Since being founded in the 1990s, the ELCO boys’ wrestling program has enjoyed a fair amount of success, both during the regular season and the postseason, both on the mat and off. But never before had the Raiders reached the PIAA playoffs as a team.
Not only does that make this 2024-25 campaign historic, it also makes it memorable.
But that’s not all that the ELCO boys’ wrestling team accomplished this winter. In fact, it may not even be the Raiders’ most important achievement.
“Wrestling is not the biggest thing in their worlds,” said ELCO first-year head coach Matt Fittery of his student-athletes. “We talk about being better people and doing the right things. If we do what we need to do, the wins will take care of themselves. Our focus is on working hard. We have core values that we focus on, and we try to live them out in our lives and through the sport of wrestling. At the end of practices, we talk about standards and character. I’m talking to them about that stuff every single day.”
With those pursuits playing out in the background, ELCO went 15-3 in dual meets this winter and 11-1 during the regular season. After demolishing rival Northern Lebanon 53-17 in Myerstown on January 17 and capturing the Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three championship, the Raiders went 4-1 in the District Three Class AAA team tournament, a playoff run that included three tight wins against tough customers.
“The key to success for us was our bonding, just caring about each other as a team,” said Fittery. “They (his wrestlers) had each other’s backs. When you do that, the motivation picks up. It was awesome to see them coming together. But they had great attitudes coming in.
“It was interesting. I really didn’t know the team coming into the season. People told me, ‘You’ve got a good group to work with.’ When I got there, I saw the talent level. There were expectations, but we had to get the guys working together toward a common goal.”
It was their third-place finish in the District Three Class AAA playoffs that qualified the Raiders for the PIAA tournament.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, ELCO dropped a 37-28 decision to Sun Valley, the fourth-place finisher out of District One, in the opening round of states. The Raiders scored six wins – including three falls and a major decision – in that match, which was decided in the last few bouts.
“It really wasn’t a bad match,” said Fittery. “We had a great effort from all the guys. We had a couple of things that didn’t go our way. They (Sun Valley) had the depth. They could move around a little more and I think that helped them in the end.
“It’s just an awesome memory for the kids to have. It was a small school like ELCO competing against big schools. I think these guys set a goal for themselves five years ago to make it to team states. It was just cool to see them get to that goal.”
The leadership of Zane Trostle and Kyle Miller helped create the Raiders’ team chemistry. But ELCO also received invaluable contributions throughout the season from Ashton Kriss, Kane Kline, Cody Landis, David Nelson, Brinley Donmoyer, Klint Miller, Mitchell Frederick, Bain Blouch, Steven Smith, Nolan Stoudt, and Aleri Raihl.
“Kyle and Zane set good examples, and they did it differently,” said Fittery. “The coming together of the team was cool to see. Kyle was more vocal, and Zane set an example with his wrestling style, just the way he encouraged the other kids. But it wasn’t just those two. We had a lot of other kids setting examples, too.”
ELCO will also compete in the District Three Class AAA individual postseason, which gets underway on Saturday, Feb. 15.
“We talk a lot about growth and progress throughout the season,” Fittery said. “We kind of just kept building. Winning the section title and beating Northern Lebanon in the dual meet kept the kids fired up. The bigger goal was qualifying for the state duals. I think that kept them (his student-athletes) building throughout the year.
“When you come together as a team and work hard for each other, I think there’s no limit to what you can accomplish. They made sacrifices for each other, and they believed in what we were doing.”
Before taking over for Ben Moser at ELCO, Fittery was the head wrestling coach at Cocalico for eight years in the 2010s.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I didn’t know the team that well. I honestly feel like I became a better coach when I stepped away because I had time to think and evaluate what I would do differently. I can’t really take much credit for the success. This group was going to be successful no matter who the coach was. My job was to keep them in the right mindset. This is something the kids and their coaches had built for years.”
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