If you would of stayed at 112 do you think you would of won state.I can't really say if I would have won for sure or not, I
think it would have been harder. Of course Jared Herzog was there and I've never
beat him, plus Collins was really tough. And I felt a little small when i was
wrestling at 112. I think it would have been tougher to get to the finals but i
don't think my finals match would have been any tougher.
Jerry, how much do you think your family's support helped you
during your wrestling career? Who was your biggest supporter and what was your motivation
to never give up?
My family helped a lot during my
career, they were there for every match I've ever had and have always encouraged me
to do my best. They taught me never to give up and without that there are a lot of
matches that i would have lost. Also, if I lost a match or had a bad tournament,
they wouldn't get mad at me like some parents do these days. That really just kills
a kid's desire to wrestle. I appreciate everything they did for me, not just my
parents but my brothers and sisters to.
Jerry, Other than winning in the State Finals last year, what
one match sticks out in your mind the most as being one of your most memorable ones?
Well I'd like to say the time I beat Jared
Herzog, but that never happened. A couple matches come to mind that I'll never
forget, state semis against shell, regional finals against Pavelokosky, or the brookville
duals against Hartrum. But if I had to pick one, I guess it would be beating Sample
my sophomore year to go to states. Sample tech. falled me earlier in the season and I
never expected to make it to states that year.
Jerry, How did you feel standing up on the top of the podium
at Hershey?
Mostly relieved because the entire tournament
I was more nervous than I had ever been in my life. And of course I was excited but
also a little sad becuase I knew it was the last time I would ever wrestle for Reynolds.
Jerry, Who do you consider your toughest opponent during your
wrestling career?
Well even though I never beat Herzog, I think
that Hartrum was a better wrestler and since i wrestled him so many times I'd have to pick
him.
Jerry, Any words of wisdom for younger wrestlers coming up?
Listen to your coaches, Reynolds has the best
coaches in the state. You might not agree with what they tell you at first, but in
the end you'll find that they know what they are talking about. Also, you have to have fun
wrestling if you want to be good. With the practices we have you'll get burnt out in
no time if you don't have anything good to keep you going.
Jerry, I have seen you at the tournaments with all of your
friends cheering on the team. Do you like watching from the stands or would you rather be
out on the mat?
I would definitely love to be out there
again. But It's kinda nice to be able to sit in the stands and just relax. I
still get nervous watching everyone though, now I know how hard it was for my parents.
Jerry, I saw you as a ref at the Reynolds tournament, do you
have a greater respect for refs now that you are one? Which do you like more being a ref
or wrestling?
Yes I do. It's really hard doing what
they do, and you're not always gonna make the right call. There isn't a perfect ref.
And you better believe if you make a mistake there gonna be somebody there to let you know
it. Even if you do make the right call there's always a fan or coach who will have a
problem with you. I'd definitely like wrestling more, nobody likes you when your a
ref.
Jerry, Who is your biggist influence in your wrestling
career?
Being at Reynolds gives you a lot of people
to look up to , wrestlers and coaches. My parents did a lot for me to and encouraged
me to be a good sport too. I guess I would say my brother Nick because he is the
reason I started wrestling.
Why did you decide not to wrestle in college and what made
you decide on Pitt?
There are alot of reasons why I'm not
wrestling. Mainly I'm to small for the college level, I only weigh about 123 without any
conditioning and school is just more important to me at this point. It would never be like
it was in high school with the coaches and friends that I had. I decided to go to
Pitt because it has a good medical program and it's not to far away from home so I can
still come home to watch wrestling.
What do you think of the style hollobaugh uses in his
wrestling matches? and do you think that his match with mcelhinney lived up to the
expectation?
I like the way he wrestles, he wrestles the
same way in practice and that's exactly why I practiced with him. He's a tough
wrestler and he's not the only one he's just the only one people say anything about.
