Past Cascade conference champs, the Cedarcrest High grapplers are back in 2010 with some big wrestling boots to fill.

But coach Eric Pedeferri, in his eighth season helming the Red Wolves program, has a group of veterans with state experience to push on to victory.

Cedarcrest is 5-0 as Cascade Conference champs. Minus one second place showing, the team has been first in the league throughout Pedeferri’s carerr.

Top returners are Cody Paxman, a 152-pound junior who took eighth at state last winter; Carlos Telodano, a sophomore league champion and state alternate; sophomore state alternates Nick Decker and Curtis Chittenden; and Robby MacNair, a 285-pound league champ and state alternate. Seniors include Gibson Lisk and Ben Coomer.

“We are down on numbers, but if we stay healthy all season, we will be right at top of the league again,” Pedeferri said. “This year, we are quality over quantity.”

To this coach and team, sportsmanship is the top priority.

“We try and look at wrestling like the game of life,” Pedeferri said. “We learn a lot about ourselves when we work extremely hard, go through adversity together, and have fun. When we work hard, have fun, be the best student athlete we can be, the winning takes care of itself.”

This winter, he is pushing the theme of not worrying about anything else but scoring the next point.

Assistant coaches this year are Pedeferri’s longtime friend Darren Deboer, his father Walter Pedeferri, and his brother Aaron Pedeferri, a coach at Tolt. All have helped the head coach in many capacities over the past eight seasons. All are also firefighters with local departments.

“It has been a ton of fun coaching a sport you love with your family and friends,” Pedeferri said.

Past players of note include 215-pounder Evan Scheurs, a 2010 graduate. A team captain, league champ and state alternate, he is now playing football and wrestling at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore.

The team has a link off of the CHS home page, managed by a parent.