NTL WRESTLING: TROY BATTLES THROUGH TOUGH SEASON TO SEE SUCCESS AT THE END (2025-03-12)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
It was a new year for the Troy Trojan wrestling team, with a new head coach, and plenty of new faces,  mixing in with the veterans. 

Troy went 6-10 in dual meet action, while featuring one North Section champion in Carter Austin (160), and a state qualifier in Reed Palmer (285).

“Coach Carter and I reflected on the 2025 season, and we hold our heads high just like we preach to our athletes,” said Troy coach Garrett Wesneski. “We wrestled a tougher schedule this year and feel that prepared our guys for the end of the year the best it could. We had four guys reach districts (Rylan Breidt, Keagan Kerr, Palmer, and Austin).”

They saw their season get pushed back to essentially January due to Troy football’s run to the state title, opening the year by going 2-4 at the Flynn Duals.

They lost their next three duals after that, but found groove in mid-January as they got wins over NEB (42-22), Wellsboro (48-18), and Elk Lake (52-24).

After three more losses they ended the dual meet season with a win over Loyalsock (59-0).

In the individual postseason Austin became their first North Section champion in a number of years, as the senior punched his ticket to districts for the first time in his career.

“Carter Austin was a match away from Hershey in his senior campaign,” Wesneski said. “He earned everything he achieved this year. The extra work and commitment he put in from the year prior should show our young guys you can achieve whatever you want with maximum effort.”

Palmer battled through a tough heavyweight division from North Section on through districts and regionals to punch his ticket to Hershey.

“Reed Palmer qualified for states as a sophomore while battling adversity,” Wesneski said. “It’s extremely tough to come off a state-run football season and jump into a mentally and physically challenging sport like wrestling. He weathered the storm and earned his way to Hershey. It was good to see him reach a goal of his and hopefully that fuels his fire to climb the mountain even more.”

They return everybody but the two seniors Breidt, and Austin, as they hope to mix in some talented junior high wrestlers next year.

“As coaches we believe our young guys all showed major growth through the year, had some good big time wins, and kept getting better,” said Wesneski. “They just have to stay hungry. Overall, I am grateful for the season and this sport as it molds everyone in a positive way for life.”

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