Tuesday night’s 2008-09 Harrison High School wrestling banquet was a huge success. Many impressive awards were handed out to the wresters, wrestlerettes and other supportive individuals. The event was held in the cafeteria at the high school and was symbolic as it demonstrated a change in the entire wrestling program. It was clear at the end of the night that the wrestling program is in good hands and headed in the right direction. There were many individual awards for performance on the mat as well as achievement in the classroom. A complete list of the awards can be found in the agenda on the parent info page at : http://harrisonwrestling.com/highSchool_parent.php
An important part of the banquet was an induction of several people into the Harrison High School Wrestling Hall of Fame. Kristen Calvanelli and Bethany Poplin became the first two wrestlerettes inducted into the Harrison High School Wrestling Hall of Fame. Also inducted were Steve & Chris Medved for their involvement in the program in many different positions.
The top JV awards were given to Nick Thompson (Most Valuable JV Wrestler), Dylan Law (Most Improved JV Wrestler), Trent Arwood (Coaches Award), Dylan Pugh (Iron Man), and Patrick Curry (Hoya Pride). Coach Fiacco concluded the JV awards by explaining that they had the potential to be a state championship team within the next couple years. However, Coach cautioned that they would need to continue the dedication and training in order to achieve this level of success. A challenge was made to each of the wrestlers to commit to become the best that they could. Coach described that he was giving them the opportunity to work year round in an effort to accomplish their goals.
The top varsity awards are two-tiered. First, there was an Outstanding Varsity Performance Award given to six wrestlers. These were trophies with a specialized engraving on the base. The recipients of this award were KJ, Bell, Ryan Wendt, Lucas Mosher, Alex Condon, Peter Mosher and Jared York. The second set of top awards for the varsity were Most Improved – Will Mifflin, Iron Man Award – Peter Mosher, Hoya Pride Award - Kyle Harris, Coach’s Award – Alex Condon, and Most Valuable Wrestler award won by KJ Bell. KJ Bell also gave a very emotional speech thanking everyone that has helped make his high school wrestling experience so special. KJ’s special thanks to Coach Fiacco was extra special as he described how the coach has had a tremendous influence on his life in general.
One of the many wrestlerette awards given was the honor to the captains of this year’s squad Claire Brummeler, Melissa Volpe, Shelby Gaccetta and Sarah Davis. There was also a very exciting announcement at the banquet with the news that Marie Bruner is going to come out of retirement to take the helm as the Wrestlerette Sponsor.
In all, the banquet was a huge success. There were many committed parents who went way beyond to make the event a hit. Leading the way in this crew were Pam Bell, Karen Smith and Lori Pugh.
It was clear that the program was first class as was apparent by the thought that went into the banquet. Also the quality and look of the medals, certificates, trophies and gifts were second to none. Keeping this in mind, it is a good time to put out a plea for support in our fundraising drive. We have many fundraising opportunities coming up in the near future. Please do all you can to help continue the funding of our children and their wrestling program. It is quite evident that great things are being done with these funds and a positive impact is being made on the young ladies’ and gentlemans’ lives.