Pine-Richland wrestlers lifting program into elite tier

By: Shawn Annarelli
Sunday, January 10, 2021 | 9:01 AM

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Pine-Richland wrestling coach Caleb Kolb scanned the room during the Rams first in-person practice of the new year with a big smile.

It had been more than three weeks since the team was together for a workout, and he couldn’t contain his excitement.

“Just out of nowhere he says, “Man, I didn’t realize how much I missed you guys. It’s been too long,’” Penn commit Cole Spencer said. “He’s pumped for this group.”

Kolb has good reason to be optimistic, starting with the team’s work ethic.

It’s not uncommon for seniors like Spencer to stay late to condition more, and younger wrestlers like sophomore Anthony Ferraro have also routinely chosen to stick around longer for an extra workout or to continue fine-tuning technique.

“We’re a really hard-working group, and you see it with everyone, including the young guys at practices,” senior Zach Esswein said. “Everyone comes prepared to learn more as wrestlers. (Kolb) changed the whole culture at PR wrestling. He comes in each day with great energy and brings the best attitude. He’s a huge role model to me and everyone here. He’s just a great coach.”

Kolb will enter his third season as Rams coach, and he credits the team’s past and present leadership for the program’s growth.

“I tell them every day that we are going to control what we can control,” Kolb said. “We can control our weight. We can control our attitude. Sometimes things will be out of our control, like wrestling with a mask, but they’ve responded well to it. I’ve been pretty blessed with good leadership.”

The Rams were led last season by Spencer and Nate Lukez, who wrestles for Army.

Spencer, who is aiming for an individual PIAA title, went 42-2 last season and placed fourth at states. He will captain this season’s team with Esswein.

“When practice is over and you look over and see Cole Spencer still doing pushups, still doing crunches and wanting to get that much better, it gets everyone’s mindset right to want to work just as hard as him,” Kolb said. “From the lightest guy to the heaviest guy and from the guy placing at states to the guy on JV, everyone is integral to our team. Everyone has a role that makes up our family.”

Pine-Richland was 15-3 last season with a 3-2 section record.

The Rams also won the Allegheny County tournament, but will have to defend their title next winter after this year’s event was canceled.

“Winning the county tournament was awesome and definitely a step in the right direction,” Spencer said. “We had Nate Lukez and Robby Palmieri go on to wrestle in college and lost other seniors like Zach Shaver, and they played a big role. We have a lot of kids like Anthony and even some freshmen who are stepping up. We want to finally win a section title. That would be amazing.”

The Rams’ youth movement from one year ago will continue with juniors Kelin Laffey and Shane Simpson and sophomores Joseph Schnek, Jacob Lukez and Ferraro, all of whom tallied winning records while starting all of last season.

Senior John Hoffman and sophomore Jeremy Canter will also have more prominent roles this year.

“I just saw John today get on the Airdyne bike, and he busted out a full-on sprint for a minute, so hopefully seeing that will continue to rub off on everyone,” Spencer said. “I did that a lot in past years, but I’ve definitively put in more work this year. Hopefully everyone’s hard work will show later in the season.”

Pine-Richland’s goal is to become a contender, and the team feels it gets closer each season under Kolb.

“I’m excited, because I think people kind of overlook Pine-Richland and we can make some noise,” Kolb said. “In the past, Pine-Richland hasn’t been a powerhouse in wrestling, but I tell these guys there’s no reason we can’t be. We have the guys who want to work for it.”

Tags: Pine-Richland