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Wrestlers see bright future after COVID-19

Posted 3/13/22

Few wrestlers get to stand on a state podium at the end of their season. The Fountain Hills High School wrestling team took nine wrestlers to the two-day state tournament this February, and only …

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Wrestlers see bright future after COVID-19

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Few wrestlers get to stand on a state podium at the end of their season. The Fountain Hills High School wrestling team took nine wrestlers to the two-day state tournament this February, and only sophomore Ty Flynn had that honor.

Without much prompting, Flynn bragged about besting his older brother. Last season, Dominick Flynn placed fifth at state as a senior in the 152-weight class for the Falcons. This season, Ty Flynn finished fourth in the 132-weight class.

“It was awesome,” Flynn said. “Being able to do it, and my brother did it before me, so now I get to match him. [Fifth] was the highest he did so it was a big thing between us.”

Dominick Flynn encouraged his brother all season and did congratulate Ty for his achievement, but he was reportedly upset at his placement. The Flynn’s sibling rivalry wasn’t present in practice, but with 27 wrestlers, a record-high amount, there was plenty of competition between the Falcons.

“It’s really kind of cool to see when we have strong numbers like that,” head coach Luke Salzman said. “Freshmen to senior, it doesn’t matter what grade you’re in, because we’re all in the same wrestling room. It seems like this sport, especially, they help each other out.”

The amount of wrestlers was a welcomed change for Salzman. Salzman took 10 wrestlers to the state tournament in 2015-16, but his program had seen a decline in numbers since then. Salzman has coached a small club wrestling for more than 10 years, and he’s been trying to create a middle school team to get athletes exposed to the sport earlier.

Salzman had the middle school team ready to go two years ago, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed those plans. Now, middle schoolers will be able to take a bus to the high school for two to three practices a week. Salzman said that wrestlers who don’t participate in spring sports will assist him at middle school practices, and the middle school team will be slightly more intense than his previous club, because the middle school team will compete with other middle schools.

Salzman is still figuring out the logistics of the middle school team, but he hopes to take them to four or five dual meets around the Valley.

COVID-19 did more than affect the high school’s pipeline of talent last year. There were no tournaments until the state tournament, so the Falcons missed a significant amount of matches. According to Salzman, the wrestlers had around 10 matches last year compared to 50 to 60 matches this season.

Wrestlers had to wear masks at practices and matches last year, and the season was also cancelled before being brought back three days later. Salzman described the cancellation as a “shocker,” and described the 2020-21 season as a “mess.”

According to Salzman, some wrestlers didn’t compete last year because they or their family was afraid of getting COVID-19, some didn’t compete because they or their family were against masks, and some wrestlers didn’t compete because “they were done with everything.”

“It was hard to breath when you’re wrestling with a mask,” Ty Flynn said. “They were pretty strict trying to keep it above the nose, but now, everyone feels better that it was kind of going back to normal. [COVID-19] still hurt us with some people getting sick.”

COVI-19’s impact was minor this year, only effecting the Falcons in isolated incidents. One positive side effect from last year’s season was that Flynn got to experience state as a freshman. Because there was no sectional tournament, everyone got a chance at the state tournament. Flynn said he felt pressure last year, but he was more confident at state this year.

Flynn is part of a strong sophomore class at Fountain Hills. He and several other wrestlers in his grade went straight to baseball after the wrestling season, and Salzman likes that they stick together and stay active in the offseason.

“With the size of our school, I think it goes in waves,” Salzman said. “You get a group of younger kids together that stick with each other. [Wrestling’s] not a huge tradition sport, and if you don’t have those right kids, it can be hard to keep a group together.”

The wrestling team had a successful season with many good performances throughout. Junior J.P. Cahill finished first at the San Tan Tournament, and the Falcons placed third as a team at both the Wickenburg and Sectional tournaments.

Seniors Stephen Broetsky, Matt Chandler, Hector Leon, Sebastian Jackson, Michael Marsello, Travis Trapani, and captain J.T. Despain helped rebuild the wrestling program over the last four years, and now they leave it in very capable hands.

“A lot of it was getting the now sophomores interested,” Marsello said on senior night. “I remember my freshman and sophomore year; we had a very small team. After that sophomore year, we just got a huge wave of freshman, and it felt great.”