Building a Bridge to the Future

On senior day, the laundry list of goals is pretty short. The first is to appropriately recognize the seniors on the team for the accomplishments they accumulated during their time as a member of the squad.

The second is to pummel the opposition.

For those in attendance at F&M’s final dual match of the 2011-2012 season last Friday, they saw both goals accomplished. With the Rupp Cup on the line, F&M’s four seniors, Colin Ely, Matt Fullowan, Matt Latessa, and David Pucci, lead the Diplomats in what became a thorough beating of visiting Millersville.

“I felt like the team was finally clicking,” Ely said. “It took us awhile to get there. Like the coaches said, we had different people turning it on during different matches.”

“Everyone wants to beat Millersville,” Latessa added. “It’s a little different walking out onto that mat. They can’t hang with us conditioning wise. Even in my match, even though I lost, I think I would have worn him out if I didn’t have to take that injury timeout.”

The words of both Latessa and Ely ring true for those who witnessed the Diplomats triumph over Millersville for the second consecutive season. Few of Millersville’s wrestlers appeared to be on the same level as those of F&M, and it’s true that, had Latessa not sprained his ankle late in his match and been forced to take an injury timeout, he would have likely won in the end.

“It’s a motivator, when you’re out on the mat, to know you’re outworking kids and knowing it doesn’t come down to size or strength or speed, but it just comes down to effort,” Latessa added.

Wrestling Millersville is important for every Diplomat. However, for some, it is a little more personal.

“For me, it was a bit of a personal match,” Ely said. “I don’t know if anyone remembers, but we were up my freshman year and I was up in the last match and I ended up losing. I kinda lost the entire match for us my freshman year. Ever since, I just…I never wanted to lose to Millersville again.”

Knocking off Millersville and keeping the Rupp Cup at F&M for a second year is a special reward for a small group of seniors that has persevered through some of the most difficult times in the program’s history. The win vindicated the work these seniors have put in for the past four years.

“For most of us, we’ve been here year round for four years,” Fullowan said. “I’ve probably been home for a maximum of three days in a row. Wrestling has become a second family. It also gives you the work ethic to get through the ups and downs, it teaches you how to deal with what happens in the real world.”

Given the trend the program was on when these four seniors first joined the team, it’s a little surprising the team has done as well as it has.

“From where we started, we came in here with a class of nine, and there’s now four of us,” Pucci said. “When we came in, we were told we would be the foundation. Now a lot of that has been washed away. But first we got Greenberg and then we got Rogers, and that marked the split from the old to the new.”

Despite the tumultuous beginning, all four seniors now look back on the entire experience as one that has been incredibly rewarding and gratifying.

“I don’t want it to end,” Ely said. “We’re the only four people in the world who understand the change that has happened. This year, I had so much fun. It was awesome.”

“It’s not a chore to come to practice anymore,” Latessa added. “Even though we had the same amount of wins as last year, the level of competition this year compared to last year is so much better. The program is coming around, but people may be skeptical because of the wins and losses.”

Latessa is generally correct; simply looking at the win-loss record would indicate that F&M did not improve this season. Unfortunately, most people will stop looking after seeing that sole statistic. For those close to the program and for those who are intimately involved with it, the change and the improvement is far more obvious.

“If you look at the record, you don’t see the progress,” Ely said. “But if you look at anything else, any other barometer for success, it’s obvious. Just hang out with the team and it’s obvious. It was depressing three years ago. People were saying, ‘I hope it’s a short practice,’ or, ‘I can’t wait to get out of here.’”

“I don’t think it’s too bold of a claim to say that in five to ten years F&M will be, or at least be in the discussion, one of the best wrestling programs in the country, because of what the coaches have done,” Latessa added.

Although head coach Mike Rogers and assistant coach Matt Greenberg have done a lot for the program, Ely has focused on what he believes to be the most critical aspect of the coaching staff’s job: recruiting.

“[This year,] we have ten freshmen who are all legitimate recruits,” Ely said. “Yeah, that’s awesome to say, but if you look at what Rogers had to work with, coming from where our program was, how do you sell that to a kid who can probably get offers from other places? Just the fact that Rogers brought in ten guys makes me confident that he will take this program through the roof. I don’t know how they do it. I think recruiting is an underrated part of how this program is turning around.”

While their final dual meet as Diplomats has now come and gone, these four seniors still have a great deal to look forward to. In less than two weeks, the Dips will travel to the EIWA Championships with an opportunity to make it known just how much they have improved in just one year. It is also a chance to make it known that F&M is here to stay.

“Coach said it’s important to peak at the right time. This our last shot of the year and we don’t want to go out and get beat at conferences,” Fullowan said. “It’s our last shot to go out and show [the EIWA] what we have and really prove ourselves. I know that, with these guys here, we’re going to go out with a bang. We’re going to go out there and really put up a fight.”

It’s a sentimental moment for all four of them. While they recognize that their wrestling careers are officially coming to a close, all four acknowledge the EIWAs are a way to boost the profile and stature of Diplomat wrestling.

With all these thoughts combined, all four seniors look back on their experiences with fondness, even though not every moment was a high point.

“I guess, I’m just really proud to have been a part of this team,” Ely said. “Our class is the bridge from what it was to what it’s becoming. I’m proud of the fact that we’re turning it around. When I visit in the future, I’m going to be very proud to wear my [wrestling] gear.”

All four wrestlers were appreciative of the F&M student body for the visible boost in attendance this season. While in past years the Mayser Gym has been relatively quiet on wrestling nights, this year saw raucous crowds and pumped up students pack into Mayser to watch the Diplomats compete.

That and the coaches who allowed him to wrestle are what Fullowan is most thankful for.

“Thank you to the coaches for giving me the opportunity to go out there and wrestle,” Fullowan said. “And thank you to the fans for coming out and helping us win.”

“Thank you to all the fans who came out to the home matches,” Ely added. “Our attendance has been a lot better this year and that really helps.”

For Latessa, his wrestling experience boils down to his relationship and his bond with the other three seniors on the team. He recognizes that the four seniors who persevered are special and that nobody can take what they have accomplished away from them.

