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<p>HANOVER TWP. &#8212; The most popular high school sports in the Wyoming Valley Conference have preseason meetings with athletes, coaches and media to discuss the upcoming seasons.</p><p>One of the sports that didn&#8217;t do anything like that previously was wrestling.</p><p>On Saturday at Hanover Area High School, the WVC wrestling coaches held its inaugural Media Day with 12 of 13 the teams in the conference represented by coaches or wrestlers, and MyHouse Sports Gear on hand delivering goods to the athletes in attendance.</p><p>&#8220;Once I emailed the coaches, I instantly got replies from everyone being on board to make this happen because we want to help grow the sport and get recognition for the sport,&#8221; Hanover Area coach Mike Griffith said.</p><p>The coaches have a meeting at the end of October to go over rules, but with an event like Saturday they now get a chance to see what every team in league will look like.</p><p>&#8220;It makes it more communal,&#8221; Griffith said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s really beneficial for us because all of the Wyoming Valley Conference coaches, we all get along and we have a good time with each other. So being able to sit down and look at rosters is just awesome. This is really going to help build the sport.&#8221;</p><p>Having a preseason meet and greet consisting of wrestlers, coaches and the media is something that benefits everyone, Berwick coach Ron Swingle said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s good for us the coaches. It&#8217;s good for the kids. I think all the way around it&#8217;s a good deal,&#8221; he said.</p><p>For the wrestlers, it gives them a chance to mingle with and make friends at other programs in the conference.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s awesome to be a part of this get-together with the kids that are the best in the district and to see them,&#8221; Tunkhannock senior Tommy Traver said. &#8220;It&#8217;s really nice what they&#8217;re doing here.&#8221;</p><p>With the conference not having any state medalists last season, many wrestlers worked together in the offseason at locations such as Wyoming Valley West, Hanover Area, Meyers or other conference locations. They all agree that not getting a state medal last season is more motivation going forward.</p><p>&#8220;One of my goals last season, obviously I fell short, but I think it&#8217;s helping me,&#8221; said Dallas senior Steven Newell, who recently signed a letter of intent to wrestle at Division I Davidson next year. &#8220;I had a chip on my shoulder.&#8221;</p><p>With MyHouse Sports Gear at the event, new swag for the upcoming season was featured. The company, which specializes in custom wrestling gear, originated in Dunmore and currently operates out of Lackawanna County. The company also sponsors Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s X-Calibur Tournament which will be held later this month at Wilkes University.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s great to see MyHouse here,&#8221; Wyoming Area coach Jason Prokopchak said. &#8220;It&#8217;s great to see them down here. They&#8217;re a hometown company and it&#8217;s always nice to give back to our local companies.&#8221;</p><p>The wrestling season officially starts on Friday and Saturday with 10 of the conference teams in action at individual or dual tournaments. The other squads start on either Dec. 11 or 12 with a dual meet.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Newell </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_newell.jpg</photo0><caption0>Newell </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader Sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLSports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WVC wrestling holds inaugural media day