Photo Provided Pictured is the 2025-26 Wheeling Park wrestling team. Front row, from left, are Gaige Adams, Gabe Shannon, Hunter Flanegin, Bodie Cox, Kayliegh Ivery, Gabe Alig, Alex Reid and Frank Guntrum. Second row, from left, are assistant coach Dirk Bauer, Jamarri Livingston, Zeke Barth, Noah Kelly, Nate Hodge, Isaac Sands, Jake Carman, DJ Neal, Maxximus Taylor, Royal Scott and head coach Danny Doyle. Third row, from left, are assistant coach Clay Tucker, Andrew Evans, Brayden Gilbert, Kholten Muldrew, Terionna Gibbons, Abby O’Donnell, Grace Tamburin, Alivia West, Baileigh Brothers, Hunter Shafer, Donovan Dunkin and assistant coach Seth Benge. Back row, from left, are Chase Smith, Quentin Scott, Alex Molinaros, Terry Sparks, Ashtin Long and assistant coach Shane Kandis.

WHEELING — While winning the 72nd annual OVAC Ron Mauck Wrestling Championships is the goal of every team involved, most head coaches know their team’s limitations.

Wheeling Park, a perennial Class 5A power, will enter a young squad that features only one senior — Isaac Sands (165) — but head coach Danny Doyle thinks the Patriots can make some noise, starting Thursday and continuing through Saturday afternoons’ championship finals at WesBanco Arena.

“We are a very young team this year. We have had an extremely difficult schedule to begin the year, so we are all battle-tested,” Doyle said. “I expect these guys to go out there and fight all weekend. Don’t be surprised to see Wheeling Park creeping up near the top 5 on Saturday night.”

Sands, who finished second to Barnesville’s Ayden King (2-0) in last year’s event, will carry a superb 22-2 mark into the weekend. He won the North Canton Hoover Tournament earlier this season and also placed third in the W.Va. Class AAA state meet.

Juniors are Jake Carman (150), Nate Hodge (157) and Quentin Scott (190). Carman is currently 17-7 while Scott is 6-11.

Hodge, 20-4, was fourth in last year’s OVAC Ron Mauck event and lost in the blood round at the W.Va. Class AAA state meet.

There are a trio of sophomores in the starting lineup, led by Bodie Cox (113). Although he is just 6-8 this season, he dropped matches in the blood round at both the OVAC Ron Mauck and W.Va. Class AAA events.

Gabe Alig (120) and Chase Smith (138) are the other 10th-graders. They are 3-14 and 2-2, respectively.

Six freshmen have earned their way into the starting lineup. They are Hunter Flanegin (106), Maxximus Taylor (126), DJ Neal (132), Donovan Dunkin (144), Ashtin Long (215) and Brayden Gilbert (285).

Flanegin is the most decorated of the group. He is 17-7 and placed seventh at North Canton Hoover. He was a 2025 Middle School state champion.

Taylor is 17-5; Neal 10-9; Dunkin 6-14; Long 5-17 and Gilbert 4-18.