Wrestling is back at Panther Valley.

And nobody is happier about it than new head coach Kris Nalesnik.

The former Northern Lehigh heavyweight and current PV teacher worked long and hard to help get the sport reinstated, and that work has finally paid off.

“Panther Valley has always had a rich wrestling tradition and when the program was canceled, it astonished me,” said Nalesnik. “And it upset me. I knew these kids needed wrestling as part of the program. It’s going to help them to grow as people, as students and athletes.

“I made it a mission to try and get some kids excited about it, and it didn’t take much to get the kids going. They were ready to go right away. I think within a month of talking about it, I had two, three kids that took charge and just started talking to their friends and recruiting each other. They were excited to get it going.”

Whether that excitement results in success is yet to be seen.

But Nalesnik is optimistic that it will.

“Obviously, you always want to aim for as high a goal as possible. We’d like to have a couple people at least compete at regionals. That would be optimal. I’d love to get someone to states, but at this point it’s very unlikely to have someone at that level right away. But I do think there are a couple kids here that could possibly make it out of districts.

“But as long as we keep the lineup where it is and go out and compete every day ... with kids not quitting, kids who are still willing to give 100% every day even when it starts getting hard, that would make it a successful season.”

The lineup is nearly full, and helping with that is the fact that the Panthers have a co-op with Marian - which has brought in a few more wrestlers.

One of those Marian students is senior Tevin Walsh, who along with junior Justin Kuehn will man the 113 and 122-pound weight classes. There’s currently a battle for the 127-pound spot, with junior Michael Cobb the early front-runner. Whoever doesn’t get the nod at 127 is expected to be in the mix at 133.

“I’m going to have competition at almost every weight class,” said Nalesnik. “Initially, I thought I would have a full lineup no problem but as of right now, it looks like we won’t have anyone at 106.

“We have about 10 guys who have experience wrestling, and most of the others are first-year people.”

Jah Bushati will probably be the only freshman in the lineup, starting at 139. One of those experienced wrestlers Nalesnik was talking about is Giovanni Fleming, a sophomore from Marian, who looks to fill the position at 145. Another athlete with a wrestling background, Spencer Skoutelas-Kern, is slotted in at 152 for now.

The 160-pound spot will go to either senior Bryan Wilde or sophomore Charles Hower, another Marian product, with junior Mergim Bushati manning the 172-pound position. Either junior Ivan Terry or senior Xavier Ocasio will end up at 189, with the other one filling the role at 215. At heavyweight, the competition is between Marian sophomore Aidan Milkovits and junior Matt Sims.

Also on the PV squad are four females, who will be competing in tournaments throughout the season.

“Kaitlin Strohl, Anelia Bennick, Brenda Banks are all freshmen, and Modesty Castro is a sophomore,” said Nalesnik. “They love (wrestling). They’re just as committed as any of the guys are, maybe more so. The most ready to go right away is probably Brenda ... and when we get into a girls tournament or two, I think she’s going to cause a bit of damage.”

Coaching with Nalesnik will be PV grads Dylan Moyer and Bob McDonald, along with Northern Lehigh standout Casey Hedash, former Catasauqua grappler Eric Valasquez, and Hannah Mordaunt - whose brother Ethan starred at Jim Thorpe.

“The school and community have been very supportive,” said Nalesnik about the return of wrestling to PV, which last had the sport in 2019-20. “They really seem very excited. I know the school board was just as excited as I was to get it reinstated. They were happy that kids were interested to do it again ... A lot of the other teachers got on board and helped me out to get this going. I mean, it’s been nothing but support from top to bottom.

“I was telling some people that they’ll have to clear out a new shelf in the trophy case soon. Not yet, but soon. There’s a fire in these kids that I’ve not seen in a long time. They’re excited. If they’re half as excited as me, we’re going to have a great season.”