December 4, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Major turnover for CHA wrestling
by TOM UTESCHER

Just in from a preseason training run, Chestnut Hill Academy wrestling co-captains Nick Varallo (left) and Justin Heller (right) flank head coach Charlie Neely.  (Photo by Tom Utescher)

There were only two senior starters in the Chestnut Hill Academy wrestling team lineup last winter, so you’d expect the Blue Devils’ roster this season to consist mainly of seasoned varsity veterans.

That would’ve been the case if no fewer than seven grapplers out of last year’s crop of underclassmen hadn’t decided they wouldn’t be returning to the mat this season.

Fortunately, head coach Charlie Neely picked up seven other upper school athletes to fill the void, and there are a couple of eighth-graders who may do some varsity wrestling as well. This should leave the Blue Devils with the capability to fill almost every weight class in most contests and give up a minimum of forfeit points to fully staffed foes.

Seniors Justin Heller and Nick Varallo are the co-captains for CHA this winter. Varallo competed at 130 lbs. a year ago, while Heller saw action at both 112 and 119 lbs., placing second at the lighter weight in the PA Independent School Wrestling Championships last February. The only other upperclassman on the team is Steve Dandridge. A former middle school wrestler who has not donned a singlet in several years, Dandridge has returned to the sport as a middleweight, and will probably wrestle in the 145 or 152 lb. class.

The three juniors on the roster were all varsity regulars last winter: Will Emery at 285 lbs., Brendan Spearing at 189/215, and Ethan Wang at 171. The other returning wrestlers are sophomores Dan Gallagher (also CHA’s starting quarterback in football) at 152, Matt Rubin at 145, and Connor Small at 112. Members of this last group are likely to move up in weight class this time around.

Also around the 112/119 category are freshmen Matt Klauder and Rob Ortelere, both members of CHA’s middle school team last season. Three other ninth-graders are newcomers, Tyler Hightower (285), Mike Moriarty (119/125), and Harrison Simms (145/152). Coach Neely can also draw on a pair of eighth-graders with wrestling experience: Ethan Wang’s brother Jordan (103) and George Kunkel (140).

Neely is maintaining an all-alumni staff, with Dom Castelli (1993) and Andrew Stephenson (2001) returning as his assistants.

While most of the Devils’ dual meets are scheduled for January and February, December will be chock full of tournament action. After attending an annual event at Germantown Academy, CHA will host its own long-running invitational on Dec. 13. Chestnut Hill will take a larger complement of athletes down to Delaware’s renowned Beast of the East tournament (only Heller participated last year), and during the holiday break the Blue Devils will make their first appearance in the Ralph Wetzel Holiday Classic at Hatboro-Horsham High School.

Neely says that CHA’s own tourney will feature a field of 14 teams, including Germantown Friends and Penn Charter.