In his 28 years as head of the ConVal wrestling program, Brian Whittemore has had it all — great wrestlers, good teams, as well as his share of down seasons.

In recent years, despite a group of solid wrestlers, Whittemore has not had the numbers needed to compete in a tough Division II.

There have been many forfeits on the ConVal side over the last couple seasons, making it very hard to win matches and place high at the state meet.

“It was tough because we’ve always had a strong core of wrestlers,” said senior AJ Corliss.

Now, ConVal has the numbers, too.

For the first time in quite a while, Whittemore has enough wrestlers to fill each weight class, and a few to spare.

“It’s really nice because you don’t have to worry about pinning guys just to be able to win the meet,” said junior Chad Brouillet.

It is only the second time in his almost three decades on the job where that was the case and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I haven’t been in this place,” Whittemore said. “Right now it feels pretty good. To finally get to this point it feels kind of fulfilling.”

Not only can the Cougars trot out an athlete in each division, but also a number of them are very experienced, with a decent chance of placing at the Division II state meet on Feb. 20 at Bedford High School.

“In year’s past, it’s been more about the individuals,” said senior Jake Essex. “But this year, we actually know we have a chance.”

After a four-team meet at St. Thomas on Saturday with the Saints, Campbell and White Mountains, the Cougars, who swept all three, stand at 11-1 in dual meets, the lone loss coming by three points to Hollis/Brookline on Dec. 29.

“I figured we were going to have a good year, but I didn’t think we’d have only one loss at this point,” said Whittemore.

ConVal began the week with a 5-1 record and then defeated Campbell, 72-12, Franklin, 63-12, and Winnisquam, 72-6, in the first dual home meet of the season on Wednesday.

“As it’s progressed, having a full team, we’re pretty solid,” Whittemore said. “It’s hard for any team to beat us.”

From the 130-pound weight class up to 189, Whittemore has his most solid group in recent history, and the other weight classes also have the ability to do quite well.

“Basically, from 130 to 189, we have potential place winners,” said Whittemore. “I feel pretty confident about the stability of the team.”

With the one loss to the Cavaliers, the Cougars won’t bring home the trophy for the best record in dual meets, which will probably go to Plymouth, who has yet to lose.

Having competed in four rather large tournaments, as well as the dual meets, ConVal has run the gauntlet of competition.

“There’s a lot of good wrestlers at all of the weight classes,” Essex said. “There’s more experience at every weight class and depth.”

The first big one was the Early Bird on Dec. 12, the yearly ConVal tournament that brings teams in from all over the state and beyond, and the Cougars earned third overall.

The following weekend, ConVal traveled to the Milford tournament and brought home a second-place finish.

To start 2010, the Cougars competed in Keene and again finished runner-up. And most recently on Jan. 16, ConVal finished fourth at a very competitive Pelham tournament and was the top New Hampshire school on the day.

But the big one that Whittemore is now looking toward is this Saturday in Colchester, Vt. With a number of highly competitive teams entering the tournament, Whittemore feels like it will be a good test for his team, a measuring stick so to speak.

As the states rapidly approach, Whittemore wants as much competition for his team to have them as prepared as possible.

“Working hard in practice is all you can do,” said Corliss, who has won by forfeit five times in the last two dual meets.

Starting with Wednesday’s home meet with Milford, the Cougars have six more regular season meets scheduled and then it is off to the states, where Whittemore and the team have high hopes.

“I figured we’d be contenders, but I didn’t think we’d do this well,” Brouillet said. “If everyone wrestles the way they can, we should come out on top.”

The best finish ever in a state meet for ConVal is fourth, yet Whittemore and the collective group feels to match that would be an underachievement.