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Men's Wrestling Outlook

Enjoying their finest season in program history, the Magic captured second place in the team standings at the National Junior College Athletic Association Wrestling Tournament, and returned home with three individual national champs and six All-Americans. Aaron Senzee (141/Kearney, Mo.), Deron Winn (184/Liberty, Mo.), and Jamelle Jones (197/Dover, Del.) all finished first in their respective weight classes and were named All-Americans. Other All-Americans were Miles Bolin (125/Fort Zumwalt West), Bobby Conn (157/Marquette), Dirk Hurrin (174/Virginia) and Donald Woods (165/McCluer North).

Matching the that kind of success is a tall order, but the revamped Magic will be up to challenge because of strong recruiting. All three national champs (Senzee, Winn, Jones) return to defend their crowns. All-American Bolin and Woods also return.

T.T. Prayther, a two-time South Carolina state champ at 125 pounds, joins the 2008-09 squad. Colin Pierce, a four-time state champ from Kearney, Mo., will wrestle at 133 pounds. Providing insurance at 133 is Darren Green (McCluer South), a national qualifier for Meramec in 2007, and Ben Canning, a transfer from Marion Military Institute.

Wrestling at 141 pounds is Nick Hoehn, a three-time state medalist from Farmington, Mo. At 149 pounds is Eddie McCray, an impressive transfer from Division I Gardner-Webb University. McCray qualified for the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in St. Louis last spring and pinned his Stanford opponent in the opening round.

Anthony Almanza (Poway High, Calif.) will fill the 157 spot. Almanza took a fourth-place state medal home, but what makes that impressive is that California has only one school classification. Local product Kevin Knopf (McCluer North) enters at 174 following two runner-up finishes in the Missouri championships. Also at 174 is Nick Smith of Collins Hill, Ga.

Charles Toney (Oakville) will wrestle at 184, while Travis Pettingill enters at 197. Pettingill, from Mt. Morris, Mich., is ranked nationally among the top five in his weight class. At heavyweight, Andy Springer, a second-place medalist from Collinsville High School, will be joined by Christian Wintons, a transfer from Neosho College who is a former New York state champion.