Dragons’ Waddell signs to wrestle with Hofstra
Pepperell High senior Matthew Waddell signed a wrestling scholarship Friday with Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
Waddell said of the signing: “I’ve been working for a long time. I’ve dedicated a lot of my life, a lot of my youth to wrestling, and I don’t mean that in a bad way like I regret it or anything. I just saw a lot of people going out and doing stuff, and I was usually working on this or wrestling at tournaments. This is what I’ve been training for is to get a scholarship and get to the college level. Once I get there, I want to keep working to excel. It’s going to take a lot to continue that, but I’m ready for it. All the matches and championships I’ve won along the way were just a product of being focused on my main goal which was getting to college. I’m happy I’m here now, but I know I’m just getting started.”
“There were a lot of schools interested in me, but Hofstra really stood out because of the academics. It was a lot further away than the other ones I was looking at, too. I was looking at all types of schools and all types of divisions, but Hofstra really fit what I was looking for. I’m proud to have the opportunity to go there.”
“I’m ready for the next step. I’ve got the chance to wrestle at world trials, but after that, I’ll go up there to train and get ready for the next season. I’ll hopefully be starting next year, so I have to prepare myself.”
Also attending the signing ceremony Friday and pictured along with Waddell (seated, center) were (seated, from left) mother Gloria Waddell, father Jason Waddell, (standing, from left) youth coach Bryce Wood, coach Anthony Dillard, coach Matt Sanders, Pepperell High head coach Austin Sanders, coach Drew Lawrence and coach Lonnie Honore.
Waddell finished his high school career at Pepperell as a two-time state champion, most recently winning the Class A Division I title at 175 pounds this past season.