SLIPPERY ROCK — Wrestling is alive and well in Slippery Rock.

And getting better.

The high school varsity team finished 7-7 in dual meets this season — a so-so record on the surface — but Slippery Rock had to forfeit five weight classes in every meet.

The Rockets entered section tournament competition this weekend with seven wrestlers sporting a combined record of 107-22.

“We’ve got the kids. It’s just that they’re all bunched up in the middle weight classes,” fourth-year SR coach Bob Becker said. “We’re lacking wrestlers in the lighter and heavier weights.

“One of the reasons our guys have done as well as they have is that the other guys are battling them hard in the room every day.”

Slippery Rock’s junior high program is coached by Jeff Becker, the varsity coach’s son and the Rockets’ all-time victory leader with 136 wins. That win total ranks second all-time in Butler County behind Butler’s Cole Baxter.

A knee injury suffered during Becker’s freshman year at Old Dominion University ended his wrestling career, but he remains involved in Slippery Rock wrestling.

“Jeff’s presence has been a tremendous help,” his father said. “He’s someone the guys can look up to. This program is turning the corner.

“We’ll be getting some quality kids up from the junior high program next year to fill in some of those weight classes that were open this year.”

The Rockets’ top wrestlers entering postseason tournament action are 138-pound junior Mike Doerflinger (17-2), 145-pound sophomore Mike Antal (16-3), 152-pound sophomore Nate Henriquez (11-7), 160-pound sophomore Kaleb Kamerer (16-1), 170-pound freshman Vito Pilosi (16-3), 182-pound sophomore Elijah Hilliard (17-3) and 195-pound senior Tristen Borland (14-3).

Borland is the team’s only senior in the starting lineup.

Pilosi’s father, Vito, is the head coach of the Slippery Rock youth wrestling program founded eight years ago by Dr. David Gordley. Pilosi took the reins from Gordley in 2010.

“We have 25 kids in the program this year and we’ve had as many as 45 ... probably average around 30,” Pilosi said. “The problem has been getting kids to stay with youth wrestling.

“There are so many other sports, other options for them to do.”

Slippery Rock joined the Great Lakes Elementary Wrestling League this year and had one youth — 8-year-old Zac Turberville in the 73-pound weight class — win his division at the league championship meet in Edinboro.

“It’s a great league because the tourmaments don’t take up the entire day,” Pilosi said. “They run from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays in January.

“The league has added more structure to our program. We’re hoping more kids stay with it as a result and I think they will.”

The Slippery Rock youths participated in the recent Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling Area VI Futures Tournament and had four wrestlers place. Turberville took second in the 75-pound division there.

Aden Shay in the 7-8 age division at 55 pounds and Riley McGuire in the age 9-10 division at 70 pounds won their respective weight classes. Matt Ripley placed second at age 9-10, 80 pounds.

“I expect our numbers to grow at all levels in the program now” Pilosi said.

Becker agreed.

“Kids have wandered by and asked if they could stick around and check out wrestling practice,” Becker said. “It’s a tough sport and I don’t sugarcoat that to kids, but interest is piquing.

“It’s taken a while here because we haven’t had that pipeline of kids whose fathers wrestled, so they wrestle. The high school program only got started in 1997. We’ve had to generate a first generation of wrestlers.

“That’s happening now and it’s exciting,” he added.