LAPEL — Lapel wrestling head coach Jake Stilwell is taking his Bulldog team into Saturday’s sectional with some unknowns and high hopes.

The Elwood sectional plays host to all of the Madison County teams as well as Noblesville, Hamilton Heights, Guerin Catholic and Tipton.

According to Stilwell, in the past few years, that sectional has gotten stronger, and weight-class forfeits are not part of the program.

As a whole, the competition around the state is talented and deep, he said, noting that Pendleton Heights, Noblesville and this year Tipton are teams all stacked with talent.

Even for the Bulldogs, things were different a year ago.

This season, weight classes are full and, even with injuries, others will step in to fill the need.

Four Bulldogs will be missing from the sectional line-up, including Cade Mohr and Brian Rodriguez, who have been strong all season.

“A year ago, that would have been a problem. Now we have backup,” Stilwell said.

He said it’s a huge step in the right direction for the future of the program.

“I’m excited to see our competition and how we wrestle,” Stilwell said. “These kids have a lot of pent- up energy and are ready to go.”

Because of the weather, the Bulldogs had to cancel their invitational and have wrestled only once in the past two weeks. That was a 46-21 win against Daleville on Jan. 17.

But its not unreasonable to expect good things to happen at the sectional because the team, which is young, has talent and depth, he said.

At any given moment, any of them can win or lose.

He’s hoping four to five wrestlers can move on to the Feb. 2 regional at Pendleton Heights.

“We have some very talented kids who could make it to the regional. Anything can happen,” Stilwell said.

The Elwood sectional begins at 9 a.m.