JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley wrestling has been good for a while.

But this good?

The Raiders are off to a 16-1 start in dual matches this season — a loss to Waynesburg at the Cavalier Duals being their lone blemish — and have again established themselves as contenders for the WPIAL team championship.

Seneca Valley wrestled Waynesburg for the WPIAL crown last season, losing a heartbreaking 33-30 decision. The Raiders were WPIAL team runner-up both of the last two years.

Waynesburg handed SV a 42-12 loss in their match earlier this season.

“That wasn't a true representation of what Seneca Valley wrestling is all about,” 120-pound senior Hunter Swedish said.

“We want a rematch with them in the WPIAL finals,” 160-pound senior Antonio Amelio said. “We want to prove we belong and can succeed at that level of competition.”

The Raiders have been proving that for a while this season, even with the campaign's late start:

- Seneca Valley opened the season with a 36-19 win over host Reynolds, snapping that program's 61-match home winning streak.

- The Raiders dominated their own dual match tournament, defeating Mt. Lebanon, Hampton, Quaker Valley, Franklin Regional and Plum by a combined score of 304-36.

- The team defeated traditional wrestling powers Kiski Area (33-28) and Canon-McMillan (45-19) at the Cavalier Duals.

- Seneca Valley pitched a rare wrestling shutout against Moon, 69-0.

- The Raiders placed third in the prestigious 55-team Powerade Tournament at the Monroeville Convention Center, scoring 178.5 points and sending four wrestlers to the championship finals.

“This is the sixth straight year we've gone to the Powerade and it's the best we've ever done there,” SV coach Kevin Wildrick said. “We had seven guys place. I'm very happy with that.”

Wildrick is in his 10th year as Raiders' head coach and said this year's team may be his deepest from top to bottom in the lineup, “though the team we had when these seniors were freshmen was pretty good, too.”

This year's team has four wrestlers — Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (155), Dylan Chappell (144), Amelio (117) and Chanz Shearer (107) — with well over 100 career wins already. Senior heavyweight Sennaca Harvey has 70 career wins and freshman 106-pounder Connor Smith is 15-3 this season.

Swedish has 66 career wins.

“We have very few wrestle-offs in the room because most of our positions are set,” Shearer said. “The ones we do have are hotly contested, usually decided by one or two points.

“When we all face each other in the room, even just practicing, we challenge each other. Everyone in that room wants to get better. Because of that competitiveness, we're all getting better.”

The team has grown tighter with time as well.

“I think our bond is closer than any team in the WPIAL,” Swedish said. “We go to tournaments and every other team's roster is fragmented into groups. Our's is always together.

“We want to be WPIAL champions, for sure, but our goals are also to stay healthy and have fun.”

Amelio agreed.

“A lot of us have been wrestling together since third grade,” he said. “We have a good time together. This is the last year a lot of us will be here, so we are more committed than ever before to win a championship.”

Herrera-Rondon is a two-time WPIAL champion and state champion. Dylan Chappell is a defending WPIAL champion and two-time state runner-up.

“From the day I walked into my first wrestling practice as a freshman, this felt like family,” Herrera-Rondon said.

“My coaches aren't arrogant people. They care about who we are as people, how we conduct ourselves, more than what caliber of wrestlers we are.”

Shearer wants to win a WPIAL and state title this year. He placed fourth at the WPIAL meet last season.

“We could have as many as seven guys get to the WPIAL finals this year ... that would be awesome,” Shearer said.

The Raiders have four seniors — Herrera-Rondon, Chappell, Amelio and Shearer — committed to Division I college wrestling programs next year. Swedish has narrowed his collegiate choices to Gannon, Delaware Valley and Waynesburg.

“We will have seven Seneca Valley graduates wrestling in college next year,” Wildrick said. “It takes a love for the sport and dedication to wrestle in Division II and III at the collegiate level.

“We've had kids in the past with the ability to do that who decided not to. Now our kids are opting to keep wrestling. The work ethic is there.”

Nearly all of the Raider matmen also do club wrestling for OMP in Evans City. Many of them wrestle year-round.

And they don't burn out.

“If I need a break (from wrestling), I'll take it, for sure,” Swedish said. “But I'll still lift, go running, something. I've never felt burned out. I love wrestling.”

“Hard work and dedication pay off,” Amelio said. “I've had so many good friends and good times through Seneca Valley wrestling, but that's the lesson I'll take from this program.

“I'll use it for the rest of my life.”