Governor Mifflin wrestlers ready to challenge for Berks Leage championship

They only finished in third place in Division 1 last year, but the Governor Mifflin High School wrestling team still managed to find its way into the Berks County League’s championship match. In that championship match, Wilson defeated the Mustangs to earn the Bulldogs their first county title in nine years.

Although they lost, the Mustangs had themselves a taste of championship competition and they want to get another shot at it.

They will get that shot as many of the wrestlers on that team will be back again this year. When asked if his team had a shot at getting back to the championship match again this year, Head Coach Ralph Voit simply said, “Absolutely.

“We will again be competitive at the county and district level. This year we have a mix of experience and youth, but a common bond of hard workers with focus.”

Not only is the goal to get back to the county championship match, but win it. Coach Voit would also like to see his team qualify for the state team tournament and get at least five wrestlers to the state individual tournament. Those are some lofty goals but not beyond the reach of this talented team.

They have three county champions coming back from last year, and three others who finished in the top five in the county individual tournament.

Leading the way will be Keith Stednitz who was not only a county champion, but finished fourth in the District 3 tourney and finished the season with an impressive record of 24-3.

Marcus Johnson and Jan Johnson are the other two county champions back to defend their titles. Marcus was 33-5 last year.

Also coming back were by Jonah Fisher and Matt Harris who both finished third in the county last year, and Colin Johnson who was fifth.

Seth Witmoyer is another wrestler who could make a big impact on the team this year after going 19-16 last year.

The Mustangs will have to do it without their top wrestler last year, Matt Shermot, who finished fourth in the state. But there is more than enough talent on this team to make up for the loss.

“So far we have a good mix of kids,” said Coach Voit. “We have an upper class group with good experience and work ethic and a good group of hard-working youngsters that are very coachable.”

As with just about every team in the league, there will be weight classes where the Mustangs will have to rely on some very young and inexperienced wrestlers. A lot could depend on how fast those younger wrestlers mature and contribute to the team.

How is this team going to win a league championship? According to Coach Voit, by “wrestling hard, wrestling smart and getting a little luck.”