“It’s about the guys in this room right here,” Latessa said. “My father always told me it takes a special breed to wrestle. We’re in the company of a special breed and that’s something I’m going to have with me past graduation. We did this together and there were a lot of times it would have been easy to say screw this, but we didn’t and we stuck it out.”

Of the four, Pucci probably had the most tumultuous experience, thanks to the many injuries he has sustained over the course of his career. But even he looks back on his wrestling experience with pride and is excited about what is in store for the Diplomats.

“I’m just really appreciative of the opportunity I had,” Pucci said. “I appreciate it so much. I’m just looking forward in a few years to watching someone from F&M on ESPN wrestle for the national title.”

To that, Fullowan simply smiled.

“You mean this year,” he quickly chipped in.

All Pucci could do was grin.

“Yeah,” Pucci said. “This year.”

Beyond the Mat - Alex Henry

Most everything about Alex Henry and his life is big. The 285-pound heavyweight towers above everyone he meets. He is from Texas, where everything is bigger, and he was recruited to play defensive tackle on several collegiate football teams, a spot reserved for large individuals. According to Henry, he was approached by and considered big southern schools as well.

Somehow, despite everything, he ended up in Lancaster, PA at the relatively small F&M, a move that not even he thought he would ever make.

“I knew it was in Pennsylvania and I knew it had wrestling,” Henry said of F&M, recalling his first experience visiting the College. “I knew it was a liberal arts school and not much else. I knew what the coaches told me, but that was really it.”

“I did my official visit to F&M and the coaches told me that had a plan, a dream, and a vision,” Henry continued. “I bought into that.”

Fortunately for the Diplomats, both head coach Mike Rogers and assistant coach Matt Greenberg had developed a rather convincing hook to get Henry to buy in. The heavyweight fondly recalls a conversation he had with both coaches in the wrestling office during one particular visit to F&M. He remembers it fondly because, at the end of the day, it was what the coaching staff told him there that convinced him F&M was where he needed to be.

“They sat me down, and they did this to all the freshmen, we were in their office. At that time, I was looking at UNC-Chapel Hill, I was looking at Duke, and other schools like that,” Henry said. “They looked at me and said, ‘You can go to UNC or you can go to Duke, but you’ll just be another name. We’re doing something special here and we have a clean slate. You can come here and rewrite the whole wrestling history here at F&M. You can have your name engraved in history.’”

“I just think that’s cool. They want to do something special and they want to turn this program around. I believe in them.”

So far, Henry admitted his transition to the Division I level has not been as smooth as he might have liked coming out of high school. After enjoying a lot of success on the mat as a senior, he hasn’t seen the same number of wins as a freshman in college, a fact that weighs on him a little bit.

“It’s tough, it’s very tough,” Henry said of the transition. “I went to private school in Virginia, which wrestles in prep leagues, and I was pretty dominant. I think I lost a total of maybe five matches senior year and I think I have at least quadrupled that so far this year. It’s been pretty mentally challenging and daunting, but I guess it’s baptism by fire as Coach Rogers likes to say.”

Despite the struggles Henry has had, the discipline that comes from that is one of the things he enjoys most about the sport. In Henry’s eyes, wrestling is a bit unique from most other sports, as it demands so much more out of its participants.

“Wrestling is one of those sports that makes you suffer through it and it makes you much more mentally tough,” Henry said. “You’re able to take on a lot more stuff in life and get through it easier than before you started wrestling and before you put a lot of time into it. It’s just one of those sports that demands so much of you that, at the end of the day, you realize you can do so much more if you remain mentally tough.”

“In my first year of high school, my advisor was the wrestling coach. I was originally going to play hockey because I played hockey when I grew up in Russia. He kind of laughed and said, ‘No, you’re not.’ It was sort of forced upon me, but it ended up being a really good thing for me and I really enjoyed it.”

Although for most of his time in Russia he was too young to notice any significant differences in his life compared to the one he leads in America, Henry has fond memories of his two stints living there.

“Because of my dad’s work as a tax consultant for PriceWaterhouse Cooper’s, or he was, we lived in Russia for roughly ten years on two different trips,” Henry said. “On the first trip, I was about two years old and then we moved back to the States where we lived in New York for a couple years. Then we moved back Russia for about five years. I’ve kind of lived all over the place.”

“There’s not much I miss [about Russia],” he added. “I didn’t really know it was different than America at the time. Looking back on it, I probably missed out on a lot of stuff. You never really thinking about in the moment though.”

Academically, Henry is fascinated by the world of politics and hopes to be a lawyer someday.

“A lot of people tell me I would be a good lawyer,” Henry said.

While he still has three years to shape his legacy, Henry said he hopes that people at F&M simply remember him as being a good overall guy. He also hopes people remember him as a “badass” on the mat.

Like most other things in his life, Henry is aiming to achieve big things at F&M. He views his time at F&M as an opportunity to achieve something special, to take a clean slate and create a legacy out of it. He is just one member of a large and talented freshman class tasked with achieving that goal.

The initial going may be difficult. However, as Henry says, wrestling “makes you suffer through it” and, in the end, those who work through it are better on the other end. Like most everyone on F&M’s roster, these initial steps have been difficult and have worn on Henry. However, thanks to hard work, perseverance, and a coaching staff that truly believes brighter times lie ahead, the future looks bright for F&M wrestling.

Beyond the Mat - David Hershberger

David Hershberger didn’t quite realize what he was walking into when he signed on to wrestle at F&M. Perhaps it was the anticipation that he would need to wait his turn before starting, or that, when he began the college search process, he just wanted to get into a good school and didn’t have many expectations about collegiate wrestling. Regardless, Hershberger’s path to where he is now has not been ordinary.

“I always knew I wanted to go to college, whether it was for wrestling or something else,” Hershberger said. “I wasn’t exactly sure. Once I started getting letters [from wrestling coaches], however, I was pretty content to start looking at the schools and seeing what their wrestling programs were like.”

Like many of his teammates, Hershberger started wrestling young. He was encouraged to dive into the sport by his stepfather, who, according to Hershberger, greatly influenced him as a child.

Wrestling is a big thing where Hershberger is from. Growing up outside of Dover, DE, as a young wrestler Hershberger was exposed to a lot of competition on the mat, as the sport seemed to attract most everyone in his area.

