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 | | December 2008 recap | Fourth edition |   |
| | Welcome new Blue’s Wrestlers |  | | | The Blues welcome eight new wrestlers to the program this winter. Half of these young men have previous wrestling experience, while the others have come in determined to learn the sport and become immediate contributors to the team.
James Stormer ’12 had to be talked into the sport this year, but has not hesitated since. He is a voracious athlete, soaking up everything the coaches can share with him. James looks to be the starting 103 lbs. wrestler this season.
Garvan Chan ’12 is another young wrestler who is excited to learn the sport. Garvan currently is wrestling at the 112 lbs. weight class. He and James make excellent practice partners and both hope to have a strong first season in Hill’s program.
Jeremiah “Jack” Sullivan ’11 comes to us from Salanco High School in Lancaster, Pa. Jack earned the varsity 119 lbs. spot quickly this year, but may wrestle at 125 lbs. sometime during the season. Jack earned the "Most Improved Wrestler" award from his school last year. He also spends time working out in Franklin and Marshall College’s wrestling room during breaks.
Colin Saunders ’12 is the second generation in his family to compete for Coach Tom Hutchinson. Colin’s father and uncle both wrestled for Tom at Blair Academy. Colin had an excellent eighth grade year winning more than 80 matches during the year. He also was a Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Association (MAWA) champion. This success allowed him to compete for Pennsylvania’s Junior Olympic team in Michigan this past summer; Colin went 10-2 at this event including a win over a Michigan state champion. Colin currently is competing at 125 lbs., but may drop to 119 lbs.
Felix Kim ’12 is a 140 lbs. wrestler who is new to the sport and has gotten off to an excellent start. He is willing to learn and works hard to master the techniques he is taught. While Felix will start the season at the JV level, we are hopeful that he will be pushing our varsity athletes as the year continues.
Nate Mueller ’12 has been wrestling for several years at the middle school level. Last year he won the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling Championship, beating the other middle school wrestlers in his weight class. Nate looks to have earned the varsity spot at 145 lbs. and we are excited about his potential.
Nick McCall ’11 has wrestled for the past three years at Eaglebrook School in Massachusetts. Nick won more than 80 percent of his matches last year, but has grown significantly and is competing in the 189 lbs. weight class. Once Nick adjusts to the size of his opponents he should have a successful season. We are excited to have him in the program.
Jak Landis-Hutchinson ’11 played basketball last season, but has decided to test himself in the wrestling room this winter. Jak’s size and strength should be a great benefit to him in the 215 lbs weight class. Jak has gotten off to a strong start, and we are excited about his potential. | |
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| | Team finds mixed results at opening tournament | | | | The Blues traveled to West Chester East High School for their first competition of the year. The team met with mixed results at this competition. Some wrestlers found that they have not gotten themselves into the necessary physical shape, while others discovered that they need to improve their technique. Regardless, the competition was necessary and the team did win several matches.
Colin Saunders '12 (125), Steele Phillips '10 (130), and Jay Knighton '10 (285) all made it to the finals. Unfortunately none were able to win their finals match. Captains Phillips and Knighton both pinned their way into the finals, but ran into far tougher competition in that third match of the day. Steele kept the match close, but after falling behind early got caught attempting a couple of high risk moves and ended up losing by major decision. Jay battled with Malvern’s heavyweight. The two showed early season rust; neither executing a takedown through regulation. Jay attempted a high crotch late in overtime, but was sprawled on and lost as his opponent spun behind him. Colin had a great second match, where he battled from behind to beat the top seed in his weight class. Colin fell behind 4-0 in that match before storming back to win 7-4. However, he was unable to defend the #2 seeds shot in the finals match. Colin eventually lost to the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Also winning matches and placing were: Kyle Place '09 (215) went 3-2 on the day to earn fifth place; Karl Wiszumerski '11 (135) third place; and Bob Dougherty '11 (160) fourth place.
On a sad note, the Blues lost Nate Mueller '12 (145) to an ankle injury in his first bout. Nate was leading 4-0 when he re-aggravated a previous injury and ended up losing 6-4 in overtime. Nate started the bout strong, and showed great promise. We are hopeful that he will be able to return at some point in January. | |
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| Wrestling alumni return to campus | | | | Bevan Alvey ‘66 returned to Hill this fall so his son, Eugene, could interview and tour his father’s alma mater. Meeting Bevan at the school was former teammate and Princeton University captain Clay McEldowney ’65. While Eugene spent the weekend with third formers, Colin Saunders and Nate Mueller, Bevan and Clay reminisced about old times. The two also spoke with the coaches about how to continue to support the current program. Anyone interested in working with them should contact them through e-mail at bevanalvey@hotmail.com (Bevan), hcmce@alumni.princeton.edu (Clay), or on Facebook. | |
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