Circleville coach Trent Brooks believes 2023 can be a successful season for the Tigers with a number of returnees back in the fold after finishing third in the Mid-State League Buckeye Division.
The Tigers return district qualifiers Andrew Siembida (106 pounds), Carson VanGundy (113), Jacob Johnson (132), Ayden Reedy (138), Braylon Morgan (215) and Trentt Fulgham (285). Circleville can also utilize past district qualifiers/alternates Landen Zarbaugh (126), Lane Adams (175), Aiden Blue (190) and Noah Jones (215).
“I think this could be a great season for Circleville wrestling,” Brooks said. “Our boys are working hard every day to get better and be competitive throughout the season. This group is hungry to do some things this year and we hope to be competing beyond the district tournament with a few boys and girls.
“Trentt Fulgham fell just short of qualifying for the state tournament last year and has goals of going far beyond that this season. We have a good group of returning district qualifiers and former qualifiers and alternates, all of whom should help us get to where we want to be. Lucifer Donaldson started the year off great last year before suffering a season ending injury. We are hoping that he will make the same impact this year.”
Brooks discussed additions to his coaching staff that include two-time state champion and Circleville alum Nate Keaton.
“From a team standpoint, I am most excited about the new staff we have,” he said. “We were fortunate to have one of my former standout wrestlers (Conrad Rosch) help us out last year, but he could not continue this year unfortunately. Conrad was awesome and helped me out tremendously with his knowledge of the sport, drive and competitiveness, and he will be missed.
“This year we will have Nate Keaton join our staff full-time. Nate is an awesome addition who wants to help me get this team to where he and I both know it can be. In addition to Nate, we also added former Central Crossing and Findlay University standout Chad Channel to our high school staff. Chad brings a great level experience from the division one level in central Ohio, as well as time as a collegiate coach at Otterbein. I am beyond excited for this staff and hope that they can help us get to a level that I know we are capable of being at.”
Brooks also commented on the Ohio High School Athletic Association adding girls wrestling as an official sport. The boys and girls state tournaments will be wrestled together from March 10-12 at The Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center.
“I am excited that we have a couple girls who are competing for us,” he said. “One in particular is Summer Blair, who I believe can make an immediate impact for us on the girls scene. I have coached some females in my time as a head coach, but she is one of the toughest kids I have ever coached. She is such a coachable athlete, which is something that I value more than any other attributes in a young athlete.”
Varsity Returners
106: Andrew Siembida
113: Carson VanGundy
120: Lucifer Donaldson
126: Landen Zarbaugh
132: Jacon Johnson
138: Ayden Reedy
144: Caleb Bennett
150: Mark Brunner
157: Logan Holbrook
165: Hayden Luck
175: Lane Adams
190: Aiden Blue
215: Noah Jones, Braylon Morgan
285: Trentt Fulgham, Jack Sorrell