“I started [wrestling] when I was seven,” Hershberger said. “My stepdad got me into it. Ever since then, I have basically loved the sport, and I just kept doing it.”

“That was in second grade,” he continued. “We had a lot of wrestling programs where I live, so everyone grew up with it. There were a lot of people who wrestle where I’m from.”

For Hershberger, the sport has acted as a support system. Like many others who step onto the mat, he believes wrestling has helped mold him as a person and has played a critical role in determining the course of his adolescent and young adult life. The sport has done more than just that, however. It has buoyed Hershberger through some of the most difficult times of his life.

“[Wrestling] has had a major impact on my life. It makes me a better person,” Hershberger said. “Wrestling showed me the discipline that I needed and it makes me work harder at everything. I definitely would not [be where I am today] without wrestling.”

“After my dad died, when I was 15, there was a, I was going through some hard times,” he continued. “Both my mom and my stepdad were helping me through it, but the one thing that really got me through it was wrestling. I could just go out there and clear my mind and just go. [Wrestling] let me let out my anger and it gave me the friends who I knew would support me.”

I offered something of weak analogy, offering the comparison of a lifeboat. Hershberger paused and simply said, “Yeah, you could say that.”

Although wrestling has undoubtedly shaped and prepared Hershberger for the world around him, wrestling is not the only sport he has dabbled in. Much like his stepfather encouraged him to try his hand at wrestling, Hershberger’s stepdad made sure his stepson at least tried all different kinds of sports.

“My stepdad, he was the one who got me into all the sports I played,” Hershberger said. “I didn’t see my dad all that often, so when my stepdad came in, he just got me into sports. I tried baseball when I was younger and I played football up until high school, but that was on a community team and I didn’t play in high school because I was too small. Then in high school I did cross country, I wrestled, and I played tennis.”

Fortunately for the Diplomats, wrestling was the sport Hershberger stuck with. During the recruiting process, Hershberger

“I thought Coach Rogers was very nice. I actually though everybody here was very nice and I felt right at home [at F&M],” Hershberger said. “I actually didn’t really know about F&M until they contacted me. I wasn’t really discouraged by [the struggles F&M had had recently]. I was just excited I was going to be wrestling in college.”

“There is a great opportunity here,” he added. “To be the incoming class that could change it all, to be the class that comes in and makes it all turn out for the best. I think Coach Rogers, and everybody else, is going to bring this program forward, and we’re going to be a lot better than what we are now.”

Off the mat, Hershberger leads a relatively relaxed lifestyle. He generally seeks out friends to simply hang out with or heads to the movies when he has free time on his hands.

“There’s always something to do,” he said.

“I’m thinking of getting into business,” Hershberger added when asked about his academic pursuits. “There are also a lot of classes out there that I’m interested in that aren’t necessarily on that track. I’m into philosophy and I like history a lot too.”

As he progresses through his time at F&M, Hershberger hopes he can have a solid overall impact on the school and his goal is not be remembered solely as a wrestler, but as a model citizen as well.

“I want to have a good impact [on the community],” he said. “I want to be remembered as being a good person, good student, and being well-mannered. Just a typical, nice, human being. On the mat, I want to be remembered as the kid who did whatever he could.”

“After college, I want to be in some kind of IT business, maybe start my own business,” Hershberger added. “I love computers. My stepdad got me into that too. He’s an IT person as well.”

Hershberger is dead set on being the best overall person he can possibly be. He strives to be more than just a wrestler. Although the label is one that suits him and is one that he is proud of, it’s important to remember that Hershberger has no desire to simply wrestle or to simply get good grades. He wants to do it all.

As a freshman, Hershberger has a lot of room to grow. However, he has already displayed maturity beyond his years and has made his impact felt as a member of the Diplomats. As the 125-pounder, he may look small, but Hershberger has a big heart and even bigger aspirations.

“I hope this program is known as one that just works hard and doesn’t cause trouble,” Hershberger said when asked what he hoped F&M’s wrestling program would become. “I hope we’re known as athletic and smart student-athletes. Just well-rounded.”

Just like him.

F&M Topples Sacred Heart for First Win

Trotting out onto the mat Saturday, the Dips as a team were winless. Some close losses coupled with several performances that didn’t meet their expectations left F&M searching for ways to tally that first victory and erase the donut that occupied the left side of the win-loss column.

It’s easy to become discouraged during a season that begins 0-11. Many teams throw in the towel and call the season lost. It’s not difficult to understand why; sacrificing so much for so long without receiving the desired results can wear on people. But to F&M’s credit, the word quit doesn’t appear to be in their vocabulary.

Spotting Sacred Heart 12 points before the match even began didn’t make F&M’s chances of getting its first win any better. Due to injuries, the Dips were forced to forfeit both the 149 and 165-pound classes. Although for many it would seem to be an insurmountable hole to climb out of, for an F&M team that came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, the 12-point deficit proved to be little more than a speed bump.

David Hershberger, Robert Ruiz, and Richard Durso all pinned their opponents to open the match, giving the Diplomats 18 quick points. Eric Norgard followed with a victory, as did Matt Fullowan. Colin Ely and Isaiah Cromwell finished the match on an emphatic note, pinning both their respective opponents in matches that were never really in question.

All but one wrestler came out on top Saturday afternoon. The final score was 36-15. To many observers in the stands, the score did not justify what happened on the mat. Without the 12 free points, Sacred Heart had been thoroughly dominated 36-2. It was a performance that cannot be fully appreciated unless you saw it in person.

There was an immense sense of relief on the faces of F&M’s wrestlers as they walked off the mat. It seemed to be a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. The victory of Sacred Heart made all the work every wrestler has put into the season worth it; it showed that the hours spent in the wrestling room in the basement of the Mayser Center was worth it.

F&M would go on to lose to Rider in the second match of a doubleheader. Even so, the victory against Sacred Heart seemed to lift a weight off the Dips’ collective shoulders. There were a number of close matches and many of F&M’s wrestlers appeared to be looser and more confident as they made their way onto the mat for the second time. It’s a credit to the attitude and approach these wrestlers take towards their preparation and their individual matches.

