By Sara Widman ’15, Staff Writer

Newark Academy is well known for its rigorous academics and ambitious scholars. In recent years more and more determined students have decided to take the path of playing college sports in addition to pursuing a higher education. Students have been become increasingly involved in the recruiting process, graduating to an excellent mix of D1 and D3 schools. Last year, star wrestler Pat Gerish went off to wrestle at University of Maryland, College Park, a huge feat for Newark Academy as it is one of the top ranked schools of the Big 10. This year, Brendon Seyfried, a long time wrestling star in the school community, committed to Williams College in Massachusetts. Williams is ranked as the top liberal arts school in the nation and finished 3^rd in the NEWA championships this past season. Brendon was kind enough to sit down for an interview with the Minutemen and talk about his life as a wrestler and experiences in the college recruiting process.

Brendon has always been incredibly dedicated, on and off the mat. Ever since starting the sport at age 7, Brendan practices as often as 6-7 days a week, 11 months a year. When asked about the most influential coach throughout his career, he did not hesitate when answering that the person was his father. Brendon explained, “I started wrestling due to my father’s passion and love of the sport, but I only grew to love it as much as he does. He has provided me with the perfect foundation to build my success and without the help and motivation he has provided me, there is no chance I would have had the same success on and off the mat.”

“In addition to my father,” he continued, “I still have many of the same coaches that I had as an early wrestler, dating back to fourth grade. My coaches have watched me mature and been along side me, helping me make little strides in a big marathon.”

Each athlete has a unique experience with the college recruiting process, and Brendon’s was both challenging and inspirational. For some, pursuing college sports may be a tough decision, but he went into the process with a clear head, stating, “wrestling has been such a fundamental part of what I do and how I define myself, it was hard for me to envision giving it up.” Like most athletes, Brendon began the process by emailing coaches early in his junior year, and was convinced for a long time that he wanted to follow in Pat Gerish’s path and go to one of the Big 10 schools.

However, as the summer before senior year came to a close, he became further interested in Williams, a school that hadn’t even been on his radar until a month prior. Brendon had many choices of schools to attend, but he explained, “As much as I love wrestling, it was clear that after college it will come to an end, so I was looking for a place where I could have the most well-rounded college experience… Williams has the ‘sports culture’ that I was looking for, while maintaining an atmosphere where I can explore all of my interests and continue to grow as a student, person and athlete.” Although Brendon and the rest of Newark Academy is so excited to see what he accomplishes in the future, his last wrestling season of high school is coming up and he is fully focused on the present. Newark’s wrestling team may be small, but Brendon is proud of such a hardworking group and has high standards for both the team and himself. As he explained, “This really will be the pinnacle of all my accomplishments. I have already won two Essex country titles so winning it a third time this year is very important to me. There are few people in Essex country history that have accomplished this and it will be a huge accomplishment. My main goal, however, is to capture a New Jersey State title. Over the past months I have proved to myself that I am capable of competing with anyone in the country at my weight class and I am looking forward to seeing how the team continues to grow and how each individual will surpass expectations.”

When asked if he had any closing lines or advice for young aspiring athletes just beginning their sophomore or junior year, Brendon calmly answered, “The recruiting process is long and tiring, but I can assure everyone that it’s worth it. Other people applying to college don’t see how much work it can be, but putting the work in early will make the recruiting process easy.”

The Minuteman would like to thank Brendan for giving his time for this article.