Madison Wrestling Looks To Get Back on Top

Madison Wrestling coach Shawn Hutchison is a class of 1991 Warhawks alumnus who is in his fourth year coaching his old team.

And he wants to bring back the glory days of Madison wrestling.

"My brother and my dad also wrestled at Madison," he said. "I don't know why, but the mentality and attitude of kids nowadays in wrestling is not very good. I don't know if it's too hard for them or if they don't want to work hard. I don't have any Varsity wrestlers above the 171-pound weight class, and I've talked to the football players, and they just don't want to come out."

Twenty years ago, Hutchison said, the Warhawks had a full squad on J.V. and Varsity, and wrestlers waiting in the wings just to get their shot.

"Wrestling's not for everybody, I know," he said. "I tell kids if they make it through a season and don't want to wrestle again after that, that's fine. I'll shake your hand and send you on your way."

But there are some wrestlers on the Madison squad who are helping to change the tone. Before he came to the program, Hutchison said, the athletes just wanted to be a part of the team.

"Now they want to be here to win. Winning isn't everything, but it helps. I want them to have the desire to do the best they can," Hutchison said.

AT A GLANCE

Last year: The Warhawks only lost one varsity wrestler from last year's team and have Robert Dooley, Danny Feldman and Albert Schultz coming back. Schultz won the Northern Region at 125-pounds.

This year: While Madison doesn't expect to have full representation in each weight class, coach Shawn Hutchison is trying to rebuild a program that languished until he took over four seasons ago. Schultz is back, competing at 135-pounds this year and Feldman (112) and Dooley (119) and new team members Tyler Eckhart (freshman, 125) and Connor Driscoll (transfer from Marshall at 130) should be solid performers.

They said it:
"We have a region champ and we have a lot more kids who are dedicated and want to do well, to be a part of the team. It's a smaller core group but it's going to get bigger." – Madison wresting coach Shawn Hutchison.

Over the last few years, Hutchison has been working with Vienna Youth Wrestling to open a pipeline to the Madison wrestling team. It's beginning to pay dividends, as the sport is making a name for itself at the high school level with an offseason club team and a summer showcase called "Melee 'til Midnight," which draws high school age wrestlers from four or five nearby states for an event held outdoors on the Madison football field.

The funds raised from the summer event go to the Eric Monday Memorial Fund, founded to honor a former Madison wrestler who passed away while in college in 2009. The money is then given back to the local wrestling community via free clinics and wrestling camp scholarships.

The Warhawks have two wrestlers who have made an impact in the region, junior Robert Dooley (5th place in the Northern Region at 112-pounds, will be wrestling at 119 this year) and Albert Schultz, a senior who won the regional title at 125 last year but will move up to 135 this season.

"We have to the potential to take a lot of kids to the region and many on to the state tournament," Hutchison said.

He expects Langley to be the class of the Liberty District with Marshall not far behind. He said he would like the Warhawks to finish third in the district have Schultz win another regional title.