Anybody can be dedicated amidst a winning streak or a winning season. However, it’s when a team is struggling and rebuilding for the future when the truly devoted and those who sincerely love the sport show themselves. Fortunately for head coach Mike Rogers and F&M in general, the Diplomats appear to have a roster filled with the latter types.

That’s what made Saturday’s victory over Sacred Heart so much more special than any other win. Although they have struggled to accumulate wins and they have not thus far had the season many thought they would have going into the year, for those who have been consistently watching the Dips, it has been fairly obvious they truly love wrestling. You can see it in the frustration they exhibit after a narrow loss, the exuberance on display after a win, and the general dedication they display on a nightly basis. To see them pour so much into each match and come away with a result other than a resounding victory is disappointing.

This is why the victory over Sacred Heart mattered. Those outside the program will think little of a winless program succeeding in finally snagging its first win. For those who are involved with the program and for those emotionally invested in the team, Saturday’s victory was sweeter than most others.

Even more promising is the future. F&M starts a number of freshmen, all of whom have displayed the raw talent and desire to make it at this level. Good things take time to develop. F&M may be on the track to success, but there will be growing pains along the way. Eventually, everything will come together and the results will begin to show on the mat.

Sometimes, all a team needs is a little boost.

Beyond the Mat - Isaiah Cromwell

Vice President Isaiah Cromwell. Not the title one would expect a typical college freshman to carry. But like many of F&M’s freshman, saying Cromwell is typical fails to do him justice.

Scanning through F&M’s stat sheets, Cromwell’s name doesn’t appear too often. In fact, Cromwell has yet to participate in a dual match this season. However, just because he hasn’t had a huge impact on the mat so far, Cromwell has made his presence felt elsewhere, which, in many ways, trumps anything he could accomplish as a wrestler.

A product of Newark, NJ, Cromwell has faced his fair share of obstacles. Growing up, Cromwell was exposed to much of the crime and dysfunction Newark is known for.

“Newark New Jersey is really a struggling city with a lot of violence,” Cromwell said. “But right now we’re in a state of change. We have a mayor who’s great and who’s one of my mentors. He motivates me. He’s preparing Newark for the future.”

The second part of that statement is what Cromwell holds on to when he thinks of his hometown. For all the struggles and the obstacles Cromwell has faced during his time in Newark, he has chosen to focus on the bright future Newark has with Mayor Cory A. Booker at the helm. Perhaps that is why Cromwell has been so heavily involved in the non-profit organization Embracing Arms, Inc.

Founded by his mother, Cromwell has dove head first into the organization and is the acting Vice President for Embracing Arms. According to Cromwell, Embracing Arms engages in a wide variety of community service projects aimed at strengthening the ties between those within the neighborhoods of Newark.

“[The goal of] Embracing Arms is to bridge the gap between the elderly and the youth in the community of Newark, New Jersey,” Cromwell said. “Right now, there’s just chaos, it’s not really a community. We’re trying to bring the unity back to community slowly.”

“My mother is the brains behind the organization,” Cromwell continued. “The reason [we started Embracing Arms]? We just wanted to start our own organization to get involved in the community. We started in about seven years ago. We feed the homeless on holidays; we take children on educational trips. We try to get kids out of the city. It’s good for them to see the world and see the country.”

While Cromwell has given a lot back to the community through his organization, he has learned just as much from those he has helped. These lessons have kept Cromwell grounded and given him an appreciation for what he has.

“Especially from feeding the homeless,” Cromwell said when asked about what his experience with Embracing Arms has taught him. “Now I never take life for granted because you never know what can happen. I just try to be kind to them because you might need them someday. You might that homeless person someday, so never take anything for granted.”

“Just show everyone respect.”

At F&M, Cromwell hopes to continue to make a difference with his life. Although its cliché, Cromwell’s desire is to become president and to make an impact in the world around him. He genuinely hopes to one day be an agent for change both in his hometown and the country at large.

Cromwell aims to be a government major and hopes to turn that degree and his experiences outside the classroom into a law career and eventually into a career in the public sector.

“I plan on becoming a lawyer and working on education reform law,” Cromwell said. “After that I want to run for office and become mayor of Newark, New Jersey. [I want to] run for president, change the world.”

Impacting those around him in a positive manner is Cromwell’s highest priority. It’s also one of the most interesting parts of his personality. Just doing the bare minimum doesn’t satisfy Cromwell. Going above and beyond what is normally expected is what he demands of himself.

As a wrestler, even though he has seen little time on the mat, Cromwell has maintained lofty goals for himself. Much like his pursuits and activities outside wrestling, Cromwell expects more from himself than just about anyone else. One of the few exceptions may be his mother, who never allowed Cromwell to stray when he was a kid growing up in Newark.

“My mother, she kept me focused,” Cromwell said. “She got me into a great high school and that’s where I started wrestling. I never had time to play in the streets. The sun came up and I was in school and then the sun came down and I was at home. I didn’t have time to be involved in all that other nonsense.”

Cromwell got involved in wrestling more or less by chance. The sport was not one he thought about much during his childhood. In fact, basketball was Cromwell’s first love, and he hoped one day to take his talents to the NBA. Unfortunately, that dream was not meant to be, as Cromwell was cut from his high school squad and was told he did not have the body to be a basketball player.

It was at that point he turned to wrestling.

“I was kind of forced to wrestle when I couldn’t make my high school basketball team,” Cromwell said. “They sat me down and said, ‘Hey, you’ve got the body of wrestler.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to wrestle!’ I thought wrestling was what I saw in WWE with the slamming chairs and I didn’t want to be a part of that. I wanted to go to the NBA.”

“They kind of had to force me into it,” Cromwell added. “Fortunately, I stuck with it because I started to like it.”

Like so many others on F&M’s wrestling team, Cromwell has drawn a great deal from his time as a wrestler. The sport has taught him a lot about life and how to persevere through struggles. Cromwell is used to facing seemingly insurmountable tasks on the mat and he has tried to translate that into his experience off it.

