Experience is becoming a defining feature of the Pleasant Valley wrestling program — and this season, the Bears feel like a team built from the ground up.

Head coach James Weiss returns nearly his entire roster from last winter, but what excites him most is the new wave of incoming freshmen — all of whom arrive with a decade or more of wrestling experience.

“You’re going to recognize almost every single face,” Weiss said. “We don’t really have anyone new except the freshmen — and all of those freshmen have about 10 years under their belt. It’s huge. They come in with muscle memory already built.”

The roster continuity and foundational experience give Pleasant Valley one of its most complete lineups in recent years, anchored by senior Evan Gillespie, whose rise last season was one of the biggest jumps in District 11. After finishing 13-14 as a sophomore, Gillespie exploded for a 30-7 record, finished third at districts, and qualified for the Northeast Regional Tournament in Class 3A. His 20 pins and eight technical falls made him one of the EPC’s most dangerous wrestlers at the upperweights.

“Evan still hasn’t stopped,” Weiss said of Gillespie, also a Times News First Team All-Star last season. “That’s all he does. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”

The Bears will look different without graduated senior standout Andrew Mihalichko (26 wins), but the family pipeline remains strong as freshman JJ Mihalichko steps directly into the heavyweight spot. JJ, like the rest of the freshman class, enters with extensive youth mat time and is expected to contribute immediately.

Pleasant Valley also features several experienced starters throughout the lineup:

• Frank Lucarello, Sr. — returns at 107

• Shawn Radcliffe, Jr. — 16-11 and poised for a breakout

• James Weiss, Fr. — projected starter at 121

• Jackson Trout, Fr. — projected starter at 127

• Adis Vukel, Jr. — 15-16 and growing into the upperweights

Radcliffe, in particular, impressed Weiss with how competitive he was against elite competition.

“About 90% of Shawn’s losses were to state or regional placewinners,” Weiss said. “Most of those kids graduated or moved up. I’m expecting him to do a lot for us.”

Weiss is eager to see how his returning underclassmen respond after strong offseasons. Several who struggled early last year made dramatic leaps by February — a pattern Weiss expects to repeat.

“We had guys go from losing records to winning 70% of their matches by the end,” he said. “Now we have others who came back determined to do the same.”

Freshmen Matthew DeMaio, Jimmy Stipeck and Patrick Decker, juniors James Cordle, Preston Snyder, Michael Langan, Collin O’Neil and Alexander Sandt, seniors Josh Careccia, Ben Jochen and Frederick Merklin, and sophomores Zach Jochen and Leo Phillips will also be key members of the lineup this year. PV also had John Hargrave produce nearly a .500 record over the past two seasons.

The Bears finished an impressive 10th at districts last season — the program’s best individual-tournament placing in more than a decade. But Weiss emphasizes that progress isn’t defined only by medals.

“It wasn’t just the place winners — it was guys putting up team points early,” he said. “That’s what we want to continue. More guys reaching that next round, more guys wrestling deeper into the tournament.”

For Weiss, success is simple: keep competing, keep pushing, and keep wrestling.

“There’s only one champion,” he said. “But you can take it as far as you can — championship round or consis, you just keep wrestling. These kids know they can do that.”

With a hungry junior class, a motivated set of returners, and the deepest, most experienced freshman group Pleasant Valley has seen in years, the Bears enter the season believing last winter was just the beginning.