Submitted photo -- South Range’s Michael Markulin, top, laces an arm bar on Jackson-Milton’s Austin Stanke during a match earlier this season. Markulin is a two-time state qualifier for the Raiders, a team with state title aspirations.

Last year was a breakout season for the South Range High School wrestling team, which qualified for the Division III state team tournament for the first time in school history.

The Raiders won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year, and that’s just fine with coach Levi Hively.

Hively is glad South Range, which also qualified two wrestlers to the individual state tournament, made its presence known across the state, and he said the Raiders are only getting started.

“Goals this year? At least seven, eight people to the individual state (tournament). We’re looking to win the dual tournament. That’s our goal,” Hively said. “We got there last year, we saw what it’s about, and these kids, they want to go in there and win it. That is their goal.

“They want to show they’re the best D-III team in the state.”

The Raiders sure have come a long way.

Just four years ago, when Hively took over as head coach, they had five kids at the varsity level. The junior high team was a different story. Former middle school coach Dave Markulin, now Hively’s assistant, was grooming a vastly talented group. South Range was the Division IV junior high league champions in 2017 and 2018 — finishing second out of all four divisions in 2018. Those wrestlers are now flourishing at the high school level.

Michael Markulin, Dave’s son, is one of the leaders. The junior is already a two-time state qualifier who finished with a 36-6 record last year. He wasn’t able to compete after qualifying because the individual state tournament was canceled just days before it was set to begin. The lanky, 5-foot-9 Markulin is hoping to get that chance this season.

He put on some muscle in the offseason, moving up two weight classes from 120 pounds to 132. He said maintaining the 120-pound weight was tough as a sophomore and moving up would help him keep his strength and energy.

“I definitely worked on that throughout quarantine,” said Michael Markulin of working out and adding some bulk. “I was getting up there in weight. I just tried to stay in the wrestling room as much as I could, just to keep sharp. I really focused on my technique because I knew I wouldn’t be the strongest guy up there this year, so I was going to have to be fresh with my conditioning and my technique.”

He’s only one of several standouts for the Raiders.

Senior Naseem Maali was 37-10 last year and ranked in the state at 138 pounds. Maali, who narrowly missed out on the individual state tournament last season, brings a non-stop, intense style to the mat. His in-your-face way of wrestling is a good model for other wrestlers to follow, Hively said.

“Naseem is that guy who will not stop,” he said. “He’s just relentless from the first whistle to the last whistle. You will not get a break wrestling him. He’s just go, go, go — always attacking and just going. That’s just how he wrestles.”

He’s helping mold a junior class that is loaded with talent.

Junior Logan Cormell, who finished 30-8 last year and was three points shy of a state appearance at 152 pounds, is another top returner. His tenacity and aggressive style make him a force in the middle of the Raiders’ lineup. Jacob Starkey, 36-14 last season, also came up one victory short of reaching the state tournament at 145 pounds. He’s another elite wrestler for South Range.

The Raiders possess one of the best D-III middleweight groups in the state. Sophomores like Hunter Newell (106) and Jacob Richardson (138), a pair of up-and-comers for South Range, help make for an ultra-competitive practice room — where teammates make each other better by battling back and forth.

That’s part of what makes the Raiders feel like they’re a legitimate state title contender.

“It’s a great problem to have,” said Hively of having so many high-level wrestlers around the same weight classes. “… When we’re in that room, they know it’s no-nonsense. We’re wrestling, and this is a full match when you’re going with your partner. This isn’t like we’re just hanging around and hitting moves. No. You’re wrestling.”

That mindset is a peculiar one for South Range.

A team that Markulin said was built on “staying together” has to wrestle physical and aggressively, which could test the Raiders’ unity. Yet they understand they’re friends outside the practice room and competitors inside it.

“I definitely do,” said Markulin of whether he thinks the Raiders have state-championship potential. “We just need to keep working hard and staying together as a team. That’s what separates us from other teams is that we’re so close.

“We know each other so well that it just all works together. We all want the best for each other, and we all just push each other to be the best we can be.”