They’ve trained for two years. And today, Michael Ingram ’15 and Jack Vercelli ’15 decided that they’re going to prove themselves. Match after match, opponent after opponent, both continue to dominate the competition until, eventually, they’re crowned champions of their respective divisions, winning the tournament and taking home two 1st place trophies in JV for Jesuit.
The wrestling team participated in the Arlington Invitational on Saturday, November 16th. Â Taking home two first place wins by Michael Ingram and Jack Vercelli, the JV team performed exceptionally well. Also, everyone on the team won at least one match, so nobody was shut out. Many of the wrestlers were only a match away from placing.
Faced with some of the best wrestlers in the entire country, the varsity team had a tough competition, but they performed admirably nonetheless. Despite extremely tough matches, varsity wrestler Shane Ross ’15 and Nicholas Barker ’14 managed to perform very well. Although faced with the state runner up, Shane Ross ’15 didn’t give up, and according to head coach Ryan Menard, he was able to “give [the state runner up] a really good match.” And Barker, who faced off against the national champion last year, “performed pretty well.” Although they lost, Menard comments that “it was good to see some of the best competition not only in the sate, but in the nation in their respective weight classes” going head to head with the Jesuit wrestlers and seeing that they were able to hold their own.
In such a competitive atmosphere, a lot of pressure is put on the players to perform their best. This can lead to many athletes cutting their weight down to qualify for a weight class where they are at the top by refusing to eat and sometimes even drink for often entire days before weigh ins. The team had weigh ins before the match and was pleased to find that everybody was at or above seven percent body fat, a requirement  to wrestle without wrestling up a weight class. By banning anyone from wrestling at their weight class if they are under seven percent body fat, the athletes competing are discouraged from becoming unnaturally skinny, and they remain at ideal health.
According to Ingram, three year Jesuit wrestler in the 140-152 pound weight class, who started wrestling as a freshman with no prior experience, “wrestling is very difficult because everyone is constantly getting better.” So you have to get better faster than the competition. Also, improving requires “going to practice every day and motivation from coaches and teammates” in order to improve. Backing this up, Matthew Schonberg ’16, who has shown significant improvement since his start last year, notes that he trains “an hour and a half after school and 45 minutes before school everyday.” However, Schonberg also stresses that the most important aspects are technique and physical fitness, noting that in order to improve, “I will keep dropping weight and work on my technique” until he is both in peak condition and can successfully and consistently implement the skills he learns in practice.
Overall, each individual did exceptionally well. Every athlete won at least one match, and many of the JV members took this as an opportunity to shine. Unfortunately, the wrestling team does not have a member in every weight class, and as a result, they were not able to compete in every weight class. However, as a whole, the team did great! Make sure to support your Jesuit wrestlers and wish them good luck in their upcoming meets!
