Coming off a fifth-place finish at last season’s 4A State Wrestling Tournament, the Evanston High School wrestling team — who will compete in Class 3A for the upcoming season —  will take its first step toward bettering that mark this weekend, as the Red Devils host the annual Evanston Invitational.

Practice for the 2022-23 season began the Monday before Thanksgiving, and EHS head coach Larry Wagstaff said he’s encouraged by what he’s seen so far in the EHS wrestling room. There are currently 43 wrestlers on the roster, many of whom return with state tournament experience.

“The kids are working hard, getting better,” Wagstaff said. “We have a dual Thursday night against Spring Creek — one of the better teams in Nevada — and then we have our home invite this weekend. Should be a good start to the season for us.”

The Red Devils return five medalists from last year’s 4A State Wrestling Tournament, led by junior Brady Roberts, who finished third at 145 pounds. Seniors Walker Wilson (6th, 120 pounds), Ethan Reichenberg (6th, 152 pounds), Carsen VanGieson (6th, 285 pounds) and junior Kyson Hamilton (6th, 132 pounds) round out the list of returning medalists.

“We lost some pretty good kids to graduation, but we’re moving on,” Wagstaff said. “Brady will continue where he left off last season — he’s working super-hard, and should have a shot this year at a state title. We’re expecting Walker to have a great senior year — we’ll get him and Braunson Sims split eventually — one will be at 126 pounds, one will be at 132 pounds. That will be good for us. Ethan really came on strong for us at the end of the season last year,” Wagstaff said. “He’s behind Brady [Roberts] at 152 right now, but that will change once we get going. Carsen should have a great year — we need to do some things to help him get in a little better shape, but nobody is in shape right now. Kyson will probably be our 138-pounder. He had a good season as a sophomore, and should keep getting better this year.”

Wagstaff has 11 freshmen out for the team this season, as well as nine sophomores, including state-qualifiers Tarrin Haws and Braunson Sims.

A talented group of 10 juniors will be led by Roberts and Hamilton, as well as state qualifiers Ryder Wilson and Aiden Liechty.

The Red Devils have seven seniors on the roster, including state placers Walker Wilson, Ethan Reichenberg and Carsen VanGieson, as well as state qualifiers Luke Benton, Riley Kohler and Reece Overy.

“Luke Benton will be at 120 — he’s a pretty scrappy kid,” Wagstaff said. “Ryder Wilson will be there, as well. Riley Kohler will be our guy at 145 pounds — he just missed the podium at state. Aiden Liechty will probably be at 170 — he’s another returning state qualifier. Tarrin Haws will be at 195 — he had a great year as a freshman, especially wrestling at a heavier class.”

For the first time ever, girls’ wrestling will be a state-sanctioned sport this season, and Wagstaff has seven girls on the roster: Freshmen Marty Dick, Ramsey Fearn and Sidney Liechty; sophomore Aaliyah Martin; and juniors Kyndall Fernandez, Leah Larkin and Johana Saavedra.

“I thought we’d have more girls than what we ended up with, honestly,” Wagstaff said. “There was a lot of talk, but when push came to shove, some decided not to do it. But we have six girls that are working pretty hard in the room, and we have one girl that’s injured [Fernandez] — we’re not sure we’ll get her back for this season. But she’s going to be a stud for us.”

Asked his thoughts on the drop to Class 3A for the 2022-23 season and beyond, Wagstaff said any wrestler hoping for an easier path to the state tournament will be sorely disappointed.

“We won’t see a drop in competition level by moving down — 3A is as tough as 4A,” Wagstaff explained. “If you go back to the Ron Thon Tournament at Riverton last year, 3A outplaced 4A. We’re excited to get to wrestle wherever we get to wrestle at, so which class really doesn’t make a difference. It will be different at 3A, but it won’t be any easier.”

Wagtaff went on to say the Red Devils will use the opening weekend as a barometer of where the team is at, and where they need to be before the holiday break. Eleven teams are scheduled to compete at this year’s Evanston Invitational, representing four states.

“Going into this weekend, we’ll have some weight classes that will be open, but those will slowly get filled as the season goes on,” Wagstaff said. “But we’ll wrestle well, we’ll get after it. The Utah schools will have an advantage on us, because they’ve been wrestling for a few weeks already, but that’s OK. Evanston kids are always competitive. I think we’ll surprise some people.”