Standing in back, from left to right, are Jesus Quintero, Jordan Huse, Trevor Oppedal, Jared Armon, coach Tim Blagg and coach Randy Wirtjes. In the middle, from left to right, are coach Dan Pfaffinger, Cole Klinkner, Akeira Morrow, Zach Buseman, Wyatt Tungland, Rylee McGuire, Roger Ziegler and Dominic Whitlow. Kneeling in front, left to right, are Davis Sunken, Max Ehrich, Koby Nagel, Caden Ochsendorf, Joe Schavey, Jaxen Klinkner, Dalton Nagel and Hunter Bleess. Not pictured: Jonah Legred and coach Dan Eckhardt.

Depth. Lots of depth at every weight.

That is what Blue Earth Area head wrestling coach Randy Wirtjes says he has on this year’s team.

“We have a lot of guys out, and this will give us plenty of flexibility in our lineup,” Wirtjes says. “We have some great balance on the team.”

The Bucs are young in the lower weights, experienced in the middle and upper weights, and tough throughout the lineup, the coach says.

“We have six or seven Section Tournament place winners back this season,” he says. “And three State Tournament qualifiers Jared Armon, Zach Buseman and Cole Klinkner. All three of them had 30-plus wins last year.”

Here is a look at what the Buc mentor has to work with at each weight class.

At 106 pounds, ninth-grader Davis Sunken has the nod, but he will have fellow ninth-graders Jacob Beeler and Caleb Beeler also vying for the spot, along with eighth-grader Ty Peterson.

Eighth-grader Max Ehrich is the 113-pounder, with fellow eighth-grader Manning Lane backing him up.

Ninth-grader Koby Nagel gets the 120 pound spot, but eighth-graders Riley Anderson and Cole Warmka also are in that weight class, too.

At 126 pounds, Caden Ochsendorf, a ninth-grader, will start, with ninth-grader Jack Frundt and eighth-grader Nick Frank behind him. Ochsendorf was 24-9 last year.

Junior Joe Schavey will be the 132 pound wrestler for the Bucs, with ninth-grader Jaxen Klinkner also vying for the spot. Schavey’s 2015 record was 24-18.

At 138 pounds, junior Dalton Nagel is getting the nod, and sophomore Hunter Bleess and junior Jonah Legred both are in contention as well. Nagel was 27-13 last season.

Senior Cole Klinkner is the returning 145 pounder, with sophomore Akeira Morrow also at that weight. Klinkner was 31-10 last year, 60-27 in his career.

It’s junior Zach Buseman starting at 152 pounds, backed up by Logan Johnson, an eighth-grader.

Buseman had a 32-11 record in 2015 and is 102-54 in his career.

Juniors Wyatt Tungland and Rylee McGuire are both at 160 pounds, with eighth grader Luke Mertens at backup. Tungland gets the starting nod.

At 170 pounds, senior Roger Ziegler will start, with sophomore Dominic Whitlow also in contention.

Senior Jesus Quintero is the sole Buccaneer listed at 182 pounds. He had a 25-16 record last year.

At 195 pounds, junior Jordan Huse will start, backed up by sophomore Isaac Martiniez.

Senior Jared Armon has the 220-pound weight spot wrapped up, but eighth-graders Stendsay Weringa and Ian Cornelio are the backups.

Armon was 33-10 last season and 75-49 in his high school career.

Junior Trevor Oppedal returns to anchor the team at 285 pounds, backed up by sophomore Damian Cornelio.

Many of the second and third wrestlers listed at each weight class will be on the junior varsity team. They join with seventh-graders Kale Frank, Gabe Haugh, Kean Hicks, Vern Johnson, Nick Lawrence and Adam Schavey.

“We have a solid JV team this year, too,” coach Wirtjes says. “Good depth on there, also.”

What this year’s team needs is for some of the younger guys, mainly in the lower weights, to step up and take the challenge, the coach adds.

“Even though they are young, some of them have some good experience,” Wirtjes explains. “Many of them went to wrestling camp at Wartburg College last summer and did well.”

Of course, in wrestling, the other key ingredient to a good season is “staying healthy,” which means limiting injuries.

“If we can stay healthy, I look for us to have a very good year,” the coach says. “We have some capable wrestlers at every weight., and we hope to be right in it at every match.”

The Bucs start out the season on Friday, Dec. 2, when they host the Rebels from cross-county rival United South Central. Then the next day, Saturday, Dec. 3, the Bucs will be in their own Dick Maher Invitational Tournament.

“Our guys will probably get three, four matches each there,” Wirtjes says. “That will give us a good test, with teams like Brainerd and Fairmont there.”

The Bucs will be facing some stiff competition during the season, from Big South Conference foes such as Fairmont/MCW, New Ulm, St. Peter and Waseca.

“It will be a battle for the BSC Eastern Division championship,” Wirtjes says. “But, we hope to be right there in it.”

Last season the Bucs took the Eastern Division with a perfect 5-0 record in the conference. They were 20-9 overall.

There will be some tough teams in the Section Tournament again this year, with Kenyon-Wanamingo, Le Sueur-Henderson, Maple River, USC and Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial in the mix.

And, of course, the BEA Buccaneers will be in contention there as well.

“We have a great bunch of kids this year,” Wirtjes says. “They have matured, both physically and mentally, and they are really stepping up. I am really looking forward to this year.”