“I believe wrestling is a little different than other sports because I believe it does teach you life skills,” Cromwell said. “It has taught me to persevere. When you’re on the bottom, you have to get up. You have to do it step-by-step and just get off the bottom. Sometimes, you just want to give up, but you have to understand that you can’t. [Giving up] shows mental weakness. So you have to try and overcome that mental weakness. After that, everything else is easy.”

So far in his young collegiate career, Cromwell has not let his lack of time on the mat dampen his spirits or his goals. They remain the same as when he first took to the mat.

“My goal as a wrestler is to be a champion,” Cromwell said. “I just want to win. But the sport of wrestling is about more than just winning. If I become a champion, it shows everybody out there and myself that I’m a hard worker and that I have overcome all my struggles. It’s those who work the hardest who are the champions. I just want to work hard and become a champion.”

Cromwell for the most part is a fairly quiet kid. He’s not the loudest one on the bench and he’s not one to announce his presence. But that does not diminish what he has accomplished, nor does it put a limit on what he hopes to achieve.

From working hard on the mat to working to serve others in his community off it, Cromwell aims to make a positive impact in the lives of everyone he comes across. Even if he never does become a national champion on the mat, he’s already well on his way to becoming a champion off it.

Beyond the Mat - Robert Ruiz

For some, it takes years of practice. For others, it seems natural. Much like any other sport, wrestling features both those who started young and worked tirelessly before they determined wrestling was their sport of choice and those who stepped on the mat and knew almost instantaneously. Neither group works harder than the other. The sport just resonates with people at different times.

Robert Ruiz, a 133-pound freshman, the latter group is closest to his wrestling experience. Ruiz, despite his relative inexperience on the mat, has stepped into the spotlight that is division one wrestling and excelled in his first year. Most recently, Ruiz captured the Messiah Open title for his weight class.

It wasn’t until 2006 Ruiz picked up wrestling. He still considers himself new to the sport, but that does not mean he lacks the skill, drive, or work ethic necessary to compete at the highest levels of competition. In fact, Ruiz has excelled ever since he first stepped onto the mat.

“I started wrestling in November 2006,” Ruiz said. “I’m still new to the sport. I saw wrestling for the first time when I was 14 or 15. When I saw it, I was like, ‘What is this?’ When I first stepped on the mat, I took down this 171-pounder and I knew wrestling was something I wanted to stick with. I never thought twice about wrestling.”

In a way, wrestling was a blessing for Ruiz. The sport has kept him dedicated and kept him focused. Growing up in Hartford, Ruiz described his childhood days as “kind of ghetto.” While many of his friends fell by the wayside, Ruiz elected to stay true to his newfound passion. It kept him on the straight and narrow and now, when he returns home, many of the friends he used to hang out with wish they had listened to Ruiz more when they had the chance.

“I grew up in Hartford. A lot of my friends were out there and they started just hanging out and doing drugs,” Ruiz said. “I go back to Hartford and see my friends and they always say they should’ve listened to me more. I never really followed anybody, except for my teachers and my mother, of course.”

“Wrestling has made me…ever since kindergarten I was very focused,” Ruiz added. “My Mom taught me everything I needed to know. I mean everything about everything.”

Talking to Ruiz is a fascinating experience. When he discusses his childhood, background, and where he’s come from, it’s clear he has beaten the odds. He speaks of experiences and situations that few can imagine, let alone claim to understand. However, intertwined within all the tales and experiences is his mother. For Ruiz, even before wrestling began to influence him, his mother was the one who ensured he wouldn’t stray from the right path.

Ruiz likes to tell a story about how, one day during his early childhood years, he picked up a twenty-dollar bill off the street. He brought it home with him and, as soon as his mother came home from work, she could tell something was wrong. Rather than hide and keep the money for himself, Ruiz turned it over to his mother so she could at least try and find its owner.

Unfortunately, as life progressed, Ruiz’s mother fell on hard times, turning to drugs like many of his friends had done. For someone who loved and respected her so much, it was difficult for Ruiz to take it all in and accept what was happening.

“From the middle of eighth grade to the beginning of 2010 I only had very brief encounters with my mother,” Ruiz said. “She was in and out of rehab. It was very tough and I knew I couldn’t help her. I feel like I dealt with it really well though.”

Part of the reason Ruiz coped with the situation well was due to his surroundings. After making his way through public school, Ruiz went on to the Salisbury School in Salisbury, CT. It was there Ruiz surrounded himself with good people and began to absorb wrestling

“After I went to public school I went to the Salisbury School for four years,” Ruiz said. “It helped me out a bunch because it was a small school and I just became friends with the right people.”

“I had the same roommate for three years and he and his family took me in,” Ruiz said. “My roommate helped me out a lot. But I was able to help him out a lot too. I got him to start wrestling and he eventually began to lose weight and he became an athlete, which he wasn’t before.”

At Salisbury, his high school wrestling coach Paul Myers and his club coach John Knapp pressed Ruiz and made sure he didn’t fall behind. Both Myers and Knapp “believed in [Ruiz] and never” gave him the chance to fail. It was here wrestling began to develop and play a prominent role in Ruiz’s life.

At F&M, Ruiz hopes to take his broad range of experiences and draw on them so as to positively impact the community around him. He hopes to impact F&M and the broader community in ways other than through his wrestling experiences.

“I want to get to do work in the community in Lancaster,” Ruiz said. “I’ve given a few talks about making the right choices. Hopefully I can inspire people. I grew up at one point without couches and we moved around because my mother was into drugs. From nothing to something.”

From a wrestling standpoint, Ruiz hopes to capitalize on his relatively young passion and reach his full potential. Given what he has overcome to get to this point, achieving his goals and reaching his dreams on the mat seem almost simplistic and unchallenging.

“I want to be a part of the change on the wrestling team,” Ruiz said. “I want to be a part of bringing the team to a new level. I want to be a national champion. I’m physically capable, but I just need to grow a little bit stronger mentally.”

Off the mat, Ruiz is a fascinating character. In some ways, he’s a bit contradictory. How many wrestlers aspire to write Spanish poetry in their spare time? He loves inventions. Ruiz is an inquisitive kid, one who loves challenging the norm and exploring different ways to approach the world. Abiding by the social norms is not part of who Ruiz is.

