by Mollie Hanke, Sun Devil media relations
RED LION, Pa. – The setting for Friday night's top-25 dual between No. 10 Arizona State and No. 24 Lock Haven may seem a bit unconventional. But with a deeper dive into the background of how the competition came to be, one will realize the connections between Red Lion Area Senior High School and the competing teams runs deep.
Much of the credit for bringing the event to York County is due to Red Lion wrestling coach Mike Catullo, who previously coached at Maryland with Lock Haven assistant coach Nate Carr Jr. While in college, Catullo also competed for West Virginia. And who was an assistant on the Mountaineer staff during Catullo's time in Morgantown? None other than Sun Devil head coach Zeke Jones.
Of note, Red Lion also has two teachers currently working at the school who are alums of the two universities – Brad Lloyd graduated from Lock Haven and Randy Hoffman from Arizona State.
"Arizona State has a special place in my heart," said Hoffman. "As a wrestler here in Pennsylvania, I would often get sick because you have cold weather and no insulation on your body [from cutting weight]. When I went to Arizona State, I didn't get sick anymore and it was beautiful: palm trees and sunshine. Plus, the lifelong friendships I developed there are always important."
Hoffman was an All-American at 118 lbs. in 1979 while competing for legendary Sun Devil head coach Bobby Douglas, an experience that still stands out today.
"I was in the round where if you win, you're an All-American, and I was wrestling the No. 5-ranked wrestler in the nation, who had also beaten the national champion in high school, so a pretty tough opponent," Hoffman remembers.
The match was going well until tragedy struck.
"He dislocated my elbow so I came off the mat with injury time. The trainer looked at it and it had swollen up about 50 percent larger than normal and I could hardly bend it."
At this point, Hoffman had a decision to make and it was understandable to the trainer and entire staff if he gave up and bowed out of the NCAA Tournament at this point. But Hoffman showed his resilience.
"I said 'No, I didn't come all the way out here to do that'. So I finished the match and won by one point. It was a little bit difficult to finish the rest of the matches, so I finished seventh, but that was a memorable time."
Hoffman now gets to instill those lessons of resolve and resilience as a chemistry and biology teacher at RLSHS in a state with incredible wrestling tradition.
And that tradition includes bringing a big-time, top-25, Division I wrestling experience to York County Friday night.
"District 3 here in Central Pennsylvania has a rich wrestling tradition but the big college programs are pretty far away. Penn State is about two hours away, Lock Haven another two hours, Lehigh is another hour and a half or two hours."
"So to bring a Division I match right here to the Harrisburg area is really, really special. A lot of people are really excited about it. You can go see wrestling on a Friday night and it doesn't take a 6 to 8-hour commitment [with travel]. I think we're going to have a well-attended, exciting match with two of the best teams in the country."
A few tickets for Friday night's "Rumble In the Jungle" are available on the Red Lion Area Senior High School website at https://www.universe.com/events/rumble-in-the-jungle-asu-vs-lhu-tickets-red-lion-FDQ87K?ref=explore.
RED LION, Pa. – The setting for Friday night's top-25 dual between No. 10 Arizona State and No. 24 Lock Haven may seem a bit unconventional. But with a deeper dive into the background of how the competition came to be, one will realize the connections between Red Lion Area Senior High School and the competing teams runs deep.
Much of the credit for bringing the event to York County is due to Red Lion wrestling coach Mike Catullo, who previously coached at Maryland with Lock Haven assistant coach Nate Carr Jr. While in college, Catullo also competed for West Virginia. And who was an assistant on the Mountaineer staff during Catullo's time in Morgantown? None other than Sun Devil head coach Zeke Jones.
Of note, Red Lion also has two teachers currently working at the school who are alums of the two universities – Brad Lloyd graduated from Lock Haven and Randy Hoffman from Arizona State.
"Arizona State has a special place in my heart," said Hoffman. "As a wrestler here in Pennsylvania, I would often get sick because you have cold weather and no insulation on your body [from cutting weight]. When I went to Arizona State, I didn't get sick anymore and it was beautiful: palm trees and sunshine. Plus, the lifelong friendships I developed there are always important."
Hoffman was an All-American at 118 lbs. in 1979 while competing for legendary Sun Devil head coach Bobby Douglas, an experience that still stands out today.
"I was in the round where if you win, you're an All-American, and I was wrestling the No. 5-ranked wrestler in the nation, who had also beaten the national champion in high school, so a pretty tough opponent," Hoffman remembers.
The match was going well until tragedy struck.
"He dislocated my elbow so I came off the mat with injury time. The trainer looked at it and it had swollen up about 50 percent larger than normal and I could hardly bend it."
At this point, Hoffman had a decision to make and it was understandable to the trainer and entire staff if he gave up and bowed out of the NCAA Tournament at this point. But Hoffman showed his resilience.
"I said 'No, I didn't come all the way out here to do that'. So I finished the match and won by one point. It was a little bit difficult to finish the rest of the matches, so I finished seventh, but that was a memorable time."
Hoffman now gets to instill those lessons of resolve and resilience as a chemistry and biology teacher at RLSHS in a state with incredible wrestling tradition.
And that tradition includes bringing a big-time, top-25, Division I wrestling experience to York County Friday night.
"District 3 here in Central Pennsylvania has a rich wrestling tradition but the big college programs are pretty far away. Penn State is about two hours away, Lock Haven another two hours, Lehigh is another hour and a half or two hours."
"So to bring a Division I match right here to the Harrisburg area is really, really special. A lot of people are really excited about it. You can go see wrestling on a Friday night and it doesn't take a 6 to 8-hour commitment [with travel]. I think we're going to have a well-attended, exciting match with two of the best teams in the country."
A few tickets for Friday night's "Rumble In the Jungle" are available on the Red Lion Area Senior High School website at https://www.universe.com/events/rumble-in-the-jungle-asu-vs-lhu-tickets-red-lion-FDQ87K?ref=explore.