Cumberland Valley head coach Dave Heckard's message was clear about the state of District 3 team wrestling.
“I still think Central Dauphin is the favorite until someone dethrones them,” Heckard said Wednesday during a CV practice.
Technically, Heckard is correct. The Rams have stomped their way to six straight D-3 team titles. But after losing four to five heavy hitters from last season to graduation, CD's reign could come to an end.
And the Eagles are good enough to take over.
Heckard's team is solid top to bottom. There is a mix of youth and experience with a pair of state runner-ups — Patrick Duggan and T.C. Warner — sitting in the middle of a lineup that can provide leadership and plenty of bonus points.
“I see the potential,” Heckard said. “But remember, potential means you haven't done anything yet.
“It's November, so to look at [the team] and say they are going to be a championship team, I mean, that's tough.
“We have to remain healthy. In any sport, being healthy is huge. We are one or two injuries away from not competing. Like I said, I see potential, and hopefully, it turns into something at the end of the year.”
The last two seasons haven't lived up to CV standards, as the Eagles, who are tied with Dallastown for the most district team championship appearances (18), have bowed out in the quarterfinal round.
Two years ago, the Eagles dropped a heartbreaker to Big Spring. Last season was more of a bracket issue in that CV was state tournament worthy but had to square off against the talented Rams too early in the draw.
In each case, Big Red gave up too many bonus points. It was too much to overcome, and expectations weren't met.
This year's squad has a different look and feel. There is more focus, more attention to detail and a willingness to work harder in the room, which equates to less freebies for opponents in the Eagles lineup.
“I think the big things is holes,” Heckard said. “You can't have holes in your lineup, and this year, we don't have those holes.
“We have guys that can go out and, hopefully, go six minutes with good guys. People don't understand that when you don't give up pins, that is a lot of momentum.”
Continued Heckard, “Looking at our lineup, do we have state qualifiers at every weight, certainly not. But I think we have guys that can go six minutes and go hard.”
This team is deep.
Everyone knows about Duggan and Warner. They are championship caliber wrestlers that will be competing deep into the individual state tournament in March.
What is impressive about the Eagles is the recent youth movement. Heckard could have as many as four freshman in the starting lineup.
Cal Reichert (120-126) is the leader of this group. William Kaldes (106), Wyatt Long (113) and JD Barrick (120) aren't far behind in skill set and will make the Eagles formidable for the foreseeable future.
“They are tough,” Heckard said. “A couple of those guys are going to have to earn spots, because there are some upperclassmen that are going to challenge those guys.
“That's what you want. You want guys to challenge each other and be competitive. If I'm at a certain weight, I'm not going to just let someone come in and take my spot.
“These guys are wrestlers. They do it all the time. I was worried about them coming into the high school room and how were they going to react to the challenges we proposed to them. They have done nothing but answer those challenges.”
All the pieces appear to be in place. Now, it's about putting in the work, consistency and remaining healthy.
The athletes on this team know what's in front of them. They know who they are going to wrestle, who they are going to have to beat to get where they want to go.
“I told them my expectations as a coach and if they have different expectations, we aren't going to jell as a team,” Heckard said. “If I'm expecting us to be a district championship team or state qualifying team and the guys don't expect that, we aren't going to get along.
“Expectations are big. The last two years, the two losses to Big Spring and CD, we weren't a bad team and we were on the outside looking in. This year, we are hungry.”