Virginia Independent Schools Athletic
Association (VISAA) State Champions
1995, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010*
* Set VISAA record for most consecutive State team titles in wrestling (9) and VISAA record for most state team titles (10) in wrestling.
St. Christopher's has a rich history in the sport of wrestling, especially since 2002 when the Saints begain their nine year dominance of private school wrestling in Virginia. However, even before Pete Shaifer won his first VISAA team title as the Saint's head wrestling coach in 2002, St. Christopher's has developed some very successful teams and individuals.
The Saints wrestling program has developed sixty-three VISAA individual State champions, beginning in 1973 when Gordon Kirkham won the 148 lb. title. Robbie Fiero became the first three-time State champion for St. Christopher's winning titles from 1988-1990. Every year since 1996, the program has put at least one wrestler on top of the State championship podium, including 2010's champions: Brandon Jeske, Loren Phillips, David Wesley, Ted Gottwald (a
three-time VISAA State champion), and Chris Gill. Kevin Donahue is the only St. Christopher's wrestler to win four consecutive VISAA championships, earning titles from 2004-2007. Nine other Saints wrestlers have placed at the State tournament four times, including rising senior David Wesley, who could join Zach Rolfe as the only five-time VISAA State place winners. Rolfe won three State titles and a fifth place as an 8th grader, followed by a third place as a freshman.
St. Christopher's has been the most consistant private school wrestling program in Virginia, winning the last nine VISAA State championships in a row- six under former head coach Pete Shaifer and three with newly retired coach Frank Kiefer at the helm. However, the Saints won their first VISAA team title under a former St. Christopher's State champion. In 1995, Lake Taylor led the Saints to the VISAA title, matching his individual feat from 1988. The 2010 team broke Woodberry Forest's record of eight straight VISAA State championships when they won their ninth consecutive State championship.
The team has competed successfully at the national level, placing in the top ten at the National Preps Championships three times, including a school best 7th place finish in 2010. The Saints have also finished in the top 15 at Nationals six times. Thirty wrestlers have garnered All-American status, by placing in the top eight of their weight class at Nationals. Three have reached the finals: Gordon Kirkham in 1973 and Brandon Jeske and David Wesley in 2010. Scott Harvard became the first St. Christopher's grappler to earn All-American honors when he placed third at 129 lbs in 1973. St. Christopher's has produced at least one National Preps place winner every year since 2003. In 2009, the team produced the most All-Americans in school history, with five Saints placing in the top eight of their weight class for coach Frank Kiefer. Kevin Donahue is the program's only three-time All-American, placing in 2004, 2006, and 2007.
St. Christopher's has begun to show its strength in off season wrestling too, having developed a number of USA Wrestling and NWCA National Champions and All-Americans. Tyler Spangler '09 became the first Saints wrestler to earn USA Wrestling All-American status with a seventh place finish at the 2007 Cadet Nationals in Fargo, ND. He repeated the feat in 2008 to become a two-time USA Wrestling All-American. In 2009, David Wesley placed at the NWCA Sophomore Nationals tournament and won the NWCA Junior Nationals in 2010 to take home All-American certificates. Wesley was joined atop the victory podium in 2010 by Brandon Jeske, who won the 119 lb. title at the NWCA Freshman Nationals. Jeske won back to back USA Wrestling FILA Cadet National titles in Greco Roman in 2009 and freestyle in 2010. He also finished 3rd at the USA Wrestling Cadet Nationals in 2009.
Saints grapplers are no stranger to the college wrestling ranks either. Former four-time VISAA State champion Kevin Donahue became the first St. Christopher's wrestler to earn NCAA All-American status in 2009 when he placed 7th at the Division III National tournament for Cornell (IA) College. He became a two-time All-American in 2010 with a 4th place finish for the Rams. In 2009 Tim Rose took 2nd at the NCWA National tournament for Amherst College. Former state champion wrestlers Joe Munno and Tyler Spangler also compete at the NCAA Division I level- Munno for VMI and Spangler for the Air Force Academy. Munno will be joined at VMI by Class of 2010 graduates Ted Gottwald and Rennie Merhige.
