After starting a large group of freshmen last season, this year’s Northwestern wrestling team will still be young.

But the Tigers will be much more experienced at the varsity level this winter, as this year’s roster will have just one senior in two-time state medalist Luke Fugazzotto.

“I thought all the freshmen had a pretty good year,” said Northwestern head coach Joe Killar. “We had a lot of freshmen wrestling last year. They all performed relatively well. I was happy with them.”

Most of last year’s lineup is back from a team that went 15-8 overall, and was the District 11 Class 2A runner up. The Tigers even won a match in the state team tournament last year, before falling to eventual champ Faith Christian in the second round.

Some of last year’s freshmen will move up a weight class or two in their second season of high school wrestling.

“We should be pretty strong from 145 through 189-215, “ Killar said. “We’ll have a pretty solid lineup. We’ll have to fill a couple weights, but we’ll have a full lineup.”

Fugazzotto (189) went 50-5 last year, and is 127-21 for his career. He’s won two district titles, and was a state runner up as a sophomore.

He was looking to get atop the podium last season, but finished seventh in Hershey.

“I still got a medal, and it’s motivation to work harder this year,” Fugazzotto said. “It just teaches me places where I need to learn and do better next time.”

After committing to continue his career at George Mason University, Fugazzotto’s offseason was one of mostly recovery and preparation.

“I hurt my shoulder at the end of last season,” he said. “I was recovering that until the end of summer. I stayed out of competition. Hammered it in practice. I feel like I’m in a good place.”

Sophomore Nolan Koehler (160) made it to states in his first season, and will look to build on his 30-19 freshman campaign.

Sophomore Logan Heeps (107) and freshman Mackenzie Case (114) will occupy the light weights for the Tigers. Heeps was a junior high place winner a few years ago, and Case went about .500 wrestling against boys last season in junior high, Killar said.

While the 121 and 133 weight classes are still up in the air, in between them will be defending district champ Weston Killar (127), who went 36-13 last year as a freshman.

Junior Noah Griffith is penciled in at 139, with juniors Trent Croll or Braydon Uricchio at 145. Croll missed most of last season with an injury. Uricchio was 27-16 last season.

Chase Sukanick (152) returns after placing fourth at districts as a freshman last season.

Sophomore Vinnie Fugazzotto (172) will wrestle in between Kohler (160) and older bother Luke. Vinnie Fugazzotto was a third-place finisher at districts as a freshman.

There’s still competition for the 215-pound spot. Junior Ian Zettlemoyer will wrestle at 285 for the Tigers.

While a few of last year’s starters did not come out for the team this season, the Tigers will look to once again finish as one of the top teams in the Colonial League. They hope to battle Saucon Valley once again for the District 11 team title.

“It’s looking really good for us,” said Luke Fugazzotto. “From middle to before the heavyweights, we’re looking really stacked. Those are the freshmen that got their first year of high school and got a feel for it. They’re going to be ready for this year.

“Feels a little lonely as the only senior. Seeing that I have such good kids that are coming after me when I graduate, I feel really good where the team is headed after I’m gone.”

Last year, the Panthers beat Northwestern 59-11 in the district title match.

This year’s match will likely be much closer and depending on how things fall, Northwestern could have a shot to unseat the Panthers.

“With Saucon, it will come down to matchups,” said Joe Killar. “I think it will much more competitive than it has been in the past.”

The Tigers and Panthers are scheduled to meet during the regular season on Jan. 14 in Hellertown.