Attention Jackson-Reed Tigers, we have an all-American wrestler among us!
On the weekend of May 6th fellow tiger and junior Duncan Stadler competed in the mid-Atlantic Wrestling Association (MAWA) Championship, where he placed 5th out of the athletes in his weight group. The tournament houses wrestlers from all around the Mid-Atlantic region that had to qualify from proceeding regional and district tournaments to participate.
Wrestlers gain the title of an All-American Ranking by placing among the top eight in any wrestling championship in the country. By placing 5th, Stadler was among them and competed against the best of the best, including athletes on The Washington Post All-Met Teams.
Like any successful athlete, Stadler believes he could have done better. He explains that he could have wrestled a little “smarter” meaning he could anticipate the movements of his opponents or prepared better for his “takedowns”.
However, he says that, “For what I got and the people I beat, I think I did pretty well.”
Another thing that Stadler had to be aware of during his competitions was shorter time intervals. Normally, the matches consist of three-two minute periods. However, during the tournament they were shortened to only a minute and half. This caused Stadler to be more cognizant of time during his matches.
“It might not seem like a lot [different] but it builds up,” Stadler said.
Although Stadler attended the competition as an individual, his wrestling coach since 8th grade, Coach Archie Hogan, was with him every step of the way.
“He exceeded his goals, I don’t think he expected to make it that far,” said Coach Hogan.
Hogan explained that Stadler had a really good year, with an overall record of 49-2.
“It’s hard to do much better than that,” Hogan said.
Stadler says his next steps are to practice more which includes weightlifting, working on his technique, and his mental game.
“Every once in a while I psych myself out, so I have to make sure I’m prepared,” Stadler adds.
He currently doesn’t have any more tournaments on his agenda, but he’s expecting to sign up for more once he figures out his schedule for the upcoming weeks.
As for the wrestling team in general, Hogan thinks they are gearing up to win a DCSAA team title next year. Another year of success for the wrestling team as a whole is expected with Stadler among them.
