Fun-loving Chartiers Valley wrestlers excited for a new season

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, December 7, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Bill Evans has been a wrestling coach for a long time.

Like any coach, as each new season rolls around, he is filled with excitement for the positive outcomes that await his teams.

What really gets Evans excited is seeing how much fun his wrestlers have throughout the year.

“When you have kids who really love to do this, it makes it fun for everyone,” said Evans.

Evans cited an example of that fun from a few days before the start of the season.

One of the wrestlers had a birthday, and his fellow teammates were giving him some playful punches in the arm to celebrate when one of his Russian teammates snuck up behind him and threw him Olympic-style to the mat.

“They all thought it was funny,” said Evans. “It helps to come in as a coach and see that type of atmosphere. My one coach used to say, ‘You see a lot of kids coming in here drooping, like walking weeping willows.’

“We don’t have any of that around here, and that makes it enjoyable for everyone.”

The Colts are looking to follow up one enjoyable season with another after they posted a winning record, going 10-8 overall, and were 2-2 in Section 2 in Class 3A. Both were accomplishments not seen since 2019-2020.

“Success breeds success,” said Evans. “A lot of our guys liked the way that felt. We’re in a position to do pretty well coming into this year, but we’ll see how we match up against everyone else.”

The Colts return a bulk of wrestlers from last year and have a few other wrestlers who have shown a lot of promise in the offseason and preseason, but it will be hard to replace the losses from a year ago.

Gone are seniors Howard Clellan and Logan Connolly, who provided a ton of leadership to the younger Colts on the roster.

Clellan posted a record of 18-16 last season and signed up for the United States Marine Corps. Logan Connolly committed to Saint Vincent College after a season that saw him finish 30-11 on the mat.

“There’s something to be said about the solid veteran leadership those guys brought,” said Evans. “They set the example for the next group to follow. He kids are the ones that drive the bus when it comes to the overall attitude of the team.”

One wrestler Evans is counting on to carry the mantle left by Clellan and Connolly is senior Michael Lawrence, who finished his 2024-25 campaign with a record of 25-4.

From the beginning of the offseason, Evans was surprised at the change in Lawrence’s maturity level and how he’s carried himself.

“I really can’t say enough about him and his overall attitude in the room,” Evans said. “He was an absolute killer on the football field, and he’s probably our best guy by far to have a chance at reaching a podium and getting to Hershey.”

Lawrence will wrestle at 172.

Others that Evans has pegged to join Lawrence in that leadership role are juniors Tilek Sadyrbekov and Maksym Ribalko.

Tilek and his brother Musabek, who is a sophomore, are a pair of international students who come from a background in the Greco-Roman style of wrestling and were new last year to the folkstyle wrestling of American high schools.

Evans says they have taken major strides in becoming more familiar with folkstyle while also mixing in some of their Greco-Roman techniques.

“They went out to Fargo for the National Championships and placed in the top 16 in the country in the Greco-Roman division,” said Evans. “They’ve spent the entire offseason getting better at attacking and defending legs, getting better on bottom, those things that make up American wrestling.”

The Sadyrbekov brothers and Ribalko have also done their share of teaching as they’ve shown their teammates how to incorporate some of those Greco-Roman maneuvers.

“These guys are mat rats,” added Evans. “They’ll wrestle any time, any place, any day. They’re watching videos, Instagram, Tik Tok and are constantly soaking it up.

“They’re a little crazy too. The one kid is 145 and is always ready to go and wrestle our 189 kid. He just doesn’t care who he grapples with. They’re built a little different, and it makes it fun.”

Tilek, who comes off an injury-addled year that saw him go 6-5, will start out at 145, but Evans sees him trimming down as the season goes on and wrestling the bulk of his year at 139.

Musabek went 12-13 last year as a freshman and will be the team’s 189-pounder this year.

Ribalko is another wrestler who will start out at a heavier weight, 152, but be down to 145 by season’s end. He finished last year with a 17-15 mark.

Sophomore 215-pounder Wyar Alozie put together a nice offseason, Evans said.

One incoming freshman has caught Evans’ eye and his last name will be recognizable to Chartiers Valley wrestling fans.

“I’m really impressed with Chase Glover, the brother of Tyler Glover, who wrestled for me a few years ago,” said Evans. “He’s a physical specimen like his brother. Jacked out of his mind, looks like he was made in a lab like Captain America. “He’s picking things up and doing a lot of cool stuff. He’s also giving a few of my other kids a hard time because he’s so strong. Stuff that should work against him just doesn’t. ”

Another wrestler who is a top learner in the program is sophomore Jocelyn Ackman. She is on the boys varsity team because there wasn’t enough interest at Chartiers Valley to start a girls team and plans to get a co-op with a neighboring school fell through.

“She’s been wrestling since she was little,” said Evans. “She’s by far our best learner. She pays attention, listens and works. And she gets it. There’s been times where I have her show the guys how something is done because she gets it. She’s an extremely bright young lady. I wish I had 20 of her.”

Chartiers Valley opens its season against a gauntlet of tough wrestling squads as its December slate includes North Allegheny, Canon-McMillan, Trinity and Connellsville.

“That’s going to show how tough we are,” Evans said.

As far as their section goes, the Colts will have a tough time matching up with Canon-Mac and could be in a battle with Trinity, while South Fayette and Waynesburg are a little down this season.

“Canon-Mac has some great returning wrestlers, and they brought up a tough little freshman,” said Evans. “Trinity’s a traditional wrestling school, and you’re going to see kids on their team whose grandparents wrestled at Trinity.

“I can see us finishing second or third in the section. I wouldn’t be disappointed with that finish. It would put us in a playoff spot or in a wild card scenario.”

Tags: Chartiers Valley