Freedom trio provide a standard of excellence

Last spring, Freedom wrestling head coach Kent Nagy and his staff faced a tough decision who would be The Standard for 2013-14?

The Standard is an award the Eagle coaching staff presents each year to a rising senior who best personifies what they expect a Freedom wrestler to stand for. First, the young man must be a success in the classroom; second, he must be a good person, unselfish and caring about his teammates; and third, he must be a good wrestler.

Without the first two qualifications, the third really doesnt matter, Nagy said when describing the type of person The Standard must be.

Nagy and his staff had narrowed the choice to three rising seniors Andy Hinrichs, Bradley Nelson and Jack Wrenn. The trio had distinguished themselves in several ways over the past few seasons and any of the three would be a quality choice. But in the end, Hinrichs was the choice and became The Standard for Freedom wrestling this season.

It appears Nagy and his staff got it right. Hinrichs has had his best season as an Eagle, posting a 42-1 overall record and winning the individual title at 170 pounds last week at the inaugural Potomac District/Conference 14 Wrestling Championships at Tuscarora High School.

But, as Nagy noted, the wrestling part of the equation was the last factor in choosing Hinrichs as The Standard.

It was hard to make the decision between those three, but Andy really fits the mold, Nagy said. Hes been in the program the longest and all of the kids, including Bradley and Jack, look up to him.

Hinrichs became familiar with the Freedom program when he joined the Dulles South Wrestling Club as a seventh-grader. The club was led by Pat McNanley the former Athletic Director at Freedom who has moved to Rock Ridge High School, which will open this fall in addition to Nagy (then an assistant coach) and longtime Eagle assistant coach Greg Northart. Hinrichs trained alongside and learned from Freedom standouts such as Joe Shetcock, Michael Hosti, Sean Gaetani and Steven Marquina, gaining the knowledge of what qualities were expected in a Freedom wrestler.

Andy grew up looking up to those kids and learning from them about how to do things right, Nagy said. He has helped to shape our wrestling room. As The Standard, we point to him and say Be like this guy. He has a tremendous work ethic and is certainly one we want our other wrestlers to look up to.

It was a huge honor, Hinrichs said of receiving the award. Its something I had worked for since my freshman year. I got really lucky to learn from people like Hosti and Marquina. I looked up to them and it meant a lot to see them conduct themselves in a good way. I just keep trying to work hard and hope everyone can learn a little from me.

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Freedom trio provide a standard of excellence