February’s athlete of the month is junior wrestling star, Ethan McKelvain. He has been the backbone of the team throughout his time at Yorktown and has inspired many other young wrestlers at the school. McKelvain is regarded as one of the pioneers of Yorktown wrestling. His teammates look up to him as both a motivator and a physical specimen. The coaching staff has also praised his potential as he prepares for his future after high school. He credits wrestling with developing both his physical and mental attributes. Although he does not idolize any wrestlers, it would be a dream come true to find himself on the professional stage.

Q: How long have you been wrestling?

A: I have been wrestling for about 6 years. I started in 6th grade.

Q: Do you participate in any other sports?

A: I also play lacrosse.

Q: Do you plan to continue wrestling after high school?

A: I do not plan to wrestle after high school, however; I may participate in club wrestling.

Q: Do you credit anyone with attracting you to the sport?

A: My dad was a big wrestler in high school and college wrestling as a heavy weight, and both my older and younger brother wrestle.

Q: What is your usual workout routine?

A: My usual workout routine starts with a warm-up run for 30 minutes followed by more conditioning and live wrestling in the wrestling room.

Q: How have you bonded with your teammates?

A: I have bonded with most of the kids that I wrestle with around my weight no matter the grade they are in.

Q: How much time do you spent each week devoted to wrestling?

A: It depends on if we have a meet or not. If it is nothing but practice all week, we have 6 days of practice, each 3 hours long. This ends up being around 18 hours of just practicing each week. When we have meets or tournaments, they can take up the whole day and if it is big enough, it may take up two days.

Q: Do you consider yourself a leader on the team?

A: Yes, I would consider myself as being a leader on the team as I am a captain with Clay Chadwick.

Q: What would you tell someone that is curious in joining wrestling?

A: I would tell them that wrestling is a very tough sport that is very time consuming. If you are not committed to this sport, then it will show when you wrestle any of your matches. The person with the most heart in this sport will always win. This sport can be very fun if you are confident in yourself, but it is very hard to succeed and get better if you don’t try to put in the effort.