By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

The Plainville High School wrestling team enjoyed several positive moments this winter, including winning team titles at Minneapolis and Russell, a second place showing at Herington and a 10th-place finish at the 22-team Beloit tournament on Jan. 20-21. The Cardinals were ranked in the top seven in Class 3-2-1A and have several wrestlers who can compete for a state championship.

However, Plainville also had several negatives. Junior Andy Malin, a state qualifier last season, suffered a knee injury in football and never returned. Junior T.J. Addleman had some football injuries and then needed sinus surgery. When Addleman was released after surgery, he opted to call it a year.

"Don't know if he felt he was too far behind conditioning-wise or what, but he just decided he didn't want to step on the mat this year," coach Corey Dobson said.

Then, junior Harrison Gilliland, also a returning state qualifier who rose to No. 1 at 170 pounds earlier this year, missed the first part of the season because of an injury from football. He returned and then missed the last part of the winter, including the regional, for off-the-mat issues.

"It's been basically a roller-coaster," junior 285-pounder Bradey Chard said. "I have tried to keep my mind out of it and just keep it on wrestling."

Even with the turmoil, Plainville qualified four wrestlers for state and could compete for a top-10 finish. All four - junior 126-pounder Trevor Axelson (30-7), sophomore 152-pounder Dylan Wiesner (30-7), senior 170-pounder Nathan Thyfault (22-11) and Chard (31-4) - have the potential to place. Axelson, Thyfault and Chard are returning state qualifiers and Axelson finished fourth two years ago at 103 pounds.

"I am blessed to get the four," Dobson said. "The four that we got through are very tough kids."

Chard has seen a substantial improvement this season. A starting lineman for the Cardinal football team that produced a seven-win improvement to 10-2 in the fall, Chard is one of many Plainville athletes who have produced big gains in the weight room under football coach/strength coach Joe Simon. Chard expects to reach the finals and earn another shot at Scott City senior Luke Hayes, the defending champion at 215 pounds. Hayes (32-0) pinned Chard in the Lakin regional final last Saturday.

Last year at the regional, Chard tore his meniscus and had to have his knee scoped. At first, Chard couldn't lift and said his desire and work ethic left him "a little bit." This year, that work ethic returned. He joined the elite 1,000-pound weightlifting club, a number that's the combined maxes of clean, squat and bench. Chard can squat 455 pounds, clean 305 and bench 265.

"I started working harder and harder and I just want to be the best of the best," he said.

Chard has improved on the mat, too. He has become quicker on his feet and can take more shots.

"His whole attitude has kind of really changed this year," Dobson said. "I think it was a growth from being a sophomore to a junior. He is more aggressive on the mat and he goes at them instead of waiting for them to take it to him."

Axelson, arguably the Cardinals' strongest pound-for-pound male athlete, is known for his work ethic and strength. This season, he has posted 62 takedowns, part of the Cardinals' 350 takedowns as a team.

"That's one thing that I talked to the kids that we needed to improve on was our feet," Dobson said. "To have a successful team season, we needed approximately 400 to 450. I think we are pretty close, right on track."

The 5-foot-8 Thyfault has put together a solid season despite often being several inches shorter than his opponents. The short, compact Thyfault has plenty of speed and power and the coaching staff has worked with the senior on riding opponents.

"Obviously it differs from opponent to opponent, but he really needs to watch himself since he is so short of getting too high on an opponent," Dobson said. "He needs to stay back into their hips a little bit more and control the wrists and break opponents down to their hips and keep them there. With him being so short, he has got a tendency of getting too high when he is on top and the guy reversing or escaping fairly easily. We have concentrated on staying back."

Wiesner is another bright spot. The 152-pound weight class is annually one of the toughest, most experienced weights. Wiesner is one of three underclassmen (all sophomores) that qualified for state in 152. Throughout the season, Wiesner has competed with Thyfault, a strong sparring partner.

"He really surprised me, but I knew he had it him," Dobson said. "That kid has got just a tremendous work ethic. ... Neither one of them lets each other take a break and that hard work definitely, definitely pays off."