One could say that Sanborn senior Jon Scheidegger is hungry to become a state champion.
A two-time Division 3 state champion as a 152-pounder, Scheidegger is clear about his goal for 2013.
“I want to win a state (Meet of Champions) championship,” said Scheidegger, who entered the season with a 103-36 career record. “That’s the big thing.”
In fact, it’s probably more accurate to say that Scheidegger is starving to become a state champion. In his third year as a 152-pounder, it hasn’t been easy getting down to that weight class. He ended the football season at just over 175 pounds.
“It was tough, I’ll admit it,” said Scheidegger. “I did it in about two weeks. I’d have a bottle of water, do a lot of running and have one meal a day.”
Bill’s father, an unofficial coach to his son and junior Tristan Leek (Sanborn’s only other wrestler), was not keen on the idea of Jon going back to 152, but he accepted the idea.
“I think maybe it’s too much weight loss, but it’s up to him,” said Bill, a former Cape Ann League champion at Pentucket. “He can do it according to the rules and I give him credit for doing it. That takes a lot of willpower.”
Just as hard as getting back to 152 is staying there. After weekend tournaments, Scheidegger normally goes back up eight pounds before he loses it again. It’s a non-stop mental challenge, or even torture.
“It (weight challenge and food) is on my mind all the time, every day,” said Scheidegger. “The only time I don’t think about it is at practice or during a match.”
But, says Scheidegger, he just likes wrestling at 152 and the sacrifice is worth it.
Thus far, the results seem to bear him out. He finished the weekend with five tournament titles and a sparkling 23-0 record. Among his wins was a decision in the finals of the Chelmsford Tournament over Burlington’s Luke Nigro, who had beaten him in overtime last year. Saturday he was named Outstanding Wrestler at the Pelham Tournament.
Without a strong program to represent or train with, Scheidegger might be at a disadvantage over some of his opponents, but he won’t use that as an excuse.
“I’ve had some good experiences at the Barn (in Danville) and I have great drill partners this year (at Exeter High, where he practices),” he said. “Ross Bannar is seeded first in the state at 160 and David Burke and Jeff King are both really good, too.”
The drill partners should get even better in the future because Scheidegger is hoping to wrestle in college. Exactly where is up in the air, of course, but he’s currently considering the University of Southern Maine and Sacred Heart.
Wherever he lands, Scheidegger will likely wrestle at 157 — an increase of a whole five pounds! But, before that, there’s a state championship to pursue and then the expected aftermath.
“I’ll definitely be pigging out on everything,” said Scheidegger. “I get cravings now, like certain kinds of yogurt, but it won’t be just one thing.”
Super Wednesday
There haven’t been many big dual meets thus far in 2013, but there will be two huge ones tomorrow. In the MVC, dangerous Lawrence will be at Methuen while in New Hampshire Pinkerton hosts Timberlane.
Methuen is 15-1 and is loaded with standouts, but Lawrence — without any superstars — has a strong dual-meet team. Pinkerton boasts an unbeaten record following last week’s big win over Concord but will have a tough task knocking off a Timberlane team that is coming off a 3-2 performance at the National Festival Duals in Pennsylvania.
Overlooked female
While North Andover senior Danielle Coughlin has rightfully gotten plenty of credit for her outstanding career, she’s hardly the only girl wrestler in the area and a few are quite competitive.
One who merits special mention is North Andover junior Katelyn Dolan. She has won more than half of her matches on the JV level and, although she wrestles at a tough weight class (126), she would probably start for a number of varsity teams.
No dual-meet states
In case you haven’t heard, there will be no dual-meet state tournament this year. When the MIAA gave it up, the Wrestling Coaches Association had hoped to take it over. But there were too many problems involved and it’s been scrapped.
North Andover will be hosting a substitute multi-team meet at the end of the season which was originally slated to be the Division 2 state tournament. It will provide great competition, but that’s about it.
Tremblay bags No. 600
Congratulations to North Reading’s Larry Tremblay, who is the head coach at Winchester. In the Jan. 5 quad-meet against Mansfield, Chicopee, and Lawrence, Tremblay won his 600th meet. After the three wins, Winchester was 11-1 and Tremblay’s career record stood at 602-80-5.
Family tradition Jon Scheidegger's father, Bill*, and four uncles all wrestled at Pentucket High School. Four of them were league champions and two were state champs. They are: Tom Scheidegger 1975 graduate Jim Scheidegger 1977 graduate Stephen Scheidegger 1978 graduate *Bill Scheidegger 1980 graduate Ricky Scheidegger 1984 graduate
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