NEW PALESTINE — After six seasons as an assistant coach, Andrew Frey has taken over as the head coach of the New Palestine High School boys wrestling program.
As someone who’s been involved with the program, he knows the kind of team that he is inheriting.
Two state finalists and four semi-state wrestlers lead a deep, but young team looking to repeat last year’s success.
“It’s been good so far and has been a pretty easy transition with me already being here and familiar with everybody. I know all the athletes, the parents, and the pipeline of kids coming in. I know all the coaches in the system too, so overall a pretty easy transition,” Frey said. “Now I’m just trying to put my flavor on some things and hopefully make a difference.”
As the new man in charge of the program, Frey enters the season with two goals — growing the program, and strengthening team camaraderie.
“We’re just working on program growth overall. We have good numbers and that’s reflective of middle school, but we just want to retain those numbers. We want to keep guys in the room, and we’d like to continue to build a relationship with the football players and get some of those guys to become dual-sport athletes. That’s a big goal of mine,” Frey said.
“We’d like to create more of a team camaraderie and bond too, not that we haven’t had that in the past, we just want to really strengthen that. We’re young, but we have a really good team, so that could help us get even further.”
Leading the way for the Dragons will be a pair of state finalists — Gunner Butt and Bryce Doss.
As a freshman last season, Butt placed sixth at the state finals, was a regional runner-up, and a semi-state runner-up. He finished the season 28-10.
Now a junior, Doss was the only county wrestler to win sectional, regional, and semi-state titles last year. He placed eighth at the state finals and ended the season with a 28-5 record.
“Those two have had a good little offseason. They’ve gone to some tournaments over the summer and have wrestled some of the best kids in the country, so that’s huge,” Frey said. “They’re looking good and are ready to go. We’re definitely going to live by those two returning state placers.”
Along with them, the Dragons return three other semi-state qualifiers.
Senior Shaun Glass was a Hoosier Heritage Conference and Warren Central Sectional champion at 195 pounds, and was runner-up at regional. This year he’ll be wrestling at 215 pounds.
“He’s [Glass] a returning (semi-state) ticket rounder and a senior, so he’s going to make a huge impact again,” Frey said.
Junior Cole Vandygriff is back as well. Last year he was a sectional champion at 113 pounds and was runner-up at the regional.
“Cole will be a key part of our lineup for sure, and he always has been since he’s been here,” Frey said.
Freshman Peyton Hornsby joins the team as someone expected to make an immediate impact and is one of eight underclassmen on the team.
Rounding out the freshman class along with Hornsby are Blake Doss, Wesley Harbert, Levi Oberle, and William Glesing.
Seniors Elijah Alonso, Jaedyn Jeffries, and Gavin Wilcher are returning members, along with sophomores Gabe Flick and Colin Whetsel.
The Dragons host Center Grove on Nov. 29 to open the season.
–
2023-24 New Palestine Wrestling Schedule
Date;Opponent;Time
Nov. 29;vs. Center Grove;6 p.m.
Dec. 2;New Palestine Invite;9 a.m.
Dec. 6;at Greenfield-Central;6 p.m.
Dec. 9;at Roncalli;9 a.m.
Dec. 13;vs. Mt. Vernon;6 p.m.
Dec. 16;at Henry Wilk Invite (Penn);9 a.m.
Dec. 20;vs. Warren Central;6 p.m.
Dec. 28;at Spartan Classic (Connersville);9 a.m.
Jan. 4;at Franklin Central;6 p.m.
Jan. 10;vs. Lawrence North;6 p.m.
Jan. 13;HHC Tournament;9 a.m.
Jan. 18;vs. Greenwood;6 p.m.
