This season has seen SPIRE’s Wrestling program achieving phenomenal results on the mat. Thanks to the school’s seasoned coaching, integrated training program and forward thinking processes, these athletes continue to dominate in the ring across the states – making a name for themselves and SPIRE along the way.

An early milestone in the season was at the John Carroll Open, where despite still being in high school, SPIRE wrestlers Brogan Fielding and Joelle Scott made their collegiate level competition debut. Both Fielding and Scott ultimately went 4–0, claiming 1st place in their respective classes. Just about one month later, the program set another milestone at the Journeymen World Classic. SPIRE wrestlers Brogan Fielding and Ryan Kennedy showed the full force of their exceptional skill, achieving a notable 3-2 record against some of the best wrestlers in the world.

The Women’s program at SPIRE has seen their equal share of accolades. At the Top Gun Tournament earlier this year, both Lexi Beadle & Joelle Scott showcased exceptional skills, securing 1st place in their respective weight class. Speaking on the growth of women’s wrestling, Head Coach Mike Kulczycki explained, “10 years ago, most girls had to wrestle boys—but now, it seems like every couple weeks there’s a new women’s college program starting up.” SPIRE is dedicated to making their Women’s program as complete and accessible as possible—which includes training them in Freestyle in preparation for collegiate competition (as opposed to many high school programs that train them in Folkstyle).

Even earlier in the season at the Powerade Tournament, Beadle and Scott dominated the competition, going undefeated and claiming victory in their weight classes. Despite SPIRE having only had two female wrestlers competing, the school impressively scored a 10th place finish out of 41 teams. Kulczycki explained, “This was a stepping stone that created a lot of interest in SPIRE.” In addition to the Powerade Tournament, Beadle’s performance at this season’s Findlay Fight Women’s Tournament where she earned a 3rd place finish also helped to further solidify the school’s reputation in the wrestling community.

SPIRE went on to further display their dominance at the Maumee Bay Classic. Brogan Fielding’s impeccable 5-0 performance earned him the top spot, while Ryan Kennedy earned a commendable 2nd-place finish. Markell Mitchell and Talan Hubbard also brought grit to the mat and secured notable finishes. Kulczycki remarked that at this tournament, spectators learned that SPIRE was much more than an event space… it was a serious sports boarding school developing the next generation of elite athletes. On training and developing its athletes for the future, he explained, “Everyone’s got big goals. They have aspirations to go on to college and compete…even make the US World and Olympic teams. They’re living at SPIRE so they can get to that next level because they want to be great.”

Bobby Kaleal, SPIRE’s Director of Performance, told us that wrestling can be much more than a sport, saying, “The people at the top realize that this isn’t a job. This is my passion.” He went on to attribute much of the program’s success to the dedication and passion of the staff, viewing their work with the student athletes as more than just a job but as a mission to help them reach their full potential. He explained the importance of their understanding and respecting the individual needs of each athlete. He also discussed how important it is to focus on building relationships with the athletes, highlighting the significance of empathy and sympathy in understanding and supporting their continued physical and mental well-being. Kulczycki remarked that being able to be involved with his student athletes on a near-daily basis helps create a bond stronger than any other program in the country, ultimately serving the team culture as a whole.

Both Kulczycki and Kaleal are looking to the future. Kaleal told us that he wants to continue expanding and improving, particularly in terms of research and development. He discussed creating a research institute at SPIRE, which aims to explore various aspects of sports science, including the unique challenges faced by the school’s female athletes. Kulczycki is looking forward to the future and is excited about what the wrestling team will achieve next. He told us, “Four out of five graduating wrestlers are coming back for next year and doing a post-grad year. That says a lot about the program because if they weren’t happy, they’d be going somewhere else. Instead, they are confident the results warrant sacrificing another year away from their family and not going to college yet, just prepare so they can get to that next level.”

SPIRE’s Wrestling program is clearly setting new standards in the sport, not only in terms of athletic achievement but also in terms of athlete development and innovation in training. With a dedicated team of passionate wrestlers and coaches, SPIRE will continue pushing the boundaries of excellence in wrestling for many seasons to come.