As Justin Petersen returns for his third year as head coach of the Palmerton wrestling team, he has plenty of reasons to be excited.

The upcoming campaign for the Blue Bomber matmen is sure to deliver excitement, as numerous student-athletes return to the lineup."We lost three seniors from last season in Jericho Burger, Damien Fink and Jake Kupillas, on a team that finished 1-7 in the league and 9-14 overall," Petersen said. "But all the guys we have, I am excited about."I think we have been getting better every day in practice, and everyone is working really hard, and I'm really happy with this group so far."As a relatively new coach, Petersen still considers himself a learner, and with a strong cast of assistant coaches, his continuing education is top notch."Each year, I'm learning more and more," he said. "Being able to reflect each year is making me able to better myself as a coach. I have Erick Kresge and Rick Anderson as my assistants, and both are tremendous help.Both of them have great insight in the sport, as well as with coaching in general."Helping out at the junior high level will be former wrestlers in the Palmerton ranks, as Jake and Zack Christman are heading the program, with Sam Oberlander assisting."I have coached some of them and think they will do great as coaches with the young kids," Petersen reflected.Looking at personnel for the Bomber wrestlers, Petersen starts with Jared Mooney, a senior at 182."First and foremost, our key returnees are Jared Mooney and John Iles (Sr., 195) is another great leader," he said. "Lucas, Riad and Kyle will all be good leaders on and off the mat."Lucas Christman returns for his sophomore season at the 145-pound weight class, while Riad Kapur, another senior, mans the 160 class. Kyle Kralik, a junior, will take the mat at 170."We have three new freshmen in Shawn Gardner, Matt Lalik and Dylan Gonyo, and each had success in junior high and all did well at camp this past summer," Petersen said.The talented trio of ninth graders will take the 113, 132 and 152-pound weight classes, respectively.As in recent history, the Blue Bombers will again find it difficult to man a full lineup, but Petersen sees his group as strong enough to compete."There are always some bumps along the way, but I always try to take everything in stride and learn from my mistakes, reflecting on what worked," he said."We will have Shawn Gardner, Hunter Fierro, Devin Rivera, and Matt Lalik holding up the lower weights," Petersen said. "Chase Faulstick, Lucas Christman, Dylan Gonyo, Nate Sterner, and Riad Kapur in the middle weights, while up top, we have Kralik, Mooney and Iles."We have a number of quality wrestlers throughout the lineup, that all have great conditioning, a great work ethic and attitude toward the sport. Every kid is getting after it in the weight room, which is a big reason why I am so excited for these kids."Along with improving each passing day, the Palmerton coach hopes to make some noise among the area's talent."We want to compete in every match, and I think we can beat teams that are expected to do well," he said. "We will need to get bonus points where we can, but I want to hopefully be wrestling on the Saturday of District Duals … something we haven't done here, at Palmerton, in a long time."Well aware of the talent in the Colonial League, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Pen Argyl and Palisades are all on the list of potential challengers for league domination, according to the coach."I love the work ethic we have and the attitude we are bringing to the table," Petersen said. "It is very rewarding to see your athletes succeed, so I am excited for these kids, this season, and what we can do."