As the wrestlers come back for another season, many are hopeful for what seems a promising season led by a new coach, Edward Pendoski. For eight years, he has coached at CIA Wrestling Academy, which, according to Ben Krege, varsity wrestler and junior, produced half of the State finalists last year.

According to Krege, in recent years, the wrestling team has not competed well against the other high school wrestling teams. Since 2005, the wrestling team has not produced an individual State champion, and the wrestling team has never won State as a team.

“Last year we got sixth place in the MIC (Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference), so we have not been doing well,” Krege said. “I think sixth is the worst we’ve done in a while. And that’s MIC, not State. There’s a lot of more high schools in State than in MIC.”

As the new wrestling coach, Pendoski intends to change how the wrestlers view their training.

“Our most important goal for the team this year is to develop a culture of athletes (who enjoy) training. A perfect example of that is our girl’s cross-country team that won the IHSAA State Tourney last week,” Pendoski said via email. “They won their third in a row because there is a culture that enjoys training. We hope to develop a culture of wrestlers (who) enjoy training for our sport.”

Pendoski said he also wishes to alter the way the team competes and looks forward to a larger student audience at the wrestling matches. “Right now we’re working on training to wrestle at fast pace. We believe the pace that we want to compete will make it difficult for our opponents. The pace we wrestle also makes our sport enjoyable to watch, which is also important to us.”

However, Pendoski said he will leave some aspects of the team untouched.

“I’m not sure our staff is doing much different than we’ve done in the past,” Pendoski said. “We will evaluate the athletes in the room and find the most productive way for each individual to put pressure on their opponents.”

His goal for the team is to compete well. To do this, Pendoski has hired coaches Andy Simon and Tyrone Dixson to compliment the team’s current staff.

“We really like our staff and their ability to coach the returning guys and the addition of new guys in the room that are coming back to our sport,” Pendoski said.

Pendoski has plans for the team members and coaches to “surround themselves with quality people doing quality things together.”

“We’re excited about our wrestling family at CHS (to) do things together and become a presence in the community,” Pendoski said. “Doing things as a group and being part of a program is the direction I wanted to go in life.”

Pendoski said one example of this was when a group of 25 wrestlers went to a volleyball game and did 20 push-ups in the bleachers every time Carly Skjodt spiked the ball.

The wrestlers have also set personal goals for themselves. Krege’s goal is to make it to the State tournament or to be in the top sixteen wrestlers. In order to accomplish this, he said he will “train hard, drill hard, and practice moves a billion times.”

According to Pendoski, although he has had the luxury of training some of the best wrestlers in the nation at CIA Wrestling Academy, he is excited to coach this school’s wrestling team.

“We (coaches at CIA Wrestling Academy) were training ‘other people’s wrestlers’,” Pendoski said. “Coaching at Carmel gets me back into a ‘family’ setting. Carmel High School is the best place to coach…maybe the best in America.”