JT1Wrestle Takes A Look At Huntingdon 2026-2027

 

I shed a tear as I begin to think about Huntingdon Wrestling.  When I was growing up, as a little boy back in the late 80's & early 90's, I was a huge professional wrestling fan. If you think I'm fixated & obsessed with collegiate wrestling now, you should've seen me with WWE back in those days.  One of my all-time favorites was Marty Jannetty. Call it irony, divine intervention, or whatever you like, but somehow or another, years later one of JT1Wrestle's biggest fans, and most dedicated readers is Ron Stuebe. For those of you that are unaware, Ron was Jannetty's collegiate coach at Chattahoochee Valley.  Ron also was the original originator of Huntingdon wrestling, and I don't know if anything made Ron happier than when the Hawks reinstated their wrestling program. 

I know if Ron were alive, and he started seeing me post about D3 teams, he'd impatiently be messaging me on Facebook about when the Huntingdon preview would be coming out.  I had the honor and the privilege of I believe being Ron's final interview.  We spoke about his time at Chattahoochee Valley.  We were going to do a follow up interview concerning Huntingdon wrestling, and that's right around the time his health took a really bad turn for the worst. 

I've met a lot of great people in this sport, and Ron Stuebe was one of them. He loved being one of those guys that people doubted, loved coaching kids that people doubted. He didn't mind being the underdog, and he didn't mind at all proving people wrong.  I have no doubt he's proud of what Huntingdon has done & what the Hawks continue to accomplish.  A Southern School, with southern wrestlers, coming up into a conference made up of mostly Iowa schools, with midwestern talent, & showing that kids from Alabama, Tennessee & Georgia know how to scrap.  It's still a work in progress, but Huntingdon continues to make Coach Stuebe proud. 

We lose two & we return two of the four Regional Place-winners from last season. 

Cole Lalock 7th at Regional VI is gone, as is Steve Flagg who took 8th. 

157
Damion Jones

8th at Regional VI, Damion Jones won a title at the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) & took 2nd at the Millikin Open. 

197
Kevin Shaw

6th at Regional VI, Kevin Shaw earned runner-up finishes at both the Huntingdon Open & SLIAC.