Welcome to the Cincinnati Elder Wrestling Web Page. Since 1963, Elder athletes have competed in interscholastic wrestling, and this Web site is dedicated to those young men who have proudly worn the Purple and White and brought distinction to themselves and their school by their effort and sportsmanship.

Wrestling has come a long way since Coach Bob Konkoly started a program for grapplers in 1963. After a short season of intramural wrestling, the team entered interscholastic competition by challenging one of the area's best, Xenia Beavercreek, in its intital mat test. The Beavers shut out the Panthers by a 55-0 score. That year Konkoly's charges won one match, a 28-17 win over Moeller. Coach Tom Hessling took over the challenge, then John Forrester, then Joe Menkhaus. All led Elder to success on the mat. Under Forrester in 1965, the Panther matmen were co-champs of the GCL and runners-up in the district meet. In 1966 Coach Hessling led the squad to the GCL championship and the runner-up spot in district competition. Then again in 1967, Coach Menkhaus' charges were GCL champs and district runners-up. Elder's first district wrestling champions came in 1965 when John Schultz won in the 138-pound class and Dan Sellet in the 145-pound class. Ed Fisher won top district honors in the 133-pound class in 1966, while Larry Hemsath was the 1967 champion of the 112 pounders. Menkhaus, who coached the team until 1970, was followed as head coach by Bob Richter (1971-77), Dave Dabbelt (1978-82) and Dick McCoy (1983-present). Under Coach McCoy, the Panthers have won 7 GCL Championships, and 9 District Championships. The 2003-04 team set school records for the most state qualifiers with six (Pat Hirth, Frank Gorrasi, Elliott Spence, Rob Nusekabel, Nick Klaserner, and Tony Stegeman) and the most state placers with three, as Spence and Nusekabel finished 6th in the state tournament, and Stegeman finished 5th. The 2005-06 team sent five wrestlers to state: Tommy Pretty, Justin McCoy, Steve Grzebyk, Curt DeJaco, and Sean Jameson. McCoy placed eighth in the State, while Sean Jameson finished second, when he was forced to default in the championship match with an elbow injury. Jameson was also named the Enquirer's Wrestler of the Year. The 2006-07 team sent four wrestlers to state, with Tommy Pretty and Orlando Scales both placing third. The 2007-08 team set a new school record by sending 8 wrestlers to state, with Tommy Pretty and Orlando Scales both winning state titles, leading the team to a school-best 4th-place state finish. Scales also set new school records with 48 wins in the season, and 34 wins by pin. The 2010-11 team sent five wrestlers to state, and for the first time all five placed:  Tyler Hardtke placed 5th at 152 lbs., Rahkim Johnson placed 5th at 215 lbs., Nick Nusekabel placed third at 285 lbs., and both Ian Korb (171 lbs.) and Kevin Hyland (189 lbs.) were state runners-up.  The team tied the school record, finishing fourth overall. Rahkim Johnson returned to state in 2012, and placed 2nd at 220 lbs.  Tyler Hardtke also returned to the state tournament, but was injured in an early round match and failed to place. Coach Dick McCoy retired following the 2012-13 season after 30 years of dedicated service. Jason Roush took over the program, and continued the program's success. In 2018, Elder placed four wrestlers in the state tournament: Willie Doepker (8th), Alec Moore-Nash (6th), Austin Murphy (2nd), and Antonio McCloud, who won the state championship in the 220-lb weight class.