According to Crestwood Red Devils’ wrestling Coach Dave Wrobel, the 2024-25 wrestling season marked the end of a lengthy streak in which Crestwood qualified at least one wrestler to the Ohio High School Athletic Association State Meet. The Red Devils seek to start a new streak for the 2025-26 season as the team returns with more experience under their belt.
Although Crestwood returns as a smaller team in terms of roster size, the 26-year coach said that the Red Devils have the quality to make up for the lack of quantity with the team returning eight OHSAA Division III district qualifiers.
“We may start the year with only 15 or 16 kids, we might have to forfeit at the beginning of the weight class and at the end because we may not have a little guy or a big guy, but I will tell you what, the kids we put out there are going to battle, we have some very solid kids,” he added.
Crestwood experienced growing pains last year as several underclassmen were thrust into the starting line-up and needed to adjust quickly with a demanding schedule in the first month of competition. Although the schedule remains as challenging as ever, Wrobel said that the experience gained from last year and the level of competition will sharpen the Red Devils quickly.
“If you place with some of the top Division I program or some of the more solid Division II programs, you are making a name for yourself,” he said. “We are going to take some lumps, there is no doubt about it but that is how you get better, you get better by wrestling tough competition.”
In addition to returning most their squad, the Red Devils will get reinforcements from a talented freshmen class, as Jacob Morris, James Georger and Austin McIntyre join the fray with the expectation of being inserted into the starting line-up immediately.
Morris will be penciled as the starter in the 132-pound weight class, entering the varsity level after taking eighth place at the Ohio Athletic Conference Middle School State Tournament last year, followed by Georger who is projected to wrestle at 113 pounds while McIntyre will wrestle as a heavyweight in the 215-pound weight class.
“I would say that Jacob has the higher profile because of what he was able to accomplish last year but James can help us, and Austin is going to step in the upper weights, but he will battle and is not afraid to mix it up and will surprise some people,” Wrobel said.
The Red Devils’ most experienced wrestler will be junior 126-pounder Rocco Wrobel, who is seeking his first state berth after compiling a 31-7 record last season.
Coach Wrobel noted that Rocco is more determined than ever to become a state qualifier, especially after missing the entire 2025 postseason after coming down with an illness which ended his sophomore year early.
“He knows he had an opportunity,” Coach Wrobel added. “He knows that he has only two years to make his mark so he is going to do everything he possibly can to make sure he is ready to roll for this year. He has done quite a bit of offseason wrestling and he is ready to go.”
Also projected to be firmly in the mix to capture a state qualification will be senior 175-pounder Michael Berquist, who amassed a 29-13 record last year including collecting two wins at the district tournament.
“Michael is a good kid and a good story,” Coach Wrobel said. “He wrestled all the way through fifth or sixth grade, took three or four years off, and then came back in the 10th grade to wrestle for us. He started off at Aurora, transferred to Crestwood and really improved between his 10th grade and 11th grade year so we are looking for him to take that next step.”
Sophomore 120-pounder Tyler Devlin will be in the same boat, returning off the heels of a freshman season where he tallied a 24-23 record and was also only one victory away from earning a state berth.
“Tyler will wrestle every and anybody, he will wrestle the 120-pounders, but he will also roll around with the 150-pounders, he is not afraid to mix it up,” noted Coach Wrobel. “I love his attitude; he has got moxie to him, and he is a tough kid.”
Although the Red Devils have a healthy streak of sending state qualifiers to the state meet for the last two decades, Coach Wrobel said that it has been a while since Crestwood had multiple state qualifiers in a season, but the upcoming winter campaign can be the beginning of new and better things.
“I think realistically we have some kids capable of getting on the podium,” he said. “We have had some good workout partners, and we have a good coaching staff. I feel good about it. I think that not only do we have kids who should get down there but get on the podium as well.”
The Red Devils’ season begins when they compete at the North Coast Classic at the Independence Fieldhouse on Dec. 5 at 3 p.m.
