St. Christopher's School Wrestling
Home of the Saints- VISAA State Champions: 1995, 2002-2012
One of the Most Talented and Experienced High School Coaching Staffs in the Nation!
The St. Christopher's wrestling team coaching staff is one of the most well rounded and experienced group of coaches assembled in Virginia- rivaling many college staffs! The entire coaching staff has been successful at every level of the sport: as competitors and coaches.
St. Christopher's staff boasts award winning coaches: head coach John Gordon was named National Coach of the Year in 2011 by Wrestling USA magazine, while Ross Gitomer earned the Virginia Assistant Coach of the Year award by the National Wrestling Coaches Association in 2012.
Three of Gordon's assistants: Billy Abbott, Matt Erwin, and Rob Prebish were all successful head wrestling coaches before coming to St. Christopher's. Gitomer, Erwin, and Erwin's brother David were very successful collegiate wrestlers, all qualifying for the NCAA Division I Tournament during their personal careers. Two recent additions to the Saints staff: Jonathan Pope and Owen Duffy competed collegiately for VMI and the University of Maryland.
All of the coaches involved with the wrestling program at St. Christopher's provide exceptional technique to the wrestlers and work tirelessly to help develop the skills of all of the members of the St. Christopher's wrestling community. This passionate group of coaches enjoys the challenge of helping wrestlers of all ability to beome the best athletes possible. Starting with Youth/Middle School coaches Charlie Hudson and Steve Sica, wrestling is a priority at St. Christopher's.
Gitomer and Prebish are very active with the Virginia Wrestling Association (VAWA) in the off season working with some of the top wrestlers in the state, preparing the Virginia Cadet and Junior teams for the National Duals and National Championships in Fargo, ND. Coach Gitomer serves as the VAWA Cadet Division Director, while Coach Prebish works as one of the state Greco Roman coaches.
Coach Gordon is also extremely active in the wrestling community at the local, state, and national levels, working in a partnership with the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) to help high schools develop their programs and to grow the sport of wrestling. He is also the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) Wrestling Chair and assists with improving Independent schools wrestling.
This is a wrestling program that you WANT to be part of because of the level of success starting from its coaches all the way down to the youngest wrestlers. St. Christopher's wrestling team and its coaches live by the school motto of "Developing the whole boy" in all that they do on and off the mat.
2012 National Wrestling Coaches Association- Virginia Assistant Coach of the Year
Gitomer, a 2010 graduate of the University of Virginia begins his second year as an assistant coach at St. Christopher's. Gitomer is very active in the Virginia Wrestling Association (VAWA) serving as the organization's Cadet Division Director and helped coach Team Virginia at both the Cadet National Duals and at the Cadet/Junior Nationals in 2012. He competed at 125 lbs. for the Cavaliers and was a two-time NCAA tournament qualifier for head coach Steve Garland. Gitomer was the 2008 ACC tournament champion and ended his career with a 94-48 record. He wrestled for Jeff Buxton at Blair Academy and was a National Preps Champion for the Bucs. Gitomer will teach math at St. Christopher's and brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and tremendous energy to the program.
Assitant Coach Erwin begins his fourth year on the St. Christopher's staff, after spending time at Benedictine HS where he was the head wrestling coach. Erwin was an extremely successful college wrestling qualifying for the NCAA Tournament three times and winning the Southern Conference Tournament for VMI. Erwin fashioned a career record of 109-40 as a Keydet. He was a multiple-time state place winner in high school, competing for national power St. Paris- Graham HS in Ohio. His younger brother Dave, wrestled at Penn State. Erwin will work primarily with the upper weight wrestlers at St. Christopher's and is a much welcomed addition to the coaching staff.
Middle School Coaches
Charlie Hudson is in his fifth year on the staff at St. Christopher's, primarily in charge of the middle school and youth wrestling programs. Hudson came to St. Christopher's after teaching and coaching at Hanover County's Oak Knoll Middle School where he developed an outstanding wrestling program. His 2007-08 OKMS team finished the season undefeated. Hudson is in charge of the middle school team at St. Christopher's. He has an incredible work ethic and dynamic personality! He wrestled under Coach Abbott during his high school days. Not only is Coach Hudson an outstanding coach, but he is a great workout and live wrestling partner. His enthusiasm and energy for the sport is second to none.
