North wrestlers have returned to the mats under the guidance of new head coaches.
Former assistant coaches Adrian Cervantes and Ethan Stachniak took over as varsity co head coaches after the resignation of former head coach Jody Bodi who accepted a position at Yorkville.
“Bodi was a great coach,” junior Cole Roenna said. “He pushed all of us to be better. He’s definitely going to be missed.”
After Bodi’s departure, the wrestlers now turn to Cervantes and Stachniak. Cervantes works with the lightweights, and Stachniak works with the heavyweights. The two wrestled with Bodi at Central, and moved up the coaching tree with him.
“Coach Adrian and Ethan have both been awesome coaches and always bring energy to practice,” Roenna said. “They hold everyone accountable, which helps all of us.”
Stachniak believes their combined coaching style is different from Bodi’s style.
“We have a young team this year, and we have to show a lot more technique than in years past,” Stachniak said. “It’s been fun watching our team develop.”
Cervantes and Stachniak started day one of the season with a list of goals written on the team’s whiteboard and later posted on their Instagram page.The first goal is to improve every day.
“Everybody has to buy in to achieve our goals,” Stachniak said. “For such a talented group, we have to have high expectations.”
Another goal is to carry a team GPA of 3.8.
“Our team isn’t made up of just athletes; they are student athletes,” Stachniak said. “Not having [Cervantes and I] in the building makes it hard, but we implement a study hall hour before practice to stay on top of grades.”
The Tigers hope to have four wrestlers named to all-state. Seniors Leo Tovar and Maddox Garbis took home the honor last year.
“Seeing how well Leo and Maddox have done only makes me and the rest of the team want to achieve what they’ve done,” sophomore George Burden said.
Only time will tell on whether the team’s goals are achieved, but the group has optimism for a successful season.
“We want to show that we aren’t just talk,” Stachniak said. “We walk the walk. There hasn’t been a tougher team than this year’s roster. I’m looking forward to being in the hunt for the conference title and adding another regional title under our belt.”
