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Hoaglund earns 100th win on the mats

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 8 min read
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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Nathan Hoaglund goes head to head with Quentin Franklin during Mt. Lebanon’s dual meet earlier this season against South Fayette.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Nathan Hoaglund exhales as he attempts to roll his opponent on his back during WPIAL Class AAA team tournament action. The Mt. Lebanon senior recently earned his 100th career victory on the mats.

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Nathan Hoaglund wraps up a win during Mt. Lebanon's match against Peters Township.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Nathan Hoaglund works on his moves during a heavyweight match for Mt. Lebanon.

Nathan Hoaglund realized at an early age that he neither possessed the skill nor the physique of Michael Phelps. So the Mt. Lebanon senior eventually gravitated to wrestling.

Noting he used to be a on a swim team when his family lived in Massachusetts, Hoaglund said he was happy not to continue following in his sister’s footsteps. Amy Hoaglund, who is now a senior at at West Virginia University, is the aquatics expert in the family.

“I am extremely glad I opted for wrestling over swimming,” said the 18-year-old son of Robert and Tracy Hoaglund. “I didn’t have much potential in the pool.”

Considering further the sports shift, the heavyweight grappler added with great relief, “Thank goodness I’m into wrestling. A singlet provides a little more coverage,” he said of the alternative Speedo.

Whether outfitted in a one-piece garment specific to wrestling or arrayed in everyday clothing, Hoaglund cuts a winning figure on the mats and in the classroom.

He owns a 25-6 record this winter. Recently, he entered the Century Club for winning his 100th match. He owns a 100-39 career record.

Academically, he is a high honor roll student, maintaining a 4.59 GPA, and bound for the University of Pennsylvania, where he will wrestle and major in computer science.

“Nathan is a very good character person and a special wrestler because he is so coachable,” said Lebo wrestling coach Marc Allemang. “Nathan never complains or questions you. He trusts in his coaches and the training that he has put in.”

Since seventh grade, when his football coach Christopher Kolling convinced him to add the sport to his repertoire, Hoaglund has indeed put a lot of work into his wrestling. In addition to his “normal” high school workouts that include drills and emphasize different techniques, the 285-pound grappler trains at Quest Wrestling and competes in junior national competitions. In fact, he qualified and competed in the U.S. Marine Corps 2018 Cadet and Junior National Championships.

His performance last summer in North Dakota forced him to evaluate his goals and take a serious look at his future. He would not continue playing football. Instead, he would solely focus on his wrestling career.

“After my disappointing last match in Fargo, I talked to the Penn coach. He said the school was still on board with wanting me to go there but that I should consider focusing more on wrestling.”

That comment as well as a lingering knee injury compelled Hoaglund to quit football.

“There were moments, especially when my friends were all talking about it, that I did miss football and felt like an outsider but the act of playing football I did not miss so much.

“I knew football wasn’t something I wanted to do in college so I thought I might as well try and focus on getting better at wrestling. During the months I wasn’t playing football I was able to train and become a better, stronger wrestler.”

Hoaglund had an outstanding autumn. He placed in the Top 5 at the Super 32 Tournament held in North Carolina. Because of that showing he entered the 2018-19 scholastic wrestling season with high expectations.

“It was a huge confidence boost,” he said. “I knew there were things I wanted to achieve.’

Joining the Century Club wasn’t necessarily on his initial list of things to accomplish. When he started wrestling, Hoaglund said he was not aware it was a milestone. By his junior year he said he started to notice leader boards at different schools.

“That’s when I knew I really wanted to get there,” he said.

Hoaglund didn’t have to do much to win his 100th except step onto the mat, have his hand raised and accept the forfeit. Because he wanted to reach the milestone at home with his teammate, Luke Stout (see related sidebar), Hoaglund did not wrestle in a match against Hampton last week. Instead, both Stout and he earned their milestone wins on senior recognition night on Feb. 8 against Mars.