The future looks bright for St. Christopher's wrestling program, with six returning VISAA place winners for the 2010-11 season. The program is working hard to develop the school's first National Preps champion, which could happen any time over the next few years. The legacy of St. Christopher's wrestling is growing deeper each year, with a new crop of Saints wrestlers trying to out-do the last group's success.
| 1973 | Scott Harvard (3rd, 129) | Tyler Hamblin (7th, 119) | |
| Gordon Kirkham (2nd, 148) | 2007 | Kevin Donahue (5th, 135) | |
| 1996 | Andrew Bogle (6th, 215) | Tyler Hamblin (6th, 130) | |
| 1998 | David Hicks (8th, 112) | Tyler Spangler (7th, 112) | |
| 2003 | Kirk Adamson (8th, 152) | 2008 | Tyler Spangler (8th, 119) |
| 2004 | Kevin Donahue (6th, 112) | 2009 | David Wesley (5th, 140) |
| Thomas Hovis (7th, 171) | Jackson Freeman (6th, 285) | ||
| Ryan Robertson (8th, 189) | Loren Phillips (8th, 145) | ||
| 2005 | Hunter MacDonald (3rd, 145) | Ted Gottwald (8th, 160) | |
| Tim Rose (5th, 285) | Chris Gill (8th, 215) | ||
| Kevin Donahue (6th, 130) | 2010 | Brandon Jeske (2nd, 119) | |
| Zach Rolfe (6th, 135) | David Wesley (2nd, 160) | ||
| 2006 | Zach Rolfe (5th, 152) | Loren Phillips (5th, 145) | |
| Kevin Donahue (6th, 130) | Ted Gottwald (6th, 171) | ||
| Ashton Gilmore (6th, 215) |
2009 National Preps Runner-Up David Wesley |
|
| 1973 | Gordon Kirkham | 2005 | David Schafer | ||
| 1988 | Lake Taylor | Hunter MacDonald | |||
| Robbie Fiero | Kevin Donahue | ||||
| 1989 | Gordon Lewis | Sam Redd | |||
| Jimmy Sanderson | Tim Rose | ||||
| Robbie Fiero | Tyler Hamblin | ||||
| 1990 | Latane Frank | Tyler Schmidt | |||
| Robbie Fiero | Zach Rolfe | ||||
| 1994 | Travers Clemms | 2006 | Ashton Gilmore | ||
| Jacob Moore | Craig Phillip | ||||
| 1996 | Andrew Bogle | Joseph Munno | |||
| Chaffriax Lelong | Kevin Donahue | ||||
| 1997 | Andrew Bogle | Tyler Hamblin | |||
| 1998 | Peyton Studebaker | Zach Rolfe | |||
| 1999 | David Hicks | 2007 | Craig Phillip | ||
| Jimmy Hovis | Joseph Munno | ||||
| 2000 | David Hicks | Kevin Donahue | |||
| 2001 | Brian McGurk | Tyler Hamblin | |||
| Burton Fuller | Tyler Spangler | ||||
| David Hicks | 2008 | Clark Gottwald | |||
| 2002 | Akel Grantham | Kevin Issacs | |||
| Brian McGurk | Ted Gottwald | ||||
| 2003 | Brian Herod | Tyler Spangler | |||
| Jeb Pinkerton | 2009 | Mark Burlee | |||
| Tyler Schmidt | Ted Gottwald | ||||
| 2004 | Brian Herod | Tyler Spangler | |||
| David Schafer | 2010 | Brandon Jeske | |||
| Hunter MacDonald | Chris Gill | ||||
| Kevin Donahue | David Wesley | ||||
| Ryan Robertson | Loren Phillips | ||||
| Zach Rolfe | Ted Gottwald |
Here is a list of St. Christopher's All-State Wrestlers from 1996-2010. This is a work in progress. If you have State results prior to 1996, please email them to Coach Prebish. Wrestlers listed in bold will be active for the 2010-11 wrestling season.
