After coming off a second place showing at the 2010 National Collegiate Wrestling Association National Championships and dual championships, the Apprentice School wrestling team returns three NCWA All-Americans and a power packed recruiting class for the 2010-11 season.

A loaded recruiting class could help lead the Builders back to the top of the NCWA as the seven recruits all won over 100 high school bouts and combine for 10 individual state titles.

At 125 pounds, returnee Ty Ford (Norfolk, Va./Granby) will be joined by freshman Stephen Barlow (Richmond, Va./Varina) where he was a district champion. Junior Marcus Chevres (Norfolk, Va./Granby) will hold down the 133 pound spot after his second NCWA All-American honor when he came in second at nationals last year.

Two recruits and a two-time NCWA National Qualifier will look to fill the 141-pound spot vacated by Ty Holley who finished his senior year with a NCWA National Championship. Odis Wesby (Newport News, Va./Menchville), a Virginia Group AAA state placewinner and Jeremy Mowles (Salem, Va./Glenvar), a two-time Virginia Group AA state champion. Mowles is a transfer from Bloomsburg and Wesby is transfer from Campbellsville. Junior Will Sexton (Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) will join the mix at 141 pounds after qualifying for NCWA Nationals in his first two seasons.
Malachi Underwood (Salem, Va./Salem), who was a Group AA regional champion from will be challenging for 149 with sophomore Kyle Spruill (Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette) who was 12-12 as a freshman.

Matt Perry, a three-time All-American, who wrestled almost 200 bouts at the Apprentice School has graduated. His slot at 157 pounds looks to be a battle between junior Ricky Anderson (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) who was 28-7 as a sophomore and a two-time NCWA National Qualifier along with BJ Compton (Christiansburg, Va./Christiansburg). A transfer from Old Dominion, Compton was a four-time Virginia Group AA state champion from Christiansburg HS.
At 165, Bruce Mann (Kannapolis, NC/A.L. Brown), who was a North Carolina High School state champion, will be in the mix for a spot left by graduated All-American Will Harcum. Joining him in that lineup slot will be sophomore Montrell Barbine (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch)and junior Anthony Damico (Sterling, Va./Park View).

Steven Ours(Alexandria, Va./Hayfield), a Virginia Group AAA state champion has transferred after a red-shirt year at Clarion and will be fighting for a spot at 174 pounds with sophomore Malachi Outlaw (Covington, Ga./Alcovy).
At 184, Willie Crawford (Fluvanna, Va./Fluvanna), won a state title at 171 and 189 the past two years in Virginia Group AA. Also in the mix at 184 pounds is another returning All-American in Quinten Bowling (Newport News, Va./Menchville).

At 197, the third returning NCWA All-American in sophomore Stuart Roes (Staunton, Va./Robert E. Lee) will hold down that spot with sophomore Freeman Ward (Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette) and freshman Patrick Love (Soperton, Ga./Treutlen) in the mix. James Lipford (Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette) will hold the 235 pound slot while the sophomore tandem of Kevin Gray (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) and Jeremy Diley (Rappahannock, Va./Rappahannock) manning the heavyweight positions.

The 2010-11 wrestling season kicks off on Halloween weekend as the Builders seek to defend their title at the Electric City Duals hosted by the University of Scranton. Last year, the Builders went 4-0 in the event knocking off American International 22-19 in the championship match. This year they’ll face the hosts along with Morrisville State, Penn State DuBois and University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

November will see the team compete for the first time in the Citadel Open at Charleston, S.C. on November 6. This event will see a host of NCAA Division I and II South regional teams and will be a good proving ground for the Builders. They’ll follow that with a trip to the Ursinus Fall Brawl on November 13 where they’ll face a host of NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic regional powers. The following weekend will be their first taste of National Collegiate Wrestling Association opposition when they’ll participate in the Central Florida Duals and Invitational on November 19-20.

December will be a short month for the Builders as they’ll go back to Pennsylvania for the York Spartan Invitational (December 4), before a pair of NCWA events with a quad match at University of Maryland-Baltimore County (Dec. 11) and a dual at first-year program Lynchburg College on December 18.

January will be a busy month as they’ll start at the annual Virginia Duals on January 7-8 where they’ll face College at Brockport, Johns Hopkins, King College (Tn.), Nassau CC (N.Y.), New York University, St. Andrews and York College (Pa.) in the American Division of the event. The next weekend they’ll participate for the first time in the Washington & Lee Invitational on January 15.

Apprentice School will hit the home mat for the first time the following weekend when they’ll host the Builder Duals (Jan. 21) and Builder Invitational (Jan. 22). The duals will start at 5 pm, while the invitational will kick off at 9 am the next morning. Following that will be the NCWA National Duals in Dalton, Ga. on January 28-29 where they took second place last year.

The month of February starts with the first United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Invitational Duals (Feb. 4) and Tournament (Feb. 5) hosted by Penn State DuBois. Last year’s event was snowed out as Southern Virginia University, Williamson Trade, Penn State New Kensington, Penn College and the hosts will join the Builders in the first USCAA National Invitational weekend.

The team will return home for a pair of dual matches against Washington & Lee University Feb. 12 at 1 pm) and St. Andrews Presbyterian (Feb. 19 at 2 pm) before concluding with the NCWA Mid-Atlantic Conference meet at Southern Virginia University (Feb. 26) and NCWA Nationals (Mar. 10-12) at Macon, Ga.