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Coach: Mark Johnson
What happened last year: The Red Ramblers won their third straight Indian Trails Conference title and advanced four wrestlers to the IHSA Class A Plano Sectional.
Key losses to graduation: Karidu Abdulahi, Braxton Bouck, Brandon Bouck.
Key Returning Athletes: Dustin Cox, Senior; Arturo Fernandez, Senior; Andy Greenaway, Junior; Jake Stegeman, Junior; Reid Clifton, Sophomore.
Key Newcomers: Jose Hernandez, Freshman; Sean Maryland, Freshman; Jacob Stryker, Freshman.
 Very few students come to Mooseheart with a wrestling background - but that hasn't stopped the Red Ramblers from turning themselves into a very good team in the past three seasons.
Mooseheart won its third straight Indian Trails Conference championship last year and had four IHSA Class A Sectional qualifiers.
"We've benefited from having wrestlers working in the program all four years, "Mooseheart coach Mark Johnson said." We have a lot of guys who haven't wrestled before they got to Mooseheart."
But the Red Ramblers have proved to be quick learners on the mat.
"I don't claim to be the greatest expert in wrestling, but I pass on my experience," Johnson said. "We don' t do
anything fancy and are relatively old-school with what we do on the mat. But what I give our wrestlers credit for is that they work hard on the mat. They constantly work at getting better."
While Mooseheart still struggles to fill a complete dual meet lineup, the team's roster numbers have improved over time. And the dozen wrestlers on this year's team are spread throughout the weight classes rather than all being bunched in the same weight.
"One of the nice things about having a small group of wrestlers is that they have more opportunity to work with me and work on moves," Johnson said. "They get more time on the mat. The guys we have here are working hard in practice working hard on the mat."
This year's numbers are improved from when Johnson took over the program. "When I started, we had seven or eight wrestlers and the program was relatively dormant," Johnson said. "In the last three years, we've had a good number of wrestlers coming out, and that's helped us."
Graduation hit the Red Ramblers hard. Gone are three of the team's four sectional qualifiers, including Karidu Abdulahi, who finished fourth at the sectional in the 152-pound weight class and nearly became the school's first state wrestling meet qualifier in Johnson's coaching tenure at Mooseheart.
But the cupboard is far from bare. Arturo Fernandez was a sectional qualifier at 130 pounds last year and has hopes of moving one step farther this year.
"I' ve been working really hard in the offseason trying to get my endurance up,"Fernandez said. "I really hope to go to state. I came fairly close last year so I want to make it this year."
Fernandez is one of those athletes who never wrestled before high school at Mooseheart. "Wrestling is all about you," Fernandez said. "It's individual, proving that you' re stronger and smarter than the other guy. And there's the excitement when you're on the mat and everybody's watching you."
Other key returnees include senior Dustin Cox, juniors Andy Greenaway and Jake Stegeman and sophomore Reid Clifton.
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