Hampton, Deer Lakes mull cooperative wrestling program

Hampton Township and Deer Lakes school districts could be teaming up on the wrestling mat.

The school board in Hampton is scheduled to vote Aug. 12 on approving a cooperative program between the districts.

Deer Lakes has no wrestling program, but some students are interested in participating in the sport.

“If they grow the program to the point where they could have their own stand-alone, which I think is their ultimate goal, they would break off,” Hampton athletic director Michael Gavlik said during his board’s Aug. 5 work session. “They’ve just had a very hard time getting it started, because you really can’t have a team with three or four kids, from an economic standpoint, budget and things like that.”

The agreement, with Hampton serving as host district, would be for two years. At that point, a renewal could be considered.

As to whether Deer Lakes students would take the spots of Hampton wrestlers during matches, Gavlik acknowledged the possibility.

“Yes, math is math, and it could potentially take away in that regard. But in talking to the coaches, they just felt like this was an opportunity to strengthen the program and basically strengthen the numbers,” he said.

He explained that high school matches have 14 weight classes, and students can move up in class to accommodate the participation of more wrestlers.

Board member Matt Jarrell had expressed concerns in that regard.

“That makes sense to me in strengthening the program,” he said. “But I don’t want to have four Hampton kids who quit the team because they’re never going to see a mat in competition.”

With approval from the respective school districts, the next step is to draft a memorandum of understanding, including financial considerations. The program also would require approval by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Hampton Superintendent Michael Loughead offered assurance regarding the neighboring school district.

“We have a good relationship with Deer Lakes in general, which I think is very important when you’re going to do something like this. It’s also important to have trust between the superintendents, and we do,” he said, referencing counterpart Janell Logue-Belden.

Gavlik said that following necessary approvals for the wrestling program, a meeting among coaches and parents of interested students would be scheduled “to outline our expectations at Hampton and how we operate.”