A flashback photo of Georgetown/Ipswich Ryan Lally competing with Beverely Brian Foley in the 135 weight class during their 2010 meet.

Ipswich wrestling is a long-forgotten sport despite a pantheon of Ipswich Hall of Fame wrestlers. The sport has been left behind in history by failed co-ops and obscurity. Some of the main issues of the co-ops were transportation and participation.  

To learn what it takes to run a successful program I sat down with Gloucester wrestling coach Matt Swanson, is heading into his 13th season at Gloucester. The first topic of note was roster size, Swason said “In recent years 20-25 it’s decreased, from 30” The expectation to form a 30-man roster in Ipswich is going to be tough but hope is not lost, Swanson remembers “Back in the day 10 and 12 kids as we were starting the program”.

This sounds much more like Ipswich wrestling. I was able to get a breakdown of Gloucester’s wrestling program’s expenses. I estimate a full wrestling season costs around $33,000. Swanson said fundraising from students and parents/guardians can pay for expenses like mats, sweat suits, headgear, and wrestling shoes. The school covers the cost of singlets, officiating, and busing.

Something that is unique to wrestling compared to other sports is the level of work ethic, discipline, and commitment it provides. Swanson recalled a particular success story, “I had a kid, came from a broken home, couldn’t even do a pushup, and now he’s in the army and has his own family” Swanson recalls him entering the program as a meek freshman and leaving a strong-willed man ready for the demands of training and the commitment of fatherhood.

In Gloucester, practices are typically “1-2 hours, 5-6 days a week” if no matches are played that week. Swanson usually schedules 2 matches a week, one is an in-league opponent like Beverly and the other is a challenging out-of-league opponent which is paid for by the wrestling team. Matches are all-day events and come with the benefit of concessions to fundraise expenses. 

 I sat down with Rockport/Gloucester parent Deb Beaton to discuss her experience with high school wrestling, she said “(wrestling is) the most respectful of any sport.” A fundamental aspect of “opponents shake hands at the beginning of the match and end of the match and the wrestler shakes hands with the coaches of the other team”. With this mutual sense of respect comes community, “In wrestling everyone roots for your kid” said Beaton. She reflected fondly on the memories of cheering for her state champion son, Daniel Beaton, and the rest of Gloucester wrestling.

Now the burning topic, what is the future of Ipswich wrestling? I was able to dialogue with  Mr.Gallagher the Ipswich Athletic Director. With 21 years of experience, he’s seen several wrestling programs come and go, he cites the main difficulties of maintaining a program as “Numbers, some years we had nobody, some years we had a few, we just saw it decline over time” Ipswich, notably had a co-op with Georgetown for many years but it has now been subsidized.

There is still hope on the horizon, Gallagher teased the idea of a co-op, “I would be open to CO-OP if a school needed wrestlers”. He was enthusiastic about starting a CO-OP if another school would be willing.

As of right now, some notable schools in the Cal Baker division (Triton, Manchester Essex, and Rockport) do not have wrestling teams, this is my call to any interested Ipswich students, if we could fundraise money for equipment and put up around 15 wrestlers, either a club (leading to a formal team) or CO-OP with a Triton/Manchester Essex could be a reality!