Even though Pennsylvania has the most amount of varsity wrestling programs at the collegiate level today, the state has still lost a lot of programs. One of those programs is Division III Swarthmore which we lost back in 2000. One of the only schools that I've ever heard of that also dropped its football program.
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158 lbs
Bill Rawlings |
Rawlings took fourth place at the 1977 NCAA Division III championships.
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134 lbs
Pat "Hondo" Holmes |
Without a doubt the best wrestler to ever grace the Garnet and Grey is Pat "Hondo" Holmes who made the NCAA Division III finals as a junior in 1980. He came back as a senior to place fourth. He holds multiple records at Swarthmore including career wins at 116, career points at 481 & career falls at 32.
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150 lbs
Jay Peichel |
Jay Peichel, one of the heads of the successful Haven Youth wrestling club in Pennsylvania was also a standout wrestler for the Garnet. He placed seventh at the 1987 NCAA Division III championships.
Hondo was a great team mate and friend... and he lost a season when Swarthmore shut the team down after ~75% of the team got herpes from another squad in an early season dual. I arrived the fall after his second place finish but, having torn up two joints in HS, wrecked neck and shoulder in my second collegiate match and was done.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that your career was cut short. Injuries really bite the big one. Thanks for the information.
DeleteMy favorite story about Hondo is that the little brother of a frat brother I played soccer with was coming for a visit and Pat, hearing that the kid wrestled, shook his hand, dragged him by to his right, hooked the leg and took him down... it might have cemented the young man's decision to come to Swarthmore. :-)
ReplyDeleteMe, I was a very good NJ high school wrestler but, as much as I loved it, I loved other sports and activities too much to give what was necessary for a decent college career. The injuries weren't a blessing, I'm still paying their price, but i'm not sure It's have completed for years on the team.
One thing I remember, fondly(?), was that Gomer Davis, the long time head coach, had an intense commitment to the Greek ideal of training the mind, body and spirit where wrestling was just one aspect of a life dedicated to excellence.