Members of the Fairbanks High School wrestling squad are from left, assistant coach Theo Granford, Dominic Coy, Ashton Griffith, Billy Reed-Bodey, Connor McCardle and head coach James Kasser. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
Fairbanks High School’s varsity wrestling roster will be limited in numbers this winter.
Third-year head coach James Kasser has only four athletes available to take to the mat this season.
Those grapplers include returning lettermen Billy Reed-Bodey (285), Dominic Coy (160) and Ashton Griffith (182).
They will be joined by varsity newcomer Connor McCardle, who will compete in the 170-pound weight class.
“The big thing this season is we don’t have enough wrestlers to fill a full team,” said Kasser. “That’s going to hurt us as far as team points during matches.”
Wrestling has been a bit slow to develop at Fairbanks.
There are only three athletes on this year’s middle school team.
If there is a bright spot on the horizon, it’s that Kasser has 45 youngsters who plan to compete in the district’s youth program, pending coronavirus limitations.
While the Panthers are small in numbers, Kasser said it’s a tight-knit group.
“The unity that our athletes have displayed toward one another is a big strength of our team,” he said. “These guys have a passion for wrestling, work hard and are very loyal to each other.”
The Panther coach said one of his main goals this season is to keep his athletes healthy in the face of COVID-19.
“We just want to do all we can to keep everyone healthy and safe,” he said.
Kasser also feels Panther grapplers can achieve more success during the 2020-21 campaign.
“Each one of our guys is capable of compiling winning records this year,” he said. “We’d also like to get as many athletes as we can to the state tournament without anything canceled.”