“It was a little bit of a letdown because every wrestler wants it to be a real match. There are a ton of forfeits in a lot of wrestler’s records and a forfeit is still a win,” Hoaglund explained.

“It’s really cool to be in the Century Club and to reach a milestone that not everybody attains. It’s especially rewarding when you consider I did not start out being the best in wrestling. I had work to do.”

Between now and the individual events, which commence with sectionals on Feb. 23 and conclude with the PIAA championships March 7-9 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Hoaglund indeed has improvements to make if he intends to achieve his goals. After all, he does have six losses this season. Two defeats have come against top-ranked Jake Slinger from Upper St. Clair. Hoaglund finished runner-up to Slinger in the Allegheny County Championships and lost to him during Lebo’s dual meet against the Panthers. Hoaglund has also lost to WPIAL contender Isaiah Vance from Hempfield in finishing fifth for the second straight season in the prestigious Powerade Tournament.

“The goal is to become a state champion and the way to achieve that is to limit distractions and stay the course,” Hoaglund said. “You can’t let the matches get into your head and make them bigger than they are. It’s just six minutes and you have to work hard.”

Noting he has been in big tournaments and wrestled against the very best in the country the past few years, Allemang also says that Hoaglund knows what to expect.

“There should not be a fear of the unknown. Rather, we just want him to be comfortable and relaxed, yet hungry to compete and enjoy each match in his final post season of high school.”

After that, expectations remain high for Hoaglund. In addition to earning his degree and graduating, Hoaglund hopes to become a national qualifier as well as an All-American.

Allemang shares those aspirations. However, he believes Hoaglund will do much more at Penn.

“Nathan will do many great things over the next four years,” Allemang predicted. “Penn is a great fit for him. Penn provides a challenging academic environment in which I know Nathan will thrive and he will also continue to improve in wrestling.”

Who is he: Mt. Lebanon High School senior who recently joined wrestling’s Century Club for winning 100 career matches.

Age: 18

Birthday: Sept. 21

Parents: Robert and Tracy 

Siblings: Robert, 24; Amy, 22

Sports: Wrestling, football 

Athletic achievements: Powerade fifth-place finisher (twice); Super 32 place winner; U.S. Marine Corps 2018 Cadet and Junior National qualifier; Allegheny County and section runner-up; WPIAL qualifier.

Academics: 4.59 GPA 

Clubs: National Honor Society

Awards: Student of the Month, January 2019; Honor of the Game Award For Winter Sports, 2018; 

College choice: University of Pennsylvania

Major: Computer science

Color: Blue

Food: Cheeseburger

Restaurant: Cafe IO

Class: AP Calculus

Teacher: Mrs. Amanda Checque

Book: ” Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything” by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Song: “Goofy Goober Rock”

With whom would you like to have dinner? Steven Hawking. “Because he was pretty smart.”

Biggest lesson learned from sports that will help you in the future?

In sports and in life, there are a lot of ups and down so you have to stay with the course and not give up.

Luke Stout also joined the Century Club when the Mt. Lebanon junior scored a tech fall over Sean McElhinny in the third period of his match against Mars.

“Luke had a nice win against a pretty solid wrestler,” said Lebo mat boss Marc Allemang. “His 100th win coming in his junior season is pretty special.”

The achievement was special, too, in the regards that until Feb. 8, Mt. Lebanon had only one wrestler in the club-Stout’s older brother, Kellan. Yet, the Blue Devils added two to the list as Nathan Hoaglund also registered his 100th victory during the dual meet with the Planets.

Those facts thrill Stout, who improved to 32-1 on the season and 100-15 overall.

“It was really cool to get to that mark in my career,” he said of his 100th victory. “I’m glad I got it with my teammate and joining my brother was definitely nice.”

Allemang added, “To add two more names along side Kellan’s is pretty cool. We hope that the list continues to grow.”

The next closest Lebo grappler to the century mark is Jackson Gray. The junior is currently 23-8 on the season and 66-30 overall.

Stout’s younger brother, Mac, is also on track as the freshman is already 25-8 with the post season still to follow.

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