73 88Five-Time State Placers: Zach Rolfe 02-06 5-3-1-1-1 Four-Time State Placers: Ryan Robertson 01-04 5-3-4-1 Brian Herod 01-04 5-4-1-1 Hunter Carpenter 00-03 6-2-3-5 Hunter Macdonald 02-05 5-3-1-1 Kevin Donahue 04-07 1-1-1-1 Tyler Hamblen 04-07 2-1-1-1 Ted Gottwald 07-10 3-1-1-1 Loren Phillips 07-10 5-2-2-1 David Wesley 07-10 3-2-2-1 Three-Time State Placers: Robbie Fiero 88-90 1-1-1 Jim Clary 96-98 6-2-3 Asher Rolfe 97-99 2-6-2 Peyton Studebaker 97-99 2-1-2 Dave Hicks 98-00 1-1-1 Jimmy Hovis 98-00 5-1-2 Kirk Adamson 02-04 3-2-3 Thomas Hovis 02-04 3-2-3 Joseph Munno 05-07 2-1-1 Clark Gottwald 06-08 3-2-1 Tyler Spangler 07-09 1-1-1 Rennie Merhige 08-10 3-2-2 Two-Time State Placers: Charlie Moore 99-00 4-5 Andrew Bogle 96-97 1-1 Burton Fuller 00-01 6-1 Brian McGurk 01-02 1-1 Jeb Pinkerton 02-03 2-1 Brandon Nunnally 03,05 5-2 Tyler Schmidt 03,05 1-1 David Schafer 04-05 1-1 Josh Moses 04-05 6-1 Sam Redd 04-05 4-1 Tim Rose 04-05 5-1 Craig Philip 06-07 1-1 Matt Talbott 06-07 4-2 Trey Tarr 08,10 3-2 Jackson Freeman 08-09 2-2 Andy Pitts 09-10 5-2 Chris Gill 09-10 4-1 Mark Burlee 09-10 1-2 Robert Janis 09-10 5-3 State Placers: Gordon Kirkham 1 Lake Taylor 1 Gordon Lewis 89 1 Jimmy Sanderson 89 1 Latane Frank 90 1 Jacob Moore 94 1 Travers Clemms 94 1 Albert Guerraty 96 4 Bret Robertson 96 5 Chaffraix Lelong 96 1 Knox Frank 96 4 Kosal Soth 96 4 Wilson Mustian 96 2 Cary Bowmer 97 2 J.D.Patton 97 4 Nick Williamson 97 4 Peter Hicks 99 4 Peter Knowles 01 4 Akel Grantham 02 1 Ian Macdonald 02 2 Michael Copley 02 5 Jimmy Mackey 03 3 Cory Philip 05 6 Jack Zampolin 05 4 Ashton Gilmore 06 1 J.P.Welch 06 5 Nick Molloy 06 6 Travis Hamblin 06 5 Will Moore 06 7 Kevin Issacs 08 1 Kevin Molloy 08 5 Edward Custer 09 7 Brandon Jeske 10 1 Tyler Cornett 10 2 Ben Thompson 10 3
| Tyler Spangler | 2007 USA Wrestling Cadet National Greco- 7th Place |
| Tyler Spangler | 2008 USA Wrestling Junior National Greco- 7th Place |
| Brandon Jeske | 2009 USA Wrestling FILA Cadet Greco National Champion |
| Brandon Jeske | 2009 USA Wrestling Cadet National Greco- 3rd Place |
| Brandon Jeske | 2010 USA Wrestling FILA Cadet National Freestyle Champion |
| 2005 | Zach Rolfe |
| Tyler Hamblin | |
| Ashton Gilmore | |
| 2006 | Kevin Donahue |
| 2007 | Tyler Spangler |
| David Wesley | |
| Trey Tarr | |
| Loren Phillps | |
| 2008 | Tyler Spangler |
| 2009 | David Wesley |
| Brandon Jeske | |
| Tyler Cornett |
*If you have career records of former St. Christopher's wrestlers, please send them to Coach Prebish! Wrestlers listed in BOLD are currently active St. Christopher's wrestlers.
