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December 20, 2008

Wrestling program now a reality at Peabody High

Jean DePlacido

For years, there has been talk about Peabody High getting a wrestling program of its own.

Now, it's a reality.

The Tanners' new intramural/JV team has been attracting a lot of attention. Coach David Henrick, a former football and wrestling standout at Salem High (Class of 1983), currently has 30 boys practicing.

"Wrestling gives kids another outlet to pursue," said Henrick. "It's a great conditioner for other sports, and the best part is somebody that weighs 103 pounds is just as important as the 285-pound kid - they both have the opportunity to become state champions.

"I loved wrestling when I was at Salem High, and it's unbelievable a city the size of Peabody did not have a program - especially with all the other strong teams in the area."

Henrick and his son D.J., who is now a freshman at the high school, were involved in the Masconomet junior level program the past three years.

Plans call for Peabody to be a varsity wrestling team next year. Henrick hopes to expand down to the middle school in the future to set up a feeder system in the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades.

"That will get young kids involved early and give them a strong background," he said. "You always find diamonds in the rough, and I already have six wrestlers with a tremendous amount of experience. Right now they could compete at the varsity level and go to sectionals."

Peabody hasn't had any matches thus far, but have been practicing for the last three weeks. They will, however, face Salem, Beverly, Masconomet, Malden and Malden Catholic in scrimmage matches before the season is out.

"That will give our guys a chance to feel the whole atmosphere, from weigh-ins to referees," said Henrick. "After the scrimmage matches, we'll break down into practice groups with those teams."

In the 120-pound class, New York native Johnson Placido has eight years of experience in the sport, while fellow Tanner P. J. Campbell (171 lbs.), grew up wrestling in his native California as well as Malden, where he lived before moving to Peabody.

Tanner football player Anthony Panopoulos (189 lbs.) is also looking good on the mat.

"Panopoulos is going to surprise a lot of people," said Henrick. "We have six football players and would love to get more. This sport will help with their conditioning, strength and agility.

"It's all for the kids as far as I'm concerned. We will welcome any newcomers that want to give it a try. As word spreads, we continue to see new faces. Both students and faculty are very excited, and we can't wait for our first match."

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First the NFL came calling for Peabody High's Kenia McKeon; now it's Sports Illustrated For Kids. The magazine will run a two-page spread by Kenia as told to Sarah Kwak in one of next month's issues.

The three-sport senior athlete was tabbed by the NFL as one of 10 leaders across the country to get flag football programs started for girls at their high school. McKeon organized a flag football program for senior girls that culminated with a Thanksgiving Powder Puff game.

"I guess (SI For Kids) found out about the NFL program and contacted me," said McKeon, who has been accepted to Salem State, her first collegiate choice. She wants to study sports movement and be a walk-on for the softball team.

"I did an interview over the phone, and then they sent out a photographer to take pictures of me playing flag football a couple of weeks before our Powder Puff game. That was so much fun even though we lost to Revere, 14-7. Just watching the girls pick up the game was unbelievable.

"I'm working with Mr. Sheridan to have a tournament in