The days of low numbers appear to be a thing of the past for Seaside wrestling, which had another strong turnout for the 2009-10 season.

After years of going into a season with 15 to 18 wrestlers on the roster, the Gulls have been approaching 30 the past two seasons.

“It’s looking real good,” said Seaside coach Jeff Corliss. “I like the enthusiasm of the team. They’re starting to gel, and with the numbers being up even more from last year, that’s helpful. It gives us an opportunity to do more things. The only downside is that we don’t have a lot of one-on-one coaching like we did before. But at least they’ve all got somebody to work with now in practices.”

Still, Corliss would like to see the weights a little more spread out.

“We have a lot of wrestlers around 140 (pounds),” he said. “They’re all 140.”

Two noticeable absences will be Justin Near (second at 125 pounds in last year’s Cowapa League meet), and senior Alex Swynenburg, who had shoulder surgery Nov. 20 and will be lost for the season.

“Justin always had a great attitude and was always here, even with the kids program,” Corliss said. “He really stepped up every year. And it hurts with Alex being gone too, but I can understand why he’s not here.”

THE LEAGUE

“It sounds like the numbers are up for Scappoose, and they have a lot of returners,” Corliss said. “They’re young, too, so it will be interesting with them.”

The Indians benefitted from a pair of transfers – Trever Gwin from Vernonia and Jesse Oblack from Clatskanie.

“Tillamook lost a lot of kids, but they always seem to regroup,” Corliss added. “They have huge numbers down there. So Scappoose and Tillamook will be the two to knock off, and below that it will be between us, Astoria, Banks and Yamhill-Carlton.”

THE WRESTLERS

Khrys Bahr

Chris Barker

Cody Beatty

Josh Biamont

Jesse Bubar

Calvin Chester

Josh Ferrera

Mike Hart

Brook Johnson

Nick Kaim

Tito Moulin

Jesse Pierson

Josh Potter

Peter Scruggs

Mike Snook

Vinnie Sproul

Max Strozzi

Kelvin Tinoco

Sherman Upchurch

Kevin Walsh

David Weber

Ben Williams

Paul Williams

THE OUTLOOK

The Gulls will have to fight for every point in the district meet, but Corliss said, “I think Snook has a real good shot at 103 (for a state playoff spot). And Barker (135 or 140) has a good shot. Strozzi (140 or 145), then Johnson could make it also.

“Chris and Snook put in a lot of time this summer, so they haven’t lost much from last year, and they’ve picked up a lot. Peter Scruggs will be another wrestler to watch this year.”