dropped both to focus on wrestling. Stone, Amaro and Blish are all team captains, along with Jarvis and Sanchez.
“I want other females here, and I want to show that it’s not just a male sport,” Stone said.
“There are all-female tournaments, but for the most part it is all guys. I’m pretty used to (wrestling against boys) by now. When they first start wrestling, some of them found it a little awkward, I found it a little awkward, but now it’s just the norm.”
Lebanon will have a road-heavy schedule for its first varsity campaign, with 11 of its 15 competitions away from home. But with their deep roster, the Raiders will fill nearly every weight class as they compete with top teams like Plymouth, ConVal and Mascoma.
“This sport grew here because there’s a big number of students who don’t play basketball, don’t play hockey, and there’s nothing for them to do,” Wood said. “We brought wrestling to the table so that they will have something to do, and it’s obviously working. We’re trying to gain experience and see where it takes us.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.