Following a tough quad-header at Marist on Saturday, Nov. 24, New Trier’s varsity wrestling team is preparing for what looks to be their best shot at producing a state champion since their last title in 2002.

Saturday’s quad-header pitted the 16th-ranked Trevians against Marist’s Redhawks and the Oak Park River Forest Huskies, ranked first and second in the state, respectively, as well as the unranked Schaumburg Saxons.

While New Trier was quickly defeated by Marist and OPRF, the Trevians pulled out a close 38-37 victory over Schaumburg to place third in the tournament overall. After trading the lead multiple times, OPRF took first in the quad-header with a 26-25 lead over Marist.

Senior Jack Nolan said that placing third in their first quad of the season was not as much of a disappointment to the team as it may have been with different competition. Despite such an early loss, the team is still confident that New Trier will be a tough competitor this season.

“We started off [the season] going against the toughest teams in state,” Nolan said, “so I don’t think the team score reflected how our individual matches went.”

Senior John Benson also admits that while the meet did not give the Trevians a very good indication of the rest of the state’s competition or help New Trier’s ranking, it gave the wrestlers a unique opportunity to test their strength against the best wrestlers that the CSL conference has to offer.

“It was important for our improvement as a team,” Benson said.

“After Saturday, we’ve already wrestled the toughest competition that we are going to have all season,” added senior Josh Thybony.

Last year, the Trevians finished their season 18-4 overall and 5-0 in the CSL conference, ending Maine South’s five-year streak as conference champions before placing first in class 3A regionals and losing to Harlem 24-41 in sectionals.

Now, with eight returning starters, including returning state qualifier MJ Pritchard, the team is looking at a squad with the potential to be New Trier’s best in recent memory.

“Last year we had a lot of people good enough to qualify [for state],” Benson said. “But now that those qualifiers are back this year we have a lot of people good enough not only to qualify, but to place.”

Thybony said that, because of the strength of their roster this year, expectations for the team are higher than ever.

“We have a lot of team goals this season,” he said. “[Head coach Marc] Tadelman wants us to place among the top 5 in each of our tournaments, win conference, win regionals and send at least 7 kids to state.”

Among the squad’s top prospects this year are seniors MJ Pritchard, Chris Alcock, Paul Papoutsis and John Benson, junior Colin Kenyon and sophomores Luke Iida and Alec McKenna.

Nolan agrees, adding that despite the team’s loss of seven seniors from the roster since last season, the Trevians will still be able to compete at a similar level as last year.

“Our guys who were good last year were at that level last year,” he said, “But now the guys who we need to step up and fill the gaps are really stepping up.”

Regardless of the team’s potential, coach Tommy Choi thinks that the Trevians’ performance should speak for itself. So far, he says, it hasn’t.

“The biggest obstacle to compete and succeed at state this year will be ourselves,” he said. “We were not as competitive as I would like [at the Marist quad-header]. How the individual wrestlers and overall team responds to these tough matches will show later down the road.”

“Barrington, Rockford, Hononegah, Libertyville, and Harlem will be the teams NT will need to beat to qualify for State as a Team,” Choi added.

Thybony assures that, despite any difficulties, Tadelman expects nothing but the best from the wrestlers this year.

“Tadelman is by far the best coach New Trier has had. Last year was the first year that the seniors practiced all four years under him and we had one of our best seasons in recent memory.”