After four years of wrestling at Wesleyan, a lot stands out in my mind: the nail-biting victories; the miserable practices Coach Black put us through; and my loss against Johnson and Wales University, when I un-strapped my headgear for the last time. But most of all, I am left with awe, admiration and respect for my three senior teammates who completed this brutal four-year journey by my side. I’d like to use this space to tell you some of the more remarkable feats I have witnessed these “specimens” accomplish.
Although Adam Jonas has a room full of plaques and awards that speak for themselves, there is one particular memory of him that I will always have. On the first day of the New England Championships in 2002, Adam, the number one ranked wrestler in the tournament, suffered a severe injury, tearing his ACL along with other major ligaments in his right knee. This injury ended his season, and after a complicated surgery, Adam was forced to take a year off from the sport. Adam however, would have to ‘weigh in’ on the day after his injury in order for the team to keep the points he had earned in the tournament. Unbeknownst to the team and coaches, Adam found himself a stationary bicycle in the basement of the hotel where we were staying. After pedaling through the night with only one leg, Adam was able to sweat off the necessary four pounds. Adam finished his career as a 3-time Scholar All-American wrestler.
This season, after strategic lineup changes, Dan Case figured that he could best help the team if he competed in the 165-pound weight clas—a weight class he had not wrestled in since our freshman year. Dan went on a rigorous diet supplemented with post-practice workouts to lose the necessary weight. Day in and day out, after 2 or more hours of practice, Dan would quietly eat a granola bar, drink a small sip of Gatorade and set off to the library. Not only did Dan ‘make weight’ for every single match, Dan also led the team with a 3.8 GPA in Neuroscience, helping Wesleyan Wrestling earn the award for highest GPA in the New England conference.
Last but certainly not least, is Kevin Egolf’s match against Williams College during last year’s season. The entire meet was a brawl. The Williams’ wrestler opened the action with an explosive football-style tackle. The tackle broke through Kevin’s defense, exposing his nose as the direct target of the impact. It was obvious from the sound of the collision that Kevin’s nose was broken. The trainer quickly plugged Kevin’s nose to contain the bleeding and tried to help Kevin off the mat. Kevin, refusing to give up, turned around and headed back to the center of the mat. Because of Kevin’s decision not to injury-default out of the match, we were able edge Williams with a 19-18 victory. Kevin went on to earn All-New England honors just a few weeks later.
I am not quite sure of my reasons for writing this wespeak. Perhaps it is to thank the few people that supported us throughout our four seasons here, because wrestling, although the most debilitating of all sports, is accompanied by little to no glory. To me one thing is certain: the tradition of dedication and character that has come to define Wesleyan wrestling, will continue, as wrestlers like Chris Robichaud and Dan Delalla will help mold the incoming classes. In the end, I guess I am writing this simply to tell you about some of the most disciplined and valiant individuals that I have ever met.
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