The Solon varsity wrestling team have had their fair share of notable alumni including Kevin Hardy, Anthony Collica, Zach Stolarsky and Justin Kresevic who all wrestled at the division one level at The Ohio State University.
The team’s current captain, senior Aiden Hays, is one of Solon’s more notable wrestlers this year. Since Nov. 20 of 2022 Hays has a record of 13 – 11 with 7 pins across the 120, 126, 132, and 138 pound weight classes. Hays also has had a top five finish in six different tournaments over his current high school career with hopefully many more coming before his high school senior season debut.
As the captain of the team, Hays has more responsibility than solely being a wrestler. He’s a teammate, a friend, a role model and so much more.
“As a team captain I’ve got to make sure everyone is under control, [and] doing what they have to,” Hays said. “As a captain, I also got to check in on them, how they’re doing in school, not just the wrestling part, [just] making sure they’re doing good in life.”
Rob Farley, one of Hays’ several assistant coaches, truly believes in Hays as a leader and as a wrestler. He’s watched Hays wrestle since he was five years old, and he’s seen him become the person he is today.
“Aiden is a natural leader,” Farley said. “He got involved early and adapted and competed with the older kids from the get go. His father also taught him the ways of being an effective leader and leads by example.”
Teammate Giovanni Zito said, as a wrestler, Hays has various strengths, and considering he’s been doing it for more than a decade it shows in his performances.
“He does well under pressure,” Zito said. “If Aiden’s wrestling someone who’s supposed to beat him, he wrestles even better and is hungry to win.”
Farley also said one of Hays’ strengths is in the fact that he is knowledgeable about the sport of wrestling.
“He’s been wrestling since the age of five, everyone knows him and they follow his lead,” Farley stated.
As far as the upcoming season goes, the team has been working hard to prepare. For some, it will be their last.
“We’ve been doing practices two times a week for months now. It’s been going good,” said Hays. “We’ve been traveling to different schools and just doing our best to get ready.”
The team lost a handful of prominent seniors from last year, but even with the young core, Hays still has some hopes for his squad.
“To start we can all just have a winning record, you know, getting along with the whole team is always great,” said Hays.
The team’s season opens with the North Coast Classic tournament in Independence on Dec. 8.
