Dedication pays off for Chester Academy High School boys wrestling

Members of the Chester Academy High School boys wrestling program’s hard work and dedication paid off this season.

“This year we had a few moments that really defined our season,’’ Chester Academy head coach Jimmy Ehlers said. “First would be the Ardsley duals. We were able to go 3-2 on the day with a lot of first year wrestlers. We ended up taking fourth place overall. I think this was a tournament where we showed a lot of heart. I think our last match in which we won our division title versus Sullivan West/Eldred, the guys were really motivated to win it at home and lock it up on Senior Recognition Night.’’

A few wrestlers in particular stood out with the vast improvements that they made in the sport on a consistent basis.

“Senior Brayan Flores started last year as a junior and really made it a goal to get on the podium at the end of the season,’’ Ehlers said. “He worked so hard each practice and really showed up on game day. Each match he did that much better and was able to be called All-Section by the end by placing at the Section IX tournament last month.

“Michael Ramery worked so hard this offseason by training Jiu-Jitsu at one of the local gyms. Michael really worked hard and not only got better, but even lost a significant amount of weight to get in even better shape. He really gave hope to the coaches for his future in this sport and even caught the eye of the football coach with his progress.’’

Leadership from the student athletes on the team was vast.

“Dominick Jean-Pierre was an early emerging leader while the football players had their playoffs,’’ Ehlers said. “Someone who really came through this season and definitely caught the coaches eyes was Danny Maushardt. Danny was one of our more consistent wrestlers this season and really took a leadership role with practice duties. He really became a vocal wrestler and had some great input on plans with the season.’’

Chester tallied a fine overall record of 12-7 with an undefeated mark of 6-0 in division competition.

“This brought the team’s sixth Division title in the last nine seasons,’’ Ehlers said. “The team then competed at the Section IX State Qualifier on February 15th at Mount Saint Mary College and placed fifth out of 17 teams. They also had nine All-Section wrestlers which was the most in program history. Trent Edwards took home his first Section title, while Elvin Momanyi was a finalist.’’

The excitement surrounding Chester Academy boys wrestling isn’t going to dissipate anytime soon.

“One of the major reasons for optimism on the boy’s side is the fact they will be returning 23 wrestlers,’’ Ehlers said. “There seemed to be a lot of really motivated athletes at the conclusion of the sectional tournament. Five all-section athletes return and it looks like we should have a lot of experience in terms of starters for next season as well. Many were asking when the offseason workouts start because they want to get better.’’