He asked me how he should wrestle at states, if he should tone it down a bit or not, and I
told him to stick with what's been working for him. I really don't think he'll have
a problem with calls at states. I don't want to see any less than what he gave me at
practice. As for the Mcelhinny match, that's exactly what I expected from him and I think
he'll do even better next time he wrestles him. I also thought he did a great job
bringing him down to the mat as easy as he could and he still got booed. I know Justin was
anxious for the match because he was gonna get to wrestle someone as aggressive as he is
and that's what he wants.
Hey Kendall, how do you think you would have fared against
Macelhaney if you would have wrestled him last year? I believe you wrestled him before
havent you???
The last time I wrestled Mcelhinny was in the
j.o. finals and he pinned me in about 23 seconds. I don't know about last
year, he's really quick and I don't like wrestling guys like that, it would have
been a good match.
Jerry, It is Aunt Pat. Your mom mentioned that you were
thinking about reffing. Did you do it and if so how is it being on the other side of the
coin?
Hey aunt Pat, yes, I reffed six tournaments
this year and it's definitely not as fun as wrestling. I said more about it in a
previous question. Thanks for writing.
How do you think this year's team compares to the last couple
of years?
I think this years team is better than last
year. They're more balanced than we were last year and I think they proved that when
they took all 13 wrestlers to districts, and now they're taking 9 to regionals.
Jerry, How do you feel Justin Hollobaugh will fare for the
rest of the season? How do you feel about his wrestling style?
I think this is Justin's year. He hit a
little slump earlier in the season but everybody does. He's wrestling great and i
don't think anyone can stop him now. I like Justin's style, I talked more about it
earlier.
what do you miss most about wrestling now that you are not
wrestling this year?
The coaches and my team members, the
wrestling team is like another family.....winning was fun to.
Would you consider going into another sport say Judo since
you feel you are too small for collegiate wrestling?
I'm not sure, judo is a pretty cool
sport and my aunt Betty is a 5th degree black belt in it. Maybe i'll think about it.
Jerry, congratulations on your great career at RHS. I am
curious as to why you didn't wrestle for the PA Team in last year's Dapper Dan Classic ? I
noticed that they didn't have a 103 match at that event. Were you extended an invitation
to wrestle in that Classic ? Also, I'm curious as to what colleges expressed an interest
in you, to the extent of receiving a scholarship offer ? Good Luck to you in pursuing a
medical education and career.
Thank you. I would have liked to
wrestle at the Dapper Dan but I was told that they weren't going to have a 103 pound
weight class that year. I definitely would have done it though. Mercyhurst
college had the most interest in me, I also talked to columbia (a little thanks to
steve), and some school in Iowa.
You didn't make the line up your freshman year, was it your
family or your desire not to quit that kept you going or something else that made you come
back the next year?
Well I've always had a desire to
wrestle, so not starting wasn't going to keep me from doing it. I had a lot of
fun in wrestling every year I was in it. I think that I matured a lot in my
wrestling from my freshman to sophomore year. And rocky is an outstanding wrestler
so I wasn't to upset losing to him.
Did Owen Brickell surprise you this year and do you think he
can go all the way?
I don't think anyone is surprised Owen is
doing so good. I expect it from him, he's always been a great wrestler. I think he
has what it takes to go all the way and he's still got one more year. He's fun to
watch to, he's another tough wrestler like hollobaugh. And he hits a shingara (or claw)
like there's no tomorrow.
Jerry, I notice you are very close to your teamates. Why is
it you always go up in the parade of champions and hug the wrestlers?
Hollobaugh and I have a little tradition in
the parade of champions from when I was still there, and tradition is real big at
reynolds. And all the wrestlers on the team were close last year, i just want to
wish my friends good luck, sorry i missed you at districts jake.
Like you when you were a Freshman Brickell was just a
wrestler to plug in the line up when he first moved here. Where do you see him in the next
2 years?
Actually brickell wasn''t just there to plug
in the line up. When he came to Reynolds we were really solid around our middle weights
and it was hard for anyone to get a spot. A couple of people switched starting positions
throughout the season. I'm really confindent I'll see Owen at the top of the podium at
states at least once.
jerry are you planning entering any open tournaments during
the summer or any time soon?
