Beginning a legacy from the bottom up—The new face of
F&M wrestling
By Jonathan Pressman
August 31, 2012
Summer has officially come to a close, and for most of us,
it’s back to reality, back to work. The same can’t be said for the F&M
wrestling team, who’ve been working out all summer, remaining dangerously fit
in preparation for the upcoming season.
The Dips are hungry for victory, and ready to fill the
absences of those who graduated, and ready to compete at the next level. After
an 11th place conference finish last season, the only place for
F&M to go is up, and things are certainly looking promising as Coaches Mike
Rogers and Matt Greenberg welcome nine freshman recruits to the program.
Despite finishing ahead of only two teams in the conference,
(Bucknell and Sacred Heart) the program has been immensely successful, and was
represented as such at last year’s E.I.W.A. Tournament.
Individually, F&M had four wrestlers place in the
tournament, including a seventh-place finish in the 174-pound slot by recent
graduate Matt Fullowan. Colin Ely ’12, Andrew Murano ’14, and Richard Durso ’15
were also among those who placed. In addition to placing 5th in the
E.I.W.A. Tournament, Durso also achieved a remarkable accomplishment, securing
himself a trip to St. Louis for the Division I National Championship. Durso
became the first freshman in the modern history of the program to earn this
accolade.
But that was all last season. This year is a new
season—F&M wrestling is a new program, and coaches and team alike are
looking ahead, planning how this organization is going to go from good to
great.
During the summer, though technically out of season, the
coaches and wrestlers were anything but idle. Some of the team remained here in
Lancaster, training with Coach Greenberg, while a handful of others traveled
with Coach Rogers to the University of Oklahoma, for the Sooner Wrestling Camp.
“We had a training camp up here on campus where a lot of the
young guys came and spent four days here just working out, getting to know each
other and getting a feel for things,” Greenberg said. “With a rigorous school
like F&M, it’s pretty important that some of these guys spend some time up
here so when they did move in at the start of school, they felt a lot more comfortable
with the environment. They were having a lot of things thrown at them, so this
allowed them to really get a grasp for the area, kind of the way we do things
with our program, and the layout of the school.”
In Oklahoma, F&M’s presence was more than evident, as
the Dips held their own with the stiff Division-I competition.
“We brought a bunch of our guys out there to train with the
Oklahoma guys which was a huge step for our program,” said Greenberg. “In past
years our guys would not have been able to step on the mats with a Division-I
powerhouse like Oklahoma, but as we continue to grow as a program and get
better, our guys are able to compete with better and better wrestlers.”
While in Oklahoma, F&M’s wrestlers were able to train
under the elite coaching of one of the best teams in the country. Back in
Lancaster, Greenberg trained the rest of the team, placing a great deal of
emphasis on the fact that wrestling is a year-round sport.
“It’s really important over the summer that guys continue to
train and keep up the good habits that they pick up during the year. Our sport
is a 12-month sport, you can’t punch a time card—it’s a constant evolution,”
Greenberg noted firmly. “The day you stop working is the day your competition
is going to pass you by.”
Training isn’t all the Diplomats wrestling program accomplished
this summer. Along with the new recruits, new outlook and new training, F&M
wrestling took a huge step in upgrading its facilities, gutting the locker
room, and supplementing the whole project with brand new signs and mats for the
wrestling room.
Already, these new facilities are being used, as captains
have led the rest of the team through training and open mat sessions. First-year
team members are already beginning to forge a home for themselves here in
Lancaster, and are eager to prove themselves, whatever their roles may be.
“Some of them are going to start right away, some of them
are going to be asked to just step right in and make an impact,” said
Greenberg. “They’re going to have to hit the ground running and really act like
second and third year wrestlers. They’re an excited bunch, they love the sport,
and I think they are going to do what’s necessary to keep the momentum of the
program moving forward.”
This year, the wrestling program was able to do one more
thing—one that will hopefully spearhead a continuing tradition. In January, the
Diplomats will host the first-annual F&M Wrestling Open, which will bring
in some of the top wrestlers throughout the east coast, and give the community
and school a chance to support the team, and see what this year’s Diplomats
wrestling is all about.
A complete schedule for the season can be found online at
godiplomats.com.
