Wyoming Seminary steadily climbing national rankings

If you haven't heard much about Wyoming Seminary yet, chances are you will soon. Upon hearing the name, one probably conjures up images of a theological school for priests or ministers in some rural Wyoming enclave, not the fastest rising prep wrestling program in the country.

John Gordon

But that's exactly what Coach John Gordon has built over the past nine years. A challenger that has steadily risen up the national rankings and become a serious threat for national supremacy to schools like Graham (OH), Blair Academy (NJ), Apple Valley (MN), St. Edward (OH), and Brandon (FL). And even though vaunted Blair Academy is still firmly entrenched at the top, the Blue Knights continue to move steadily up the national ladder toward them.

Wrestling fosters a pretty tight-knit community, so secrets usually don't stay that way for long. And those who are still unaware of Coach Gordon's emerging force (commonly referred to as "Sem") quickly learn to recognize. Longtime St. Ed's Coach Greg Urbas found that out when he hosted the Blue Knights as part of a quad last season.

"I was not aware of Wyoming Seminary, but some coach put me on to them and that's why I made the phone call," said Urbas, whose team lost the dual to Sem. "They're hard-nosed, they wrestle like a college team ... they're tougher than heck."

Simon Kitzis was a Beast of the East champion and Walsh Ironman runner-up this season (Photo/BuckeyeWrestling.com)

Now in his 26th year of coaching, Gordon has developed something of a reputation for restoring and rebuilding programs that have fallen by the wayside. The native New Englander won a couple regional titles at Fryeburg Academy in Maine, then moved a little west to the New Hampton School. There, he led the Wolverines to consecutive top 12 finishes at National Preps.

He wasn't necessarily looking to leave at that time, but the opportunity at Wyoming Seminary provided a better fit for his family. It had both an upper and a lower school, so his young children could attend the same school where he was a teacher and coach. Plus, they could grow up playing in the sports hotbed of Northeast Pennsylvania.

"Sem had a good tradition in wrestling, but it had really lapsed," Gordon recalls. "[The move] gave me the opportunity to continue to coach a sport I love in a place that embraced the idea of building a nationally-prominent program."

Nine years later, it appears the administration picked the right man for the job. It took a couple of years, but Gordon has had the Blue Knights in the national rankings since 2007, when they got as high at 22nd. After finishing in 27th place at National Preps in 2005, they have since finished eighth (2006), second (2007), third (2008) and second (2009).

Those second place finishes were to Blair, a program that every powerhouse prep wrestling team aspires to emulate -- and perhaps one day, beat.

"Blair should be a model to look at in terms of training and competition, and caring for kids – particularly if you're an independent boarding school like we are," Gordon says. "I won't claim to be operating at their level, but I think Coach Buxton's one of the more creative, hard-working teaching coaches in the country. Any ambitious program should be chasing them -- and we think of them as a model program that we would like to emulate in terms of performance."

Wyoming Seminary coaches celebrate after heavyweight Mike McMullan wins the Walsh Ironman (Photo/BuckeyeWrestling.com)

Of course, the school administration's support has also been critical Sem's success. To wrestle a schedule as ambitious as theirs has been this season -- the Blue Knights have already competed at Walsh Ironman, Beast of the East, The Cheesehead Invitational, and Escape the Rock -- requires both time off from school and sponsorship money. To help offset costs, Gordon and the Blue Knights rely on fundraising and the booster program that he created called Friends of Wyoming Seminary Wrestling.

In return, the wrestlers help spread the name of a small boarding school just outside of Wilkes-Barre. "I [believe] the administration [feels] that as long as our guys are good ambassadors of the school," Gordon says. "if they compete hard and conduct themselves as gentlemen and the coaches do the same, they see this as a benefit for Wyoming Seminary from a visibility standpoint."

That increased visibility has allowed Gordon to cull some of the wrestling-rich state's young talent to Kingston. Nearly a third of the kids are local, most of the team is from PA and entered the program as freshman. By shunning postgraduates and recruiting eighth graders, Gordon has been able to foster a very tight-knit team.

Northwestern recruit Mike McMullan is the nation's No. 1 heavyweight (Photo/BuckeyeWrestling.com)

"Six years ago, people needed to take a leap of faith," Gordon says. "We could talk about a vision, but we couldn't talk about results at that point. And so I needed some families to take a leap of faith. Now for those guys to come in, have a good experience, grow as wrestlers and succeed in big events, we can point to their success. They [end up] going to some really good colleges. And that same motto can work with your sons."

One of those families that bought in early was the McMullans. They've sent two sons through the program; Joe is a freshman at Bucknell, and Mike is the nation's top-ranked heavyweight and headed to Northwestern next year. "We're in the national spotlight right now, our program is at its peak," Mike McMullan says. "Every time someone seems a kid in a blue Sem singlet, they think, 'Oh, this kid might be pretty tough.' If you're at that point, I think that's pretty impressive."

To be sure, parents often send their kids to expensive independent boarding schools as a means to an end: a college scholarship to a quality institution. Even youngsters like talented freshman Eric Morris recognize the reality of the situation. "It's a college prep school, and we go there to get ready for school," Morris says. "That's the main goal, and going to Sem really gets you prepared for that [college environment]."

A total of 24 Sem alumni have gone on to wrestle in college over the past six years. The Blue Knights feature eight Division I recruits on this year's team, with commitments to a variety of schools such as Northwestern, Missouri, North Carolina, and Navy.

Ultimately, the architect of the Blue Knights can look at the current construction of his program and be proud of it's progress, while still hungry for more. "I am proud of the reality that we took a wrestling program that finished in 127th place at the National Prep tournament in 2001," Gordon says, "and created one that is currently ranked fifth nationally, and has been nationally ranked since 2007. The progression has been exciting."

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Wyoming Seminary steadily climbing national rankings

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