After a tough beginning to the season, the Gillett/Suring wrestlers are starting to come into their own.
However, the Tigers are still looking for their first victory.
“With those first matches, we were down in the dumps. We can’t start much worse than that,” first-year head coach Mitch Szwet said. “But I was glad to see that they didn’t quit, they didn’t back down and showed up with a workman-like attitude every day at practice. They’re ready to get better. They’re ready to put the work in, so we’re building.
“We’re not where we want to be as a team, but we’re moving in the right direction. … But we’ve got a pretty young team.”
It’s a young team indeed.
Gillett/Suring has just three seniors and a couple of juniors, but a strong sophomore class has been a valuable asset.
“We’re blessed to have a lot of sophomores on the team, and a lot of those kids wrestled varsity as freshman last year, so they’re in their second year of experience,” said Szwet, who was an assistant coach for two years before taking over the head position.
The senior leadership of twin brothers Jeremy and Bryce Cibulka, along with Tyler Herning (195 pounds), has been huge.
“They’re the ones making sure everybody’s pushing it through practice and getting the most out of their time in the (wrestling) room,” Szwet said.
Jeremy Cibulka (132) is wrestling well and placed third at the Kewaunee Invitational on Dec. 21.
Bryce Cibulka (152) hit a roadblock after suffering a concussion last week and will miss a couple of weeks.
The heart of the Tigers’ lineup is in the middle weights – 120 to 152 pounds. Sophomore Garrett Kohls (120) has been solid, followed by Jeremy Cibulka and hard-working junior Grant Fischer (138).
Sophomore Alex Zeitler (145) tallied the most victories last season for Gillett/Suring.
“He got injured right before Thanksgiving, so when he got back he was kind of a step behind,” Szwet said. “We’re looking for him to kind of catch up and have a good year for us.”
Junior Colin Weiss (152) rounds out the middle weights.
“He’s just an extremely talented kid,” Szwet said. “It hasn’t all come together for him yet, but he’s quick and strong, and I think this year is going to be his year. He’s going to break out of being mediocre and take that big step, and I really look for big things from him next year.”
Szwet has seen real promise from ninth-grader Jon Hoeft, who weighed under 200 pounds during football season.
“It’s awful tough to start at 220 as a freshman and be undersized, so he’s taking his lumps this year, but he’s gaining some real valuable experience,” Szwet said.
The Tigers have some big meets coming up and hope to position themselves toward the top of the Marinette & Oconto Conference standings.
If Szwet’s team is healthy, he believes his team can be wrestling its best come postseason when it drops down to Division 3. In the past, Gillett/Suring has had to compete in Division 2 against the likes of state powers Luxemburg-Casco, Oconto Falls and Freedom. However, this year, Gillett/Suring should have a better chance to have more wrestlers advance to regionals and sectionals.
Szwet is looking for a successful rest of the season, but he is also looking toward the future.
“We’re hoping to turn the corner and be a top-tier team in a couple of years,” he said.
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