“I like to play a little squash when I get a break,” Ruiz said when asked what he does for fun. “I love to meet with my professors and talk about stuff that we don’t necessarily talk about in class, about the world in general. I want to be a geology major.”

“I like to write Spanish poetry,” Ruiz continued. “I’m fluent in Spanish. It’s easy for me, it just flows. I also love inventions. Anything that makes stuff easier. Anything that’s causing a problem is something I want to fix.”

Ruiz is quite possibly the most fascinating character you will meet. His interests, his desires, and his past make him special. He is the epitome of well rounded and he is the ideal candidate an institution like F&M looks for. His personality is diverse and it only serves to strengthen him.

Combined with several other fascinating and talented individuals, Ruiz is one of the freshmen that ensure the Diplomats have a bright future. Both on the mat and off it, Ruiz is an ambassador for what people look for. It’s hard not to like him and, just by speaking to him, it’s easy to have an easier appreciation for life and what it means to live it to the fullest.

Beyond the Mat - Richard Durso

Squaring off against many of his competitors, Richard Durso is the young one. As a freshman, he’s relatively inexperienced and lacks the seasoning of his older wrestling counterparts who have been around the block a few times. But that hasn’t slowed him down.

With 16 victories, the first-year 141-pounder has more wins than anyone else on the F&M squad. He has established a high standard for himself, and he is one of several reasons to be excited about what lies ahead for F&M wrestling. Durso is excited about what he has accomplished thus far, but recognizes the need to keep working and to remain hungry.

“It feels good,” Durso said when asked about his fast start. “It looks like a good road from here. However, you just can’t be satisfied with where you’re at. At F&M, there is a lot of good competition. I’ve already gotten better in the few months I’ve been here. To get better here requires a lot of heart.”

Despite his accomplishments as a wrestler, Durso was not always enamored by the sport. He had to be coaxed by those around him to stay with the sport, and he admits the first years as a wrestler were not always kind. He struggled to catch on and it wasn’t until high school that he really began to enjoy the sport.

“I have been wrestling since kindergarten,” Durso said. “My Dad asked if I wanted to go out [for wrestling] as a kid and I said yes. I didn’t love it at first. I cried after my first practice. It wasn’t until high school that I really started to love it.”

That image is a far cry from what Durso has become. He is the leader of what many hope will be a rejuvenation of the program. Along with the other members of his freshman class, Durso believes the goal of restoring the Diplomats to prominence can be achieved. He’s a quiet guy, but beneath the soft, reserved exterior is a passionate kid. He wants to win and he wants to be remembered as one of the wrestlers who helped F&M bounce back.

“When it comes to wrestling, I hope the freshman class is the start of a new tradition,” Durso said. “When I graduate, I want to know we helped start a new tradition here. I want to know we started to turn the program around.”

Although he exudes confidence and truly believes F&M is on the verge of turning around what was recently a sputtering program, he realizes the task will require a great deal of work and dedication. It will need to come not only from himself and his fellow freshman, but from everyone involved with the program as well. He may have more wins than anyone else on the team, but he acknowledges the tremendous contributions and guidance that comes from everyone around him.

In particular, Durso singled out Matt Fullowan as someone he hopes to emulate and hopes his class will take after as they continue to grow and develop into the leaders of the program.

“Fullowan is a great influence,” Durso said. “I look up to what he’s doing. He’s always working and making the sure the freshmen are staying hungry.”

It may take awhile, but Durso is convinced that, with a little heart, he and his teammates can accomplish a lot in there time at F&M.

“Heart goes a long way,” Durso said. “With it, you can pretty much accomplish anything. Not just in wrestling, but in the business world as well. It’s the key to everything.”

Durso’s quote about heart and how it translates to the world outside wrestling is indicative of how Durso views the world. He’s a division one wrestler, but at the same time, he is cognizant of the world off the mat. He recognizes he cannot focus solely on wrestling.

Likewise, Durso is humble when it comes to his status. At a primarily division three school, he believes that wrestling at the division one level does not make him any more special than his athletic counterparts, nor does it mean he works harder than they do. He is held to the standard that every other athlete at F&M is, and he likes that. In Durso’s mind, every athlete at F&M is on an equal footing. Everyone works hard to excel at his or her respective craft.

“Hard work,” Durso said when asked what it takes to combine the rigors of a division one sport with the academic demands he faces in the classroom. “I really have to stay on top of it. It’s a division one sport, but you can’t let it go to your head. It may be a little tougher competition, but everyone is putting in that same hard work.”

Durso is perhaps one of the most well rounded individuals on the wrestling team. In high school, Durso placed an emphasis on his studies and he did his best to acquire as many friends as he could. He has continued these efforts in college, aspiring to be a business major and seeking out friendships both within and outside the wrestling program.

“I like to stay on top of my schoolwork,” Durso said. “I also want to be remembered as a good guy. I want to be remembered as a good friend. I’ve already made a ton of friends outside the team.”

“In high school, I had a very large group of friends,” Durso added. “I spent a lot of time outside with my friends. I like to be outside doing things rather than sitting inside on a couch.”

Durso credits these friendships and his adventurous personality with keeping him focused and ambitious during his years leading up to college.

It isn’t hard to believe Durso has amassed a large friendship base throughout both his high school and college tenures. Despite his quiet nature, he is a likable individual. Sitting at a table in the College Center, teammate Colin Ely leaned over his shoulder and told me Durso was a “stellar athlete, model citizen, and has the most sock savvy on the team.”

Quirks like Durso’s stylish socks are what make people want to hang around him. When asked about what Ely meant when he said “sock savvy,” Durso replied, “Always gotta have a good appearance. Look fresh. I always have to make sure the colors are matching.”

He may be quiet, but he’s the kind of guy people want to be around. A lot of that comes from his humble nature. He may have more wins than any other wrestler at F&M, but he hasn’t lost focus and recognizes he still has much to learn. In his mind, the seniors still run the ship and he is still trying to absorb as many tidbits of information from them as he possibly can. In short, Durso has a burning desire to improve and is convinced that to do so will require hard work and attention to detail. He could let his early success go to his head, but he has chosen to remain grounded.

Perhaps that is a product of what the sport has taught him over the years.

