Troy Christian Wrestling Wins National Event
Orlando, Florida

When an athlete says “I’m headed to Disney World” they are usually talking about going there to celebrate an important victory such as in the much imitated and parodied Super Bowl ads.

The Troy Christian wrestlers headed down to Disney World for another reason; to win a National wrestling event, the “Disney Duals”.  Ten members of the Troy Christian High School wrestling team traveled to Orlando, to compete in the 2008 AAU Scholastic Duals, held at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex.  After placing third last year, the TC Wrestling Club was not going to be satisfied this summer with anything less than a championship.

The 11th Annual AAU Scholastic Duals known because of their location as the "Disney Duals" is a showcase for some of the best high school wrestling talent in the United States.  A total of 64 teams from 15 states competed in the “community” division.  Unlike the All-star teams which allow participants from all over a state, the community division requires a minimum of 10 wrestlers from the same high school to be on a 13 weight class team.  In the mix were 16 Ohio teams including D1 and D2 past State Runner-ups Moeller and Eastwood.

With a nationwide field it would be easy to assume that no matter your local success during the high school season, teams from a small town like Troy would not fare so well.  That has not been the case however as Troy Christian finished third last year.  And, a team from Ohio has alternated in winning the championship for the past 7 years with Illinois teams.

After 3 days of wrestling and going into the finals, TC was a perfect 8-0 in dual meets with a combined score of 439-117 over opponents from PA, OH, IN, FL and GA.  The eagles beat Collins Hill, the 5A State Champs from Georgia, in the quarter finals 37-30.  TC then defeated Palmetto Ridge, the 2A powerhouse from Florida, in the semi finals 48-20.

The finals were set against defending Disney Dual Champs Montini Catholic of Illinois.  The Broncos were the State Champs in Illinois 2A last year and were ranked 7th Nationally in the Intermat top 40 prep rankings. TC won six critical matches picking up bonus points for pins and major decisions, to beat Montini 35-26.    “The finals were not just about winning the Disney Duals and bringing the title back to an Ohio team.  Beating Montini is a major milestone in our goals for the 2008-2009 season where we hope to be a top 25 team Nationally”, said Head Coach, Steve Goudy.

"The competition at Disney is very intense. You are likely to go up against a wrestler who is one of the top three or four in his state.  Of the top 8 teams, 2 out of 3 wrestlers are state placers, nearly half are state finalists and 1 in 3 are State Champs from their home state.” Said Goudy.

How did TC prepare? "We work hard and believe that we have just as much potential as teams from bigger cities and states," said Goudy.  In order to participate in the Disney Duals, wrestlers must be willing to continue their in-season conditioning and training regimens for a few months after the state high school championships in March.  Most accomplish this by participating in Olympic freestyle wrestling clubs and tournaments. 

Along with the fantastic team accomplishment, 6 individuals were crowned All-Americans by placing in the top four in their respective weight classes: Chris Burns, Kyle Burns, Zac Hancock , Ben Sergent, Jordan Thome and Zach Toal were All-Americans.  TC wrestlers Jordan Hancock, Sam Akins, Kyle Keplinger, Michael Baker, Tyler Goudy, and Pawlos Campbell competed on the team.  Zach Toal was recognized as the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.  Additionally, graduating Senior, Ben Sergent who will be attending Central Michigan in the fall, earned AA honors and was awarded the Most Technically Superior wrestler.

“I am very proud of their hard work and the results at Disney.  I am more pleased with how our kids represented themselves on and off the mat.  It is important to our staff that we are not just working on wrestling goals, but developing Christ-like character that will last through a lifetime.  That is what will matter beyond wrestling.”  Said Goudy.  “On behalf of the team, I want to thank our coaching staff for their tremendous time investment and all the individuals that supported our efforts

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Team Roster:

103 Isaac Jordan, 112 Jordan Hancock, 119 Ben Sergent, 125 Paulus Campbell, 130 Jordan Thome, 135 Zac Hancock, 140 Chris Burns, 145 Kyle Burns, 152 Zach Toal, 160 Kyle Keplinger, 171 Sam Akins, 189 Casey Newburg, 215 Mike Baker, Hwt Matt Prichard