Ryan Bisesi
Most student-athletes in high school shed one of those names when they reach college. However, many only divorce from that name and not their love for the sport.
While Carmichael Gymnasium helps them recall their high school glory days, club sports further fill the void between university and high school.
A new club getting started up this semester calls upon the high school grapplers.
Mike French, a senior in mechanical engineering, decided to initiate and organize a club wrestling team. According to French, now the club’s president, his goal for starting the team was simple — there wasn’t one.
“There is no venue where people can wrestle without being on the varsity team,” French said. “It was so big in high school that I wanted to still provide students with an opportunity to wrestle recreationally without the huge commitment.”
Indeed, many students who have come out to the bi-weekly practices at Dynamic Wrestling on Hillsborough Street are former high school wrestlers who have sorely missed the sport since they’ve been in college. One of them is junior Daniel Easley, who wrestled four years for Brentsville District High School in Virginia.
“I loved wrestling in high school,” Easley said. “I haven’t been able to do it since then.”
Besides the obvious competition at the collegiate level, many of the club members were reluctant to continue wrestling in college because of the massive commitment the sport demands. Junior Dustin Prescott remembers those days well.
“I had to constantly lose weight. That’s all I did,” Prescott said. “I had to constantly watch what I ate. It was a huge commitment for a sport.”
When the time came for applying for schools, Prescott decided it was time to hang up the singlet.
“Once I got to my senior year, I knew that in college it only got more serious,” Prescott said. “I just knew that I couldn’t take on both that and school.”
Now Prescott and the 30 other active club members will get to don their wrestling attire once again, and they hope to do so pretty soon.
The team is just holding practices right now, and French said the club is open to anyone.
“We don’t have any matches scheduled yet, but I’ve been talking with some other clubs, including Virginia Tech and we’re going to try and get something set up,” French said.
French said some of the members are planning on helping out at local wrestling matches to raise funds for the club.
“There are several kids wrestling leagues in the Raleigh area,” French said. “We’re going to be refereeing some of the matches and keep score and work the tables.”