“Wrestling teaches you mental toughness,” Durso said. “A lot of it is a mix of natural talent and hard work. You can’t have the former without the latter, however.”

If Durso is indicative of what the future is like for the F&M wrestling program, there is much to like. Durso has launched a successful career at F&M and he is eager to reach his full potential. He may not be as outgoing as Ely or as physically imposing as some of his wrestling counterparts, but he wrestles as if he has been around the block more than a few times.

He’s come a long way from crying after his first practice. Durso will be a leader for F&M wrestling for years to come.

Beyond the Mat - Andrew Murano

We sat down across from one another in the Steinman College Center for our interview and the first words out of Andrew Murano's mouth were, "It's so great you're doing this, we appreciate everything you're doing. Is this something you enjoy?"

Of course, the answer is yes. I actually love writing, particularly when the subject is one that I am invested in and passionate about. Writing for the wrestling team certainly qualifies. However, the point is not that I love writing, nor is it to toot my own horn so to speak. Rather, the point is to illustrate what kind of person Murano is.

Sitting down to talk about him and for him to speak about his accomplishments, the first words out of Murano's mouth concerned my happiness and whether or not I enjoyed what I was doing. His personality lends itself to interaction with others. Working with and pleasing people is Murano's strong suit.

I suggested the term "people person," and Murano seemed to take a liking to it right off the bat.

"I'm definitely big into interacting with people," Murano said. "I'm always about saying hi to people on the street and even if I've never met them, just getting to know them and saying hi to them. I like that classification. I'm definitely a people person. That's kind of something I want to hone in on later after college. I haven't really found that profession yet, but I'd like to find something that suits my personality as being a people person."

Murano, who is in the middle of his second season wrestling for F&M, has always placed a high emphasis on charity, pleasing others, and working to ensure that everyone who crosses his path leaves feeling a little bit better. Talking with him just for those 15 minutes, he struck me as another Colin Ely. In other words, Murano takes pride in hearing that others left a conversation with him feeling better than they did before they began speaking with him.

Coming from a Jesuit high school, Murano has always made charity and service a primary part of his life.

"I actually did a lot more charity in high school than I do now, which is probably not a good thing," Murano said. "I should definitely get back into that. Being in an Jesuit environment, they really hone in on being a man for others. I spent time at soup kitchens. On Saturdays, our [school] cafeteria would become a soup kitchen for the homeless, where they could sleep in the cafeteria. It was an overnight thing. I would always show up to that a couple times a month."

"For my senior year, I worked at a school for disabled children," he added. "That really touched me. Every Monday, I would go there and I would work with the children there. That's what I've done and I know it's not a huge amount of charity, but it's something I really want to do in life."

"I want to help people."

It's clear Murano is one who wants to make a difference. His own personal happiness is linked to the happiness of those around him in some way. Although my time with him was short, I got the sense he was genuinely interested in whether or not I took an interest in writing for the wrestling team. It was obvious at least to me that he was happy when I said yes.


While many people are specifically concerned with how to succeed on a personal level and what the most direct route to that success is, Murano is seemingly more concerned with how to be successful while at the same time helping others and leaving a smile on their faces at the same time.

This is not to say Murano isn't ambitious. When asked what he wanted his mark to be when he graduates, it was relatively short. All he wants is to be an All-American, make Dean's List every semester, and know everybody on campus.

"In terms of wrestling, I want to be an All-American," Murano said. "I want to do something big with wrestling. I want to be the start of something big. In terms of other aspects, I want to keep my friends from F&M, I love my friends from F&M. I want to be known on campus. I want to do well in school, I want to be on Dean's List from now on."

"That's kind of it."

As a wrestler, the sport has defined Murano's life. He only began wrestling as a freshman in high school at Xavier in New York, and it has helped mold and develop Murano. He has benefited from the sport and it's clear he appreciates everything the sport has given him.

"To be tough," Murano said when asked wrestling had taught him. "The more work and more preparation you put into something the easier something is going to be. Life is not easy. Wrestling dictates what you do on an off the mat. It all affects you on the mat when the spotlight is on you."

"Wrestling really has been a sport that defines me. I just have to be tough and to prepare, prepare, prepare. It has taught me to work hard, work hard in everything I do. Those are the two things. Work hard and be tough."

At F&M, Murano has loved his time as a Diplomat. Being a division one wrestler is something he views as a privilege and appreciates the opportunity that has been afforded him.

"I love being a division one athlete," Murano said. "It's like, that's kind of the main thing. If I am going to wrestle, I'm going to do it at the highest level. I love being a wrestler and that persona that comes with it. It's just been something that has defined me. I would love to be known around campus as a wrestler."

He enjoys being well known. Murano is at the center of everything and he's ambitious, but he has a healthy dose of reality, compassion, and  humility to accompany that nature. While it's difficult to tell where exactly Murano will end up, he will likely end up somewhere successful.

I could write 5,000 words about Murano and his personality. But all you really need to know is at the very beginning of this article. When he asked me whether or not I loved writing, Murano showed he is eager to please. He wants nothing more than to be well known and to contribute to all of their lives.

When I interviewed Ely a month ago, the most profound point we discussed was that Ely wants to leave every conversation knowing that the other person was feeling better at the end of the conversation. It's an admirable quality that far too few people embody.

Ely will be graduating next semester. But his personality and his mission will be carried on. Murano loves wrestling and he loves people. He says he wants leave an impact on the F&M community on every level.

He's well on his way.

Reflections at the Half: Five Things I've Learned

If you read my column "Hitting the Road with F&M Wrestling" published on November 21, you probably picked up on the fact that I'm new to this sport:

I knew nothing of wrestling when I first arrived at F&M. My small high school of just over 300 kids didn’t have enough interest to support a wrestling program. As far as I knew, the sport was more or less what my best friend and I did on “play dates” when we were six and seven years old. Any strategy, planning, or training that went into the preparation for a wrestling match was lost on me. It was a sport I would oftentimes hear about, but could never see.

As the end of the semester slowly approaches and the beginning of winter break creeps closer, I decided to take a moment and reflect on five things I've learned about this sport. Even though this is not the half way point of the season for the wrestling team, last week's match against Navy was more or less my half way point. I will miss several matches over the break, and will have the opportunity to see seven more when I return.

