MORGANTOWN — Just over 2 percent of all high school wrestlers make it to the college level. For University High, the class of 2019 already produced three.
Senior grapplers Brise Bennett and Matthew Simpson signed their letters of intent during a ceremony in the UHS Auditorium on Wednesday, joining teammate Jacob Simpson in moving on to the next level. Simpson will join the program at West Liberty, where his brother already signed, while Bennett will head to Iowa-based William Penn University.
“A lot of people don’t decide to wrestle in college, so to send three guys off is a pretty big deal,” Simpson said.
Bennett and Simpson both gave credit to Hawks’ coach Ken Maisel for building a program that develops young wrestlers into successful upperclassmen that have the tools to advance and thrive at the next level — something that has been evident by the team’s success in recent years.
“It’s amazing — they say champions come in pairs, you know? We put in the work, and our coaching staff is amazing. They take us step by step — we never lose, we learn. They were a huge aspect in us getting this far,” Bennett said.
For Simpson, sealing his commitment feels a bit like redemption after his high school career came to an abrupt end on a controversial concussion ruling at the regional tournament. While the injury dashed his state title dreams and was a less-than-ideal finish to his final season with the Hawks, he is excited to begin the next chapter of his career.
“It ended rough — I didn’t have the greatest ending or the greatest season this year, but I think I’m going to continue to make strides and continue to develop in all aspects,” he said.
Bennett advances to the college level after finishing his high school career with a fifth-place finish in the 160-pound weight class at the state tournament. He chose to make the trek to Iowa to join William Penn over other in-state schools after deciding the program would be the best option for his development on and off the mat.
“It seemed like a perfect fit. The teammates are great guys, and they’re always working — even in-between classes I’d see them drilling and just getting the extra work in. Coach (Aron) Scott is a really good guy and comes from a great wrestling background,” he said.
”I’m going for business management, and in the long run I want to be a real estate agent and own my own firm. I figured getting this degree would be a step in the right direction. I got to meet my professors and they all seemed hands on and like good people.”
Phares to make special impact at West Liberty
Jonah Phares grew up on the soccer pitch. He never planned to make football his primary sport. Now, after a successful career on the gridiron at UHS, he’ll look to make a college career out of the sport after signing with West Liberty on Wednesday.
“I never thought about being a kicker for a football team, and my sophomore year, during conditioning before the season started, I took a video of me kicking a 35-yard field goal and sent it to coach (John) Kelley. The rest is history,” he said.
Phares’ strongest asset is his field goal ability, but he looks to improve all facets of his kicking game in order to make the maximum impact possible as he joins the Hilltoppers.
“My strong point is field goals, but I could use some work on kickoffs and punting. People like when people can do all three — they’ve already said the best player plays, and I know they need a punter right now. I want to be able to fill that position,” he said.
Grabow finds new home at Bethany
Corinne Grabow can’t say enough good things about her time at UHS. Now, as she prepares to graduate and continue her soccer career at the next level, the senior goalkeeper has a new home in Bethany College — one which may suit her even better than the one she’s called home for the last four years.
“It really just checked off all the boxes I wanted when I was looking for a college. I knew I wanted to go to a small school that had a smaller class size, and I had the opportunity to continue my soccer career, which was really awesome,” she said.
Grabow was a member of the University teams that captured the 2016 state championship and finished as runner-up in 2017, and expects to make an immediate impact at Bethany.
“I was told pretty much that I’m going to get to play next year, which is awesome compared to if I went to a different school and I might not get to play until my junior year,” she said.
