SPRINGFIELD — There were programs in the area that perhaps experienced more postseason success than did Northwestern’s Warriors.

But there are none that can claim the kind of resurrection that first-year coach Harry Husted and his staff led the youthful Warriors to.

This time last year, Northwestern only had two wrestlers on the team. This season, with nary a senior on the roster, the young Warriors made their mark, winning the season-opening Northeastern Duals and the first Clark County Clash.

They did it with a roster that had no seniors, three returning lettermen and eight freshmen. For the remarkable progress the program made, Husted has been named the 2011-12 News-Sun All-Area Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Until late October, Husted and his staff were at West Liberty-Salem preparing for their second season with the Tigers. But according to Husted, a decision to cut a coach from his loyal staff led Husted to an open door at Northwestern.

“They had been on me since my wife started teaching there (at Northwestern) to come on and coach,” he said. “It really fit in my long-term plans, too. I can absolutely promise you that I will be around for the long term.”

A win at the season-opening Northeastern Duals served as a launching pad.

“That early success was huge,” he said. “Our hope was to win early and go from there.”

That they did. They gained three more wrestlers with previous experience — one who ended up a sectional champ — and went on to enjoy more success, including the Clark County Clash title. But he knows his team isn’t “there” yet.

“One of the things we’ve talked about since day one is we’re wrestling to get to the state meet,” he said. “This group made a huge leap.

“We had kids who hadn’t even wrestled at the sectional level,” he said. “But we got five to districts. And three of our kids went 2-2 at Marion, and everyone knows how brutal that district was.

“Hopefully with five getting there this year, it won’t be a shock to be there next year. I want us to treat that district tournament as a stepping stone.”

Did they get accomplished what they wanted in the postseason this year? No.

“The postseason was a little of a letdown, but right now, everything is a learning experience,” he said. “We’ll continue to work hard in the off-season. We’ve got a good model in Graham. What do they do that’s successful? Let’s imitate that.”

He’s got plenty of willing imitators. Not only will the entire team be back next season, but talent is on its way from the middle school program, and from the school’s halls.

“At the end of the day, everybody wants to be part of a winning program,” he said. “It was kind of one of those things that has snowballed. Now we have kids who have never wrestled talking about being a part of the program next year.”

A program with a bright future.

“We’re not losing anybody,” he said. “We’ll have some competition in the room next season, and competition breeds success.

“That’s something Northwestern hasn’t had since the early ’90s and late ’80s.”