Michelle Zhang '28
Dec 13, 2024
Last Saturday, Mercersburg’s wrestling team traveled to the Saint James School to participate in the Admiral Holloway Wrestling Invitational, a prestigious high school tournament in which teams from independent schools across Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, and Pennsylvania compete across respective weight classes. This year’s competition featured intense matchups and outstanding results from Blue Storm wrestlers.
Even before stepping foot on the mat, Mercersburg wrestlers made dedicated preparations to perform at their best. “I'm eating right. That's really important as a wrestler,” said Marlo Williams ’25. “You have to be eating right, you know, showering, taking care of yourself, getting more sleep than you need... Even in the classroom, I'm preparing myself mentally. You know, I'm getting my work done. I'm doing my homework, and that gets me in a good headspace to be able to go and do wrestling.”
The wrestlers entered their matches with a strong mindset. Brayden Pearson ’27 explained, “I kind of underperformed last time I went to Holloway, so I'm looking to come back, get a little revenge, but I'm ready. I felt good. I've been ready to compete since last year ended.” This sentiment was echoed by Amon Yamamoto ’26. “I feel a lot more confident than last year since I'm in the same weight as last year, But I feel like my technique and my strength has improved a lot along with my mindset, and I definitely feel a lot less nervous,” he said.
Mercersburg’s disciplined preparation paid off. The team itself claimed third overall, bringing home a trophy. Captain Gavin Boyd ‘27 and Williams led the charge, both placing first in their respective weight classes. “Yesterday we did pretty good.” Boyd reflected, “We had a good bit of people get in the finals, which was really awesome." Other highlights included podium finishes from Pearson, Ethan Shirk ’27, Will Lavan ’27, Cocona Yamamoto ’25, Nick Rosenberry ’28, Lucy Barker ’28, Michelle Zhang ’28.
“I think they've all done a great job,” said head coach Matt Shirk. Assistant coach Justin Lorsen was more critical. “The Mercersburg wrestlers performed well overall at the Admiral Holloway Tournament at St. James, but there are always things to work on.” He added, “It was nice to have so many wrestlers get their feet wet, experienced and novice, to see where we as a team need to work in the future. We look forward to getting back in the room on Monday and being ready to perform in front of our home crowd for the Mercersburg Duals this coming Saturday.”
While team and individual successes were celebrated duly, Blue Storm wrestling is already setting its sights on challenges ahead. Ethan Shirk ‘27 said his personal goal is “National Prep, All-American.” This sentiment was echoed across the team. Cocona Yamamoto, who placed second in her division, declared, “I will be first next time.” Jokingly, she added, “I also want to get a six-pack.”
As the team looks forward, Coach Shirk holds optimism for the season. “It's exciting this year,” he remarked, “I'm really excited to see where we go, how we progress and you know, keep everybody healthy and you know, just keep developing, working toward that end goal. One weekend or one match, One weekend at a time.”