Genoa's wrestling team hadn't had a completely healthy lineup all season until Dec. 30, when the Comets took first place at the 16-team Lima Central Catholic Holiday Tournament.

The Comets' best finish prior to that tournament was at the Dec. 4 Oak Harbor Invitational, where second-year coach Joe Ziebold's squad placed ninth out of 10 teams.

“Our goal is to get better each week, keep drilling hard every day,” said Ziebold, whose wife, Jennifer, gave birth to the couple's first child, a son, on Dec. 23. “We have to learn how to train first. It's January and the boys are getting it. They're working hard, training hard. They bought into the program and its tough work. We want to keep getting better, and when it comes to the league we want to be in the top three, followed by sectional, district, state.”

Genoa was picked to finish third in the Suburban Lakes League behind two-time defending champion Elmwood and last year's runner-up, Eastwood. The Comets have just three seniors, one of whom (171-pounder Garrett Scott) is injured.

Nearly half of Genoa's 30 wrestlers have varsity experience.

“We have a great bunch of young men who work hard,” Ziebold said. “They did the work in the offseason and it's paying off. We just want to continue doing what we're doing, work hard and keep improving every day.”

The Comets' lone individual champion at the Lima Central Catholic tournament was junior Jake Sheehy at 189 pounds. Sheehy earned a 2-0 decision over Sam Harris of Urbana in the tournament finals to push his record to 12-7.

Sheehy was an SLL champion at 171 pounds last season, when he finished with a 21-8 record and placed third at the sectional tournament.

“Jake worked hard during the offseason and it's paying off right now,” Ziebold said. “He's a hard worker. He is a linebacker in football and he has great leverage. He's tall, he's strong and he has a great attitude. He is a great leader on and off the mat, and we have high expectations.”

The Comets scored 304.5 points at Lima to beat runner-up Carey by 62.5 points. Genoa got second-place finishes from Seth Morrison at 103, Adam Klavinger (112), Sam Reinhart (135) and Jacob Fejes (145), and third-place finishes from Drew Keenan (130) and Ryan Szymanski (152).

Morrison, a sophomore, is 8-4 this season.

“Seth is a very hard worker and he's also a football player,” Ziebold said. “He came in and wrestled at 119 and he's now a 103-pounder, and that tells you a lot about the young man. He dropped the weight for the team. He's doing it in the right way, gradually losing the weight. He can get down to 102.5, so he's doing it in a safe way.”

Adam Klavinger, a senior, is 6-6 but Ziebold likes what he's seeing from his 112-pounder.

“Adam is coming around,” the coach said. “He's taken some lumps, but when you wrestle the Oak Harbors and Edisons like we do...112 is a tough weight class. At Lima, he showed he's turning the corner and looking much better. He's looked good, but it takes a little bit of time.”

Keenan, who has a 10-5 record, is one of the Comets' most dependable wrestlers, according to assistant coach Bob Bergman.

“He's had some great matches,” Bergman said. “He's probably our most positive kid, always smiling. He's at every morning workout at 6 a.m., three days a week. Every offseason he's been at, he gobbles up everything. He loves the sport.”

Sam Reinhart, a sophomore, competed in his first tournament at Lima and has a 4-1 record. Fejes, who is also a sophomore, improved to 10-6 with his showing at Lima. Fejes was a district qualifier last season.

“Jacob is another hard worker,” Ziebold said. “He wrestles during the offseason. He's strong and he has a great attitude. He trains well and his record is showing it. He's been wrestling some tough guys and he's been beating them, too.”

The rest of the Comets' lineup includes Max Reeder at 119, Logan Scott (125), Josh Pierce (140), Ryan Espinoza (160), Michael Snider (171), Nick Keller (215) and heavyweights Dustin Reeder and Matt Keaton, both seniors, and Cody Buckner.

“Our heavyweights are plugging away,” Ziebold said. “We're getting there. Matt Keaton is working hard and is pretty much down to 215.”

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