Although I went to many wrestling matches last year, I never picked up the nuances of the sport. It wasn't until this season that I truly began to pick up all the details. When Matt Latessa and the coaching staff approached me about the opportunity to write about the wrestling team over the course of the season, I figured I could use my writing skills to get by and learn the sport on the fly. So far, this season has gone just like I thought it would.

Below are the five biggest things about wrestling I have learned thus far. I have also included my reflections on each point.

1. Wrestling is a thinking man's game.

It's pretty easy to tell I had little appreciation for the intricacies of the sport when I first started this job just by reading the excerpt above. If you had asked me four or five months ago what the objective of a wrestling match was, I probably would have responded by saying, "To get your opponent to the ground and to keep him there." I would have said it with little understanding or knowledge of the sport.

In a way, that's right. After all, when two wrestlers square off, the goal is to pin the opponent or to keep him on the ground. The difference is that I had no appreciation of the process and I did not possess the understanding to truly comprehend what was happening before my eyes every time I watched a match unfold.

Wrestling is indeed a thinking man's game. A good wrestler will have just about every move thought out in advance and he will take every single one of his opponent's moves into account. Even those wrestlers who tend to be a bit more cavalier in their style are constantly thinking. At the division one level, wrestlers can't just expect to walk on to a mat and pummel their opponents into submission.

That's the crucial difference between freshmen and a seasoned veteran like Matt Fullowan. At the end of the day, a freshman could very well be more physically gifted than he, but, chances are, Fullowan has the mental edge. As a senior, he's seen it all. He knows all the tricks in the book. I'd be willing to bet Fullowan will win several matches this season because of his intelligence and his experience.

There are many other sports people tend to associate with intelligence and thinking. Wrestling is too often left out of the mix.

2. I finally know what a pin is

Believe it or not, I had not idea what constituted a pin when I first started this job. Now I know. Two shoulder blades to the mat. If I only got one thing out of this experience of writing about the F&M wrestling program for an entire season, this was it. After all, not knowing what a pin is would be like asking a football fan what a touchdown is, or a baseball player what it means to hit a home run.

In other words, it's a little embarrassing not to know, particularly when your with other wrestlers or fans of the sport. What is also a little tough to swallow is to go to an F&M-Campbell meet (like I did last year) as the sports editor of a college newspaper at a school with a wrestling team and have a five-year-old kid lecture you on the art of the pin.

Granted, that was the first wrestling match I had ever been to, so I am willing to cut myself a little slack. But regardless, I put learning the rules of the sport at the top of my list of things to accomplish. After all, wrestling is not just simply slugging it out with an opponent until one falls down. It's a far more intricate and complicated sport than many people realize (hence the little "thinking man's piece above). There are so many nuances to appreciate, and I'd like to learn as many as possible by the time this season concludes.

3. I can't imagine being in that good of shape.

I've played football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, and have run marathons. Some of the greatest athletes in the world play these sports. However, after watching wrestling closely since the season began, I'm not sure there is a group of athletes that are collectively in better shape than wrestlers.

Could some of the athletes jump from their sport to wrestling? Possibly. The truly elite athletes in any sport can cross the boundaries between sports with relative ease. That is, after all, what makes them truly special. But collectively, from top to bottom, I'm not sure there is a sport that has more athletes who are in as close to perfect shape as they can humanly be. It's awfully impressive and is a fact that too often gets lost on people when they talk about the greatest athletes in the world.

4. Is there anything more exciting than good wrestling?

Admittedly, I am a football guy. When the New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI on Adam Vinatieri's now famous field goal, I think that was the most excited I have ever been for a sports moment. But that was the championship game. The kick was for all the marbles. It was the biggest kick in franchise history.

Would I have as been excited about that field goal had it happened, say, in week 10 of the NFL regular season? I doubt it.

Now, thinking back to F&M's match with Navy last Friday. Watching Matt Fullowan's long drawn out affair with his opponent and then Colin Ely's impressive pin of his opponent was the most excited I have been at a sporting event in quite some time. Maybe this excitement comes from the fact that a wrestler has only a few minutes before he runs out of time, so there really is no "I'll get him during the next play" moments. It's now or never, and every move counts.

(Side note: This is another reason why wrestling is a thinking man's game. There is no such thing as a meaningless move in a wrestling match. If a wrestler screws up, he could get pinned. If he falls into a 4-0 hole, good luck digging out of it in the short amount of time he has. I'm not saying it's impossible to come back from such a deficit, but being down 4-0 or 4-1 midway through the second period with your opponent on your back makes it awfully hard to come back. On the flip side of the coin, the guy ahead can't stop thinking either. If he falls asleep and his opponent gets in one good move, he could be pinned. And then it's all over, no matter what the score is. For as much as wrestling demands of its athletes from a physical standpoint, a case can be made that it demands just as much mentally.)

5. Wrestlers are some of the most genuine, humble athletes I have ever met.

I will preface this observation by saying that this is not meant to be any kind of insult towards the athletes of any other sport. Nor am I saying that every single wrestler in the world is humble, down to earth, and approachable. But, on the whole, I do not think I have ever met a group of athletes more humble than wrestlers.

Maybe it's because they know this is the end of the road. Perhaps it is because they don't get all the media and fan attention and hype. It also may be that they know they'll never make millions wrestling no matter how good they are, so they simply wrestle because they love the sport that much.

The bottom line is this: I have yet to speak to a collegiate wrestler, at F&M or somewhere else, where I have left the conversation thinking he was pretentious, arrogant, full of himself, or all of the above. I genuinely believe that because division one wrestling is the pinnacle of the sport and that there aren't million of dollars waiting for them after college that wrestlers simply wrestle for the love of the sport. After all, is there another reason to work so hard and to get pummeled repeatedly? I certainly can't think of one.

In many other sports, kids see it as a get rich quick scheme or as a way to rocket themselves to fame. That option is not there for wrestlers. At the end of the day, division one wrestlers wrestle for the love of the sport. This makes them appreciative of the little time they do have to wrestle, and they are thankful for it.