The Walpole High School winter sports season has proved to be unrelenting to the Wrestling Team in 2011-2012. With vacant weight brackets and devastating losses, the team has been hurting badly, to say the least. Despite this, two wrestlers have set themselves apart from this depressing reality. When placed side by side, the similarities are scarce to say the least; the height difference alone is baffling. However, there are two things that bring these athletes together; their love for wrestling, and their amazing performance during the 2011-2012 winter sports season.
Bringing a little bit of sunshine into the gloomy winter wrestling season, wrestlers Marvin Jean Simon and Nicholas Glover, seemingly at totally opposite sides of the spectrum, have transcended expectations and proved themselves worthy of bearing the fluorescent orange and navy blue singlets of the Walpole Rebels wrestling team through a slew of victories on the mat, and the hard work, time, effort, and dedication they have shown to this widely under-appreciated sport.
Jean Simon is a senior on the wrestling team, and most certainly no beginner when it comes to winning. Pinning just about anyone who dares to challenge him to a match, Marvin uses his brute strength to capture opponents in a bear hug and throw them to the mat, seizing victory usually within thirty seconds or less. “See, now I don’t even have to try! Didn’t even break a sweat!” Marvin announced proudly, claiming that the reason he wins all his matches s0 quickly is so that he doesn’t have to try. And even though this wrestler claims laziness, his domination of the heavyweight bracket this season proves otherwise; a testament to Marvin’s love and dedication to wrestling, and evidence of the immense amount of time and effort he puts into the sport. A true comedian on and off the grimy wrestling mats, Marvin brings smiles to everyone’s face. His proclivity for comedic relief has also led to his participation in many extracurricular activities aside from wrestling; Marvin is a proud member of the Drama Club, Film Festival, the football and lacrosse team, and the Cardigan Club. On top of that, he was also a participant in the Annual Fall Poetry Reading at Barnes and Nobles this past November. While juggling all of these activities and responsibilities, this senior manages to be well-liked by all, and can often be found arguing about the existence of “Cappachillos” with disbelievers. And while frighteningly intimidating on the mat, this talented wrestler is actually quite the teddy bear.
On the opposite end of the team, Nicholas Glover is a freshman on the wrestling team, raised alongside baseball and football standouts Cam and Craig Hanley. Even before he was in high school, as an eighth-grader Nick often practiced with the high school wrestling team; this isn’t what secured his spot on varsity, however. Weighing just barely 106 pounds, Nicholas has been wrestling for nine years, starting when he was only six years old. Trained by many prestigious coaches and wrestlers, his repertoire includes training from Olympic wrestler Nik Zagranitchniy, and the notorious Northeast Elite coach Ralph Powers. From the time Nick started to wrestle, he would travel as far as Rhode Island and Connecticut on a daily basis for practices and clinics. And while he may be quiet and small, he is a terror on the mat. As soon as the whistle blows, he begins honing in like a shark circling its prey, looking for an opportunity to strike. While, like Marvin, Nick seems to enjoy the thirty-second pin-and-win technique, he can also hold his own in the nail-biters, where winning depends on getting those back-points in the last few seconds of overtime. Well-respected by coaches and fellow teammates alike, Nicholas proves a stark contrast to his loud and outspoken counterpart Marvin. Quiet and subdued, Nick is a mystery to most, a freshman with an astonishing talent and proclivity for wrestling, and a virtually unknown personal life. When asked, he will quietly attribute his success this year to “[My] coaches, my parents, and a lot of hard work.” When this avid wrestler isn’t on the mats at practice or in a meet, he can often be found sitting quietly doing homework, playing Skyrim with friends, or out on the streets of Walpole running to stay in shape and make weight, which has surprisingly proved to be quite a hurtle for Nick. “It’s hard to eat without eating too much,” the wrestler described, “It’s a balance between eating so that you have enough energy to compete, but not overeating so that you can make weight.” Despite this, Nick has managed to achieve an 18 and 9 record in the 2011-2012 wrestling season.
As members of the Walpole Varsity Wrestling team, Nick and Marvin are a whirlwind of terror, a dynamic duo. Both well-liked by fellow teammates and Coaches Devin Pacelli and Matt Holubesko, these dedicated athletes have certainly paved for themselves a road leading straight to victory in the wrestling world.
