Wrestlers Win 30th Prep Title
Headmaster Presents Mendoza Award

It was no surprise that Blair’s wrestling team garnered its 30th National Prep Wrestling Championship title over the weekend. At the conclusion of the event, Headmaster Chan Hardwick was pleased and honored to present the inaugural National Prep “Major Ray Mendoza Award” to Wyoming Seminary's Donald McNeil. Blair senior Chris Villalonga was named Outstanding Wrestler. At the end of 2009, two major tournaments – the Ironman in Ohio and the Beast of the East in Delaware (both of which Blair won) – paid the first of such tributes to the late Major Ray Mendoza ’87 with presentations of this new award.

The Major Ray Mendoza Award is bestowed on the wrestler who earns the most team points (for his team) at the respective competition. Ray, a talented wrestler while at Blair, was killed in action in Iraq four years ago. Congressman Jim Jordan made the presentation in Ohio; Jim was a two-time NCAA champ and coached Ray at Ohio State. The inaugural Major Ray Mendoza Award was won by Nick Sulzer of St. Edward, the 2009 Ironman 160 lb. champion.

Ray took second at Preps in 1987 and matriculated to Ohio State, where he also wrestled and was the 1991 USA University Freestyle champion. He lettered for the Buckeyes in 1992 and 1993 and was a ’93 Big Ten runner-up at heavyweight. At Blair, Ray was also the captain of the varsity football team, and former Coach Hazen described him as an “outstanding leader.”

Past parent David Ritterpusch, whose son Kurt ’87 is serving in the army and roomed with Ray at Blair, conceived these new awards and is writing a book about Blair’s storied wrestling team; proceeds of the sales will benefit Blair.

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Updated 3/3/2010

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