Yes I am, I was going to do a couple but I
didn't want to miss sec., dist., or regionals. If anyone know of any open tournaments
coming up you could email me at gsk5@pitt.edu, or if
you just want to say hi.
jerry just wanted to let you know that it was a pleasure
watching you all your years of wrestling and watching you improve every year. you had a
tremendous career and good luck in college!
Thanks a lot! I appreciate all the support I
got throughout my carreer.
I would think long and hard about judo, I would like to go to
the olympics as a spectator -- YDSAB
I'll seriously consider it, thanks aunt
Betty.
Jerry Kendall your the man. Whaty does it feellike to be the
man. Gerald Stamn the man. What is it that makes Reynolds better than other school around
this area? Is it somthing in the water? I just want your opinion. There is a lot of talk
on the D10 website How do you feel about all of the degrading of Reynolds? well take it
easy Stamn...
Well, Reynolds has a lot of pride and a
lot of tradition. We have some of the hardest practices in the state and the best
coaches. Everyone on the team sticks together and shows a lot of team work.
Reynolds is so good becuase we don't try to bring down the best teams, we work harder to
surpass them. I've been reading some of the things on the D10 website and there are
a lot of stupid fans out there. A lot of people get on there putting down wrestlers
who are only in highschool, and teams (it's not even just reynolds). I think that some of
the fans are getting out of hand. Hollobaugh for example, I never see any of his
opponents complaining about Hollobaugh being to aggressive, the fans are making them look
like babies. And it's just not right when fans boo wrestlers. Some people are just
ignorant. But i've noticed that the D10 forum is getting better and people are even
starting to stick up for each other. Thanks for writing buddy.
Do you think it is hard for Justin to have you and Justin
gone? I mean it was the 3 J's and now its down to a J. However he has deceided to buy a
vowel and picked up an "O" DO you think he his handeling himself well with out
you 2? How would you handle it if you were in his shoes?
It's gotta be a little hard for him, we were
really close to each other and us 3 always had good time at states. But I think he's
taking his captain position nicely this year. He still has a lot of friends there
with him and he'll have plenty of teammates to keep him company at states, including me.
Hey Doc, I just want to say hello, and since every one asked
so many great questions, all mine got answered. So, I guess all I really need to know is
when are you coming to NYC to visit me?? ~Popovitch
Well dude, i'll come see you anytime, just
send me some first class plane tickets and i'll start packing. Email me sometime
buddy.
How do u feel about Curt Harnetts situation?
I hate that something like that can keep a
kid from wrestling. He's been around a long time and he's missing his senior year
becuase of something completely unrelated to wrestling. But I guess he did get
caught once before and should have learned from his first mistake. I would liked to
have seen him wrestle this year though, he would have done great. He's a really good
kid to.
would you of rather been a heavyweight than a 103 pounder? Do
you have a ny regrets in your wrestling career?
Heck no, I got nervous before every match I
ever wrestled, and wrestling 103 was nice because I got it over with quickly. I
couldn't stand it if I had to wrestle last. I do have some regrets, every match I ever
lost.
jerry having two brothers in your family were there some
family matches going on at home and what did you parents think about that?
Yup, and they're still
going on. They
don't have much to say about it because they don't want to get involved.
Jerry, Aunt Pat signing off. Got to go to work but just
wanted to say how proud of you we all are and with your winning attitude you will go far
in anything you decide to do.
Thanks for everything, I hope I get to talk
to you in person some time.
Do you think that Justin Nestor will be a starter on next
year's Pitt wrestling Team ? I realize that he's redshirting this year, but I'm curious
how he stacks up against some pretty good Pitt Wrestlers at or near his weight class ? Who
handles whom in the Pitt practice room ???
I'm not sure what goes on in pitt's practice
room, but I know justin is wrestling the best kids there and giving 100%. He's been
doin open tournaments and doin great, he took 2nd at one with 30 kids in his bracket I
believe. I'm sure he'll start next year and do great.
jerry, what about your boxing career?
Well that was a lot of fun but I think it's
time to retire. Maybe I'll go to coaching now if Hollobaugh does it again. |