The long 2015-2016 wrestling season is approaching the postseason tournaments such as the NCAA Super Region I Championships, which will be held at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania on Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27.

The competitors will come from all over the region, but one team in particular is expecting to make some heads turn.

The Shippensburg University Red Raiders prepare for their seventh postseason under the reign of long-time Raider coach Seth Bloomquist.

“We’re not going to do anything that stresses their bodies right now,” coach Bloomquist said about how his young team will be preparing for the postseason.

“You always want to take guys to nationals,” Bloomquist said. “Given that the top 4 go [to nationals], there are some guys who will have to step up because in order to go…we’re going to have to beat wrestlers that they may have lost to earlier in the year.”

Understanding these facts, Coach Bloomquist has a firm grasp on what his wrestlers need to do to prepare for and to be successful in the most important part of the season.

“We’re a young team,” Bloomquist said while reminiscing about the earlier segments of another impressive campaign. “Our upperclassmen became leaders, helped push this team along in the right direction, competed against some of the top wrestlers in the country, all while being ranked in the region.”

The Raiders answered a lot of questions about their young roster with a stunning season that proved the team would be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

With a tough schedule featuring Division I powerhouses such as Lock Haven University and Purdue University along with being in one of the most competitive regions in the country, SU’s 10-8 record speaks volumes to the team’s impeccable season.

Last year’s team, with four national qualifiers on the roster, will hopefully repeat itself as the squad embodies young, talented wrestlers that have shown up big for the team all year long.

The Raiders, plagued with injuries for the better half of the season, look to stay healthy, as some of the team’s spotlight wrestlers will be out of postseason action due to injury.

SU will be sending freshman 125-pounder David Reagan to his postseason premiere along with veteran 133-pounder Dante Steffenino, who looks to take what is his.

“You have to expect to win, you have to go out there and expect to win. My expectations are always going to be the highest. No one’s expectations can beat mine,” Steffenino said with passion in his eyes.

Steffenino’s season began with a rough start, beginning the year with four losses and an ankle injury against Elizabethtown College. Steffenino did not let his season slip through his fingers, though, as he returned to action and took 3rd at the PSAC Championships while also posting an impressive 11-6 record.

Alongside Steffenino and Reagan, junior Karl Lightner will be representing the team at the 141-pound weight class, with sophomore Cody Blankenship weighing in at 149-pounds. Freshman Adam Martz will travel with the team as the 157-pounder, senior Mark Lentz as the 165-pounder, red-shirt freshman Shane Springer as the 174-pounder, sophomore Hunter Fenk as the 174-pounder, sophomore Evan Ramos as the 197-pounder and sophomore Derek Earnest as the 285-pounder.

The Raiders begin their road to nationals at 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26 and continue through the night of Saturday, Feb. 27.

Senior Mark Lentz will be the lone senior of the team and will be traveling to his final postseason at 165-pounds.

As the No. 9 seed, Lentz is ranked in the middle of the pack and will try to take home the gold before he hangs up his singlet and calls it a career.

“I’ve been looking at who I have [to wrestle] in the tournament…and my expectations are to make it to nationals,” said Lentz.

“We trained hard this year as a team…I’m excited, but it’s coming to an end.”

As Lentz prepares for the finale and foresees his departure, he hopes to make one final splash in the NCAA.

Lentz has posted a career record of 23-48, 4-11 in 2015-2016, 8-12 in 2014-2015, 7-19 in 2013-2014 and 4-6 in 2012-2013, according to shipraiders.com. He encompasses what it means to be a Raider as one of the few upperclassmen on the roster and he exemplifies what it is to be a leader on the team.

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