Batavia wrestling puts history on display

BATAVIA – Still a “wise fool” in the eyes of the Greeks, Batavia sophomore wrestler Anthony Scaccia grows keener each day in his Greco-Roman.

Memory lane stretches across the past 50-plus years in the Bulldogs’ new wrestling awards case, so it’s tough to avoid boning up.

Singlets, headgear, shoes, banners, sweatshirts, trophies and digital photography slides are among the items adorning the two-part case outside the school’s fieldhouse. Dedicated during a ceremony Saturday, the display’s early reviews bridge the old and new schools while inspiring both anew.

“It showed there used to be glory days, you know,” Scaccia said. “We’re just hoping we can do that someday with all the young talent.”

Formally, the period Scaccia refers to is called the “Glory Years,” and is commemorated in the slide with the shortest time span. From Nov. 26, 1977 to Dec. 7, 1980, Batavia won 46 consecutive dual meets and enjoyed the first sustained postseason successes that have been more commonplace today.

One of those “Glory Years” catalysts, former Bulldogs wrestler and coach Brian Drendel – who remains a Batavia faculty member and announcer at home duals – helped comprise the committee that organized the case.

Right around the time the program celebrated its 50th anniversary in the 2007-08 season, an anonymous donor delivered funds specifically requesting a wrestling tribute. The project coincided with the construction of Batavia’s state-of-the-art fieldhouse, which reached its completion during the 2010-11 school year.

“We didn’t want just another display case just filled with trophies, because everybody has seen those in high schools across the country,” Drendel said. “We wanted to do something unique, and that’s where we came up with all our different artifacts.”

The digital photo albums contain yearbook, newspaper and submitted photos and stay powered throughout the night. There’s a patent for an early headgear prototype and a letter from former House Speaker Dennis Hastert – a one-time Yorkville coach – commemorating the Bulldogs’ 50th anniversary celebration.

A banner from that season, autographed by scores of former Bulldogs, decorates the case of more recent vintage. In the 1957-80 case lies a “What did wrestling teach you?” display that includes a handful of testimonials from former Bulldogs.

Class of 1960 alum Dan Teeter’s contribution – “I learned how to kick butt” – doesn’t lack for candor, but neither do the words of 1961 graduate Rodney Ross.

Conceding that he might well have been the worst wrestler on coach Jerry Linton’s inaugural team, Ross lauded the sport for its life skills.

“I was a chubby kid who lost his baby fat,” he wrote, “and remained trim ever since.”

Though some were hoping for a stand outside Batavia’s wrestling room – another relatively new facility – the display in the fieldhouse hallway lies just a short walk away. Perhaps it’s for the best. Wrestlers, after all, shouldn’t grow complacent about past accomplishments, focusing instead on what’s ahead of them.

To that end, consider the motivational bulletin board fodder the Bulldogs see on their way to and from the wrestling and locker rooms each day: “There are 1,440 minutes in a day. Only six of them matter.”

Current coach Ben Morris admits he was a Batavia wrestling neophyte before succeeding Tom Arlis, who retired after the 2009-10 season. A coach in Class A for the first decade of his career, Morris paid attention to Arlis’ intensity downstate but, until recently, had not encountered him outside of state meets.

Arlis, Drendel and Morris joined coaching alumni Mike Rumple and Jim Cliffe at Saturday’s ceremony.

Several athletes who wrestled under them were on hand, too, while the ones who have yet to collect their final yearbooks anticipated making history of their own.

“It’s pretty cool to be a part of,” junior 120-pounder Joey Shump said. “We’re still chasing that first [individual] state champion, so that’s something to look forward to.”