The wrestling team is having a very successful season. Throughout the year, many wrestlers have grown to become great wrestlers. Some have even placed in and won various tournaments.
Justin Farnsworth ‘27 has been in the round of 12, meaning he progressed very far in the tournament, in two of the country’s top tournaments. Robert Leeds ‘25 won the Jim Thorpe wrestling tournament in the 133 weight class. Luke Sugalski ‘25 took sixth in the Escape the Rock tournament. And Jack Baron ‘26 has won a couple of tournaments, as well.
This level of success isn’t easy to achieve. The athletes must put in a lot of hard work and time to stay committed to their goals.
“There is an expectation that we set as coaches,” Mr. John Staudenmayer, the head wrestling coach, said. “The kids understand that in order to succeed at a high level they need to work hard, and they need to have attention to detail and be willing to make changes.”
Wrestling practices are an hour and forty-five minutes. During the practices, wrestlers break down important wrestling skills, do drills to improve their technique, and wrestle for about thirty minutes.
Coach Staudenmayer tries to make their workouts and practices like those in college. He does this to get students to another level of wrestling and to prepare them if they want to wrestle in college.
“Our success came from hard work inside and outside of the wrestling room,” said captain Robert Leeds ’25. “We have been putting in the extra work and pushing through the challenges along the way.”
18th. Photo courtesy of SmugMug.
Outside of practice, they also have to stay committed. For example, wrestlers must maintain their weight, meaning they have to closely watch what they are eating, drinking and how much weight they are losing. They have to make sure they are on track for the weigh-in on the tournament day.
“Some of the kids will have a workout at nine o’clock at night because they want to be able to eat something before bed,” Coach Staudenmayer said. “It sounds crazy, but the kids are making a commitment to their goals.”
Strength training is another crucial part of an athlete’s success. Many wrestlers do workouts outside of practice to increase their level of strength. Since wrestling is a one-on-one sport, being stronger than one’s opponent is key to winning.
Looking towards the end of the season, Mr. Stuadenmayor wants to have seven people at nationals preps and four All-Americans. He thinks that if they keep this pace up, they can achieve this goal and, as a result, get a top-ten finish and national preps.
“Our goal as a team is to eventually be the best in not only the Rac but the state, country, etc,” Leeds ‘25 said. “We also have the goal of placing at the national prep tournament.”
One of Coach Staudenmayer’s long-term goals is to be a nationally ranked team. He wants the team to be ranked top 20 in the country and be able to compete for national titles.
All in all, the wrestling team is having a great season. The hard work and commitment of the wrestlers is paying off and many of the wrestlers are winning various tournaments. The team aims to get better and better until they are one of the best.