Bright lights shine over eight mats as the roar from the crowd fills Stabler Arena. High school wrestlers take to the floor one by one, some of whom are Lehigh bound.
Athletes gathered in the arena for the National Prep Wrestling Championship on Friday and Saturday — a tournament Lehigh hosted for the fourth time this year and one the university has been historically connected to.
William Sheridan, a Lehigh wrestling coach between 1912 and 1952, founded the National Prep Tournament. His son, Larry Sheridan, upheld the connection with the tournament by maintaining copies of all tournament brackets back to 1935, according to the National Prep Wrestling website.
The connection between the championship and Lehigh is only strengthened by the fact that many future Mountain Hawks compete in it.
Matthew Lopes, a first-year on the Lehigh men’s wrestling team, attended Blair Academy, a boarding school in Blairstown, New Jersey. There, he competed in the National Prep tournament.
He was only able to compete twice, as the COVID pandemic affected his first-year season, and he sustained an injury during his senior season. Even so, he was a two-time finalist, clinching the title once.
When looking back on his experience, Lopes said he believes the tournaments helped him prepare for higher levels of competition.
“The energy and environment within National Preps, and specifically within the finals, is definitely one that helped me learn the feeling behind competing on a stage,” Lopes said.
Lopes was able to contribute to the success of Blair Academy at National Preps and said he’s now ready for the more rigorous competitors he sees as a Mountain Hawk.
Blair has been historically successful at National Prep, receiving the most individual championships in tournament history, with 257 under its belt. The school finished second in team points this year. It also has one of the biggest high school rivalries in the nation — Blair vs. Wyoming Seminary.
While this rivalry is big in high school, it fades away once its athletes put on brown and white singlets.
Wyoming Seminary senior Anthony Evanitsky is committed to join the Lehigh men’s wrestling team next year and competed at the tournament this weekend.
Competing as a committed athlete, he said he decided to have a simple mindset this year, focusing solely on wrestling and grades.
Still, Evanitsky maintained the same level of training throughout his season this year. He said his team’s schedule is difficult, and the competition challenges him to work hard.
“We wrestle the best kids in the country week in and week out,” Evanitsky said. “I just want to be prepared for anything.”
Evanitsky won a National Prep title his junior year and placed sixth this year.
He said his favorite part of National Prep is competing with his team — a value he kept in mind when choosing a college team.
“The people at Lehigh stood out to me,” Evanitsky said. “They’re all just real, genuine and kind, and that’s just what I need to be around to succeed.”
The high school senior said he’s excited for his future as a Mountain Hawk and for a change in atmosphere compared to the familiarity of high school.
Natalia Accorsi, a current senior at Blair Academy who will be competing for the Lehigh women’s wrestling team next year, chose to be a Mountain Hawk for the same reasons.
Accorsi has competed in the National Prep tournament all four years of high school but for two different programs. She began at Tabor Academy in Massachusetts, where she was the only girl on the team, and she ended up at Blair for her senior year.
“I wasn’t getting the exposure I wanted at Tabor, so I applied to other schools and reached out to the Blair coaching staff,” Accorsi said. “It’s been the best year I’ve had in high school this far.”
Competing with Blair for the first time, she said her favorite part of the tournament was bonding with her team.
Accorsi is a two-time national champion, finishing second this year.
“The women’s program here is truly so welcoming, and it’s just been great to train with such high level athletes and girls that have such a big drive to achieve,” Accorsi said. “So, it’s truly been an inspiration to be surrounded by them this year.”
The culture cultivated at Blair made her long to find a close-knit women’s college program.
Accorsi said the experience she had with the team while on her visit excites her for the future, and she’s looking forward to joining a team that makes one another better people and athletes.
“I can’t wait to be surrounded by people that want to achieve the same stuff as me, both in the classroom and on the mat,” Accorsi said.
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