Rank Name Year Wins Losses Draws 1 Zach Rolfe 2006 202 43 2 Hunter MacDonald 2005 184 30 3 Kevin Donahue 2007 170 24 4 Tyler Spangler 2009 169 30 5 Ted Gottwald 2010 161 48 6 Loren Phillips 2010 158 45 7 David Wesley 2011 155 28 8 Brian Herod 2004 154 22 9 Tyler Hamblin 2007 146 28 10 Brandon Nunnally 2005 133 54 11 Joseph Munno 2008 132 40 12 Ryan Robertson 2004 128 33 13 Rennie Merhige 2010 121 29 14 Jackson Freeman 2009 120 45 15 Kirk Adamson 2004 118 41 16 Clarke Gottwald 2008 116 32 Hunter Carpenter 2003 116 35 18 Samuel Redd 2005 115 42 19 Tyler Schmidt 2005 112 20 20 David Schafer 2005 108 28 21 Lake Taylor 1988 103 19 1 22 Trey Tarr 2011 101 29
To be considered for the Career Winning Percentage list, the wrestler must have competed in at least 100 matches during their career.
| Rank | Name | Year | PCT. |
| 1 | Kevin Donahue | 2007 | 0.876 |
| 2 | Brian Herod | 2004 | 0.875 |
| 3 | Hunter MacDonald | 2005 | 0.859 |
| 4 | Tyler Spangler | 2009 | 0.849 |
| 5 | Tyler Schmidt | 2005 | 0.848 |
| 7 | David Wesley | 2011 | 0.847 |
| 6 | Lake Taylor | 1988 | 0.837 |
| 8 | Tyler Hamblin | 2007 | 0.829 |
| 9 | Zach Rolfe | 2006 | 0.824 |
| 10 | Thomas Hovis | 2006 | 0.820 |
| 11 | Josh Moses | 2006 | 0.813 |
| 15 | Rennie Merhige | 2010 | 0.807 |
| 12 | Jeb Pinkerton | 2003 | 0.807 |
| 13 | Ryan Robertson | 2004 | 0.795 |
| 14 | David Schafer | 2005 | 0.794 |
| 15 | Ashton Gilmore | 2006 | 0.786 |
| 16 | Clarke Gottwald | 2008 | 0.783 |
| 17 | Loren Phillips | 2010 | 0.778 |
| 18 | Trey Tarr | 2011 | 0.777 |
| 19 | Ted Gottwald | 2010 | 0.770 |
| 20 | Hunter Carpenter | 2003 | 0.768 |
| 21 | Joseph Munno | 2008 | 0.767 |
| 22 | Ian Macdonald | 2002 | 0.760 |
| 23 | Craig Philp | 2007 | 0.759 |
| 24 | Kirk Adamson | 2004 | 0.742 |
| 25 | Samuel Redd | 2005 | 0.732 |
| 26 | Jackson Freeman | 2009 | 0.727 |
| 27 | Brandon Nunnally | 2005 | 0.711 |
To be considered for this list, a wrestler must have won at least 40 matches in a given season. Names listed in bold are currently active St. Christopher's wrestlers.
| Name | Wins | Year |
| Tyler Spangler | 54 | 2008 |
| Hunter MacDonald | 51 | 2005 |
| Zach Rolfe | 51 | 2006 |
| Ted Gottwald | 50 | 2009 |
| Hunter MacDonald | 49 | 2004 |
| David Wesley | 49 | 2009 |
| Joseph Munno | 48 | 2007 |
| Thomas Hovis | 46 | 2004 |
| Zach Rolfe | 46 | 2004 |
| Zach Rolfe | 46 | 2005 |
| Tim Rose | 45 | 2005 |
| Ashton Gilmore | 45 | 2006 |
| Kevin Donahue | 45 | 2007 |
| Tyler Spangler | 45 | 2007 |
| Brandon Nunnally | 44 | 2005 |
| Clarke Gottwald | 44 | 2008 |
| David Wesley | 44 | 2008 |
| Tyler Schmidt | 43 | 2003 |
| Brian Herod | 43 | 2004 |
| Kevin Donahue | 43 | 2004 |
| Loren Phillips | 43 | 2007 |
| Jackson Freeman | 43 | 2009 |
| Brian Herod | 42 | 2003 |
| Hunter Carpenter | 42 | 2003 |
| Kevin Donahue | 42 | 2006 |
| Brandon Jeske | 42 | 2010 |
| Brian McGurk | 41 | 2002 |
| Josh Moses | 41 | 2005 |
| Craig Philp | 41 | 2007 |
| Loren Phillips | 41 | 2009 |
| David Schafer | 40 | 2004 |
| Kevin Donahue | 40 | 2005 |
| Samuel Redd | 40 | 2005 |
| Tyler Hamblin | 40 | 2005 |
| Tyler Hamblin | 40 | 2007 |