Freshman Craig claims gold for Hill at Bissell ‘33

POTTSTOWN >> Dave Hoffman joked about how Jake Craig doesn’t display a particularly formidable or ferocious demeanor.

Physical appearances aside, Hoffman is quite happy to have Craig on The Hill School’s wrestling team in his first season heading the program. A standout wrestler at the Hill around the turn of the century, Hoffman knows he has a competitor of similar caliber in Craig, who came here after becoming a state champion in Maine.

“He’s exceeding expectations,” Hoffman said as the Hill’s Bissell ‘33 Tournament was wrapping up Saturday. “This is something that’s important to him.”

Craig gave the Hill its lone weight-class champion at 106. The freshman from Norridgewock blew through the bracket, scoring two pins and a second-period technical fall to come away with the gold in the eighth installation of this competition, which hosted a field of 13 other prep powers in the Hill’s Sweeney Gymnasium.

Craig opened with a first-period drop of Peddie School’s Pranit Aggrawal, following it by getting the slap at the conclusion of a semifinal bout with Tabor Academy’s Shaymus MacIntosh. The gold-medal clash saw him dispatch Green Farms Academy’s Caleb Seyfried with a “tech” 20 seconds into the third period.

“This is a great tournament,” Craig said. “I’ve been working on moves each match. It’s great preparation for states ... a chance to use time wisely on the mats.”

Craig’s dominance on the mats last year included a third-place showing in the New England tournament. In his desire for improvement, enrollment at the Hill was a well thought-out decision.

“First, my brother Cody did a post-graduate year (2018),” he said. “Second was Coach Hoffman. I saw his resumé and knew I wanted to be here. And one of the bigger perks was being located in Pennsylvania. This a tough wrestling state, and you have to be ready.

“Pennsylvania (competition) is a huge improvement,” he said. “I love Maine. It’s great. But here there’s better competition.

“There are miniscule mistakes being fixed. When I came here, I was still raw.”