Great Expectations.

With apologies to Charles Dickens, that could be the theme for the 2015-16 Lehighton wrestling team.The Indians and coach Dan Williams have great expectations for both individual and team success.Lehighton returns five wrestlers who had at least 20 wins, four wrestlers who placed at the District 11 Tournament and qualified for Regionals, and one PIAA State Medalist. In addition to that group, they had three other wrestlers who had winning records and had victory totals in the teens."A number of our individuals have a goal to be a district champion," said Williams. "Our team as a whole is really looking forward to this year."This is a culminating year for many of our wrestlers as they have been contributing in a big way to our team from the time they were freshmen and now they are in their senior year and ready to make a big impact in our league, our district and in the state."A year ago, Lehighton made its debut in the Schuylkill League. The league's Division I powers made it a rough transition as the Indians finished with a 1-7 league mark. Despite those struggles, Lehighton was able to put together a respectable overall record of 12-9 that earned it a berth in the District 11 Class AA Team Duals.Not only is Williams expecting a better league showing this year, but he and his team are embracing the tough competition the league will provide and counting on it to make them better individually and as a team."We're looking forward to continuing to compete within the Schuylkill League this year," said Williams. "In the Schuylkill League, you're always facing quality opponents and we look forward to competing against them again throughout the year. The individual league tournament is something that our wrestlers look forward to as well."That extra level of competition is important in preparing our wrestlers for postseason tournament wrestling."When it comes to postseason tournament wrestling, no Indian wrestler was better at it last year than Connor Frey. The Indians' projected 195-pounder, Frey went 38-6 a year ago, capturing a District 11 championship in the process. He finished second at Regionals and was seventh in Hershey at the PIAA Championships.Frey will have plenty of talent around him as 145-pounder Tegan Durishin (32-11), 126-pounder Zach Kemmerer (29-11), 170-pounder Tyler Cann (22-11), and 106-pounder Nate Kemmerer (25-12) all placed at districts last year. Other key returnees are 220-pound Wyatt Clements (19-12), 152-pound Cody Scherer (17-14), and 285-pound Alexander Smith (14-12).Rounding out the probable starting lineup are freshman Logan Pagotto at 113, Antonio Loranzo at 120, freshman Chris Whiteman at 132, Grant Wetzel at 138, Dylan Schock at 160, and Erik Skrincosky at 182."Having a complete lineup from top to bottom is an important part of this year's team as well," said Williams. "We didn't lose a single starter from last year and we added a few freshman to the roster who will help us."The hard work that our guys put in all year long shows their dedication to having one of the best seasons we've seen around here in a number of years."