SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — A lot goes into starting a college wrestling program from scratch.
You need to hire coaches. You need a schedule. You need a place to practice and mats and equipment to use. You need to handle dozens of other logistical issues just to get the program off the ground.
And you need wrestlers.
Heading into the 2015-16 season, the local Lions have two: former Pine Grove standout Ty Lehman (184) and Aldo Guisse (285), of Wall, New Jersey.
“They work hard,’’ head coach Brett Matukewicz said. “I’m optimistic we can do well.’’
PSU-Schuylkill competed in its first-ever event Saturday when Lehman wrestled at the Eastern Michigan Open. He went 0-2, losing by fall in the first round and by major decision in the consolations.
Lehman went 34-8 and qualified for regionals as a high school senior in 2011-12. The senior criminal justice major had been focusing only on his degree before getting back on the mat for the Lions.
“I wrestled in elementary, middle school and high school,’’ Lehman said as he traveled to Eastern Michigan. “I got away from the sport and I missed it. ... It feels great to wrestle again.’’
With limited numbers, the Lions’ competitions mainly will be tournaments this season, such as the Wilkes Open on Dec. 28 and the Shorty Hitchcock Open on Jan. 16 at Millersville University.
To prepare for the season, the team has had many morning practices, usually from 7:30-9 a.m., and recently had an evening workout that began at 9 p.m. in the PSU-Schuylkill gym.
The fourth member of the program is assistant coach Wes Tillett. A familiar name to area wrestling fans, Tillett was a PIAA Class AA runner-up at 285 pounds for Shamokin in 2011, wrestled at Bloomsburg University for two years and plans to graduate from Kutztown University in December.
Matukewicz is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, where he majored in sports management and communications.
He spent two years as an assistant coach at Pottsville Area High School and was an assistant coach with the Tide Mat Club. He’s coached at the Cadet, Junior and University Freestyle Nationals.
“It is going to be an exciting journey to coach in the best wrestling state in the country,” he said in a PSU-Schuylkill release on its website.
Not every school in the Penn State University Athletic Conference offers varsity wrestling. Some of the others include Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny and New Kensington. The closest geographically is Mont Alto, which is about 10 miles from Chambersburg.
“We’re trying to get the word out there so that people actually know there’s wrestling at Penn State Schuylkill,’’ Matukewicz said.
Both coaches have been networking with high school coaches and administrators across the area to let them know of another opportunity for their wrestlers.
With the Schuylkill League, the Lehigh Valley schools, the Berks League and sections of Districts 4 and 2 bordering the county, opportunities exist to build the program.
“We’ve been hitting the recruiting process since we were hired in March,’’ Matukewicz said. “We want to try to keep local kids here. They can wrestle at home in front of their friends and family and get a good education at Penn State.
“We’re working hard to try to get more numbers,’’ he added. “We want to make good people and good students to set them up to get a good job in life.’’