With a host of things in its favor, the Poplar Bluff wrestling team is eyeing a strong season.
First off, the Mules bring back eight seniors in their starting lineup, several of whom have their sights set on joining the school's career 100-win club.
"It is reachable for (most of the seniors)," senior Kade Richardson (145 pounds) said. "It is just something to look up to and let that be a goal for this season."
The senior class also consists of Jake Lawrinenko (120), Vince Kelley (132), Braelin Aldridge (136), Garret McClure (138), John Smothers (170), Wyatt Lazalier (182), Luke Welborn (195) and Kendric Gordon (285).
Returning junior Quentin Bell had 31 wins last season to lead all returning wrestlers while Lawrinenko and McClure each had 25 wins to lead the senior class.
"A good chunk of those core guys had a real good offseason, as well," said Poplar Bluff coach Kelton Thompson, who returns for his second year with the program. "We lost some good seniors last year, but leadership has been good so far."
With that large group of seniors, nearly as many as were on the entire football squad, the Mules are well ahead in practice of where they were at this point last year.
"We were able to dive right in and hit the ground running this year compared to last year, so we are a lot farther along. We've been able to cover a lot more stuff than we did up to this point last year," Thompson said.
The varsity lineup also has a wrestler at every weight and the JV roster only has open slots at 106 and 113. Poplar Bluff also has three girls on the team this year in Aldridge and freshmen Courtney Padgett (121) and Grace Kearby (186).
"There's still a long season to go, but that is a good way to start. Last year, pretty much everywhere we went, we were giving up three weight classes," Thompson said. "Now that we aren't doing that it should help us a lot, and we were able to win 18 duels last year doing that. So we like our prospects of trying to up above 20 wins this year."
Poplar Bluff also gets to move down from a brutally tough district in Class 4, which Thompson called one of the most difficult in the country, to Class 3, instantly increasing the postseason hopes of the entire squad.
The 15-team District 1 features Farmington, Hillsboro, North County, Cape Central and Sikeston, among others. The Mules get to leave behind a district littered with St. Louis powerhouses and then Jackson as the only other school outside of the St. Louis area.
"What we were doing in the wrestling room is not going to change at all. I'd be naive to say it doesn't give us a lot more opportunity," Thompson said.
New this year is also a girls state tournament.
"I think it is a good experience to do," Aldridge said. "It is not just an all guy sport. That way it is not just girls wrestling guys. They can wrestle each other."
The seniors are quick to point out the team has spent a lot of time working to individually improve and the results are showing.
"We're anxious. We've been working really hard this summer learning new things, getting better, changing our style and we are anxious to get back at it," Richardson said.
Added Smothers, "We've been with each other for so long that we kind of know how to work with each other, how to work harder and how to get better."
The starting roster going into tonight's season-opener at the North County Quad features three freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors to go with the senior class.
Along with Bell, Colton Jackson (152) comprises the junior class with Gavyn Hays (220) as the team's only sophomore. The freshmen are Gatlin Taylor (106), gage Engram (113) and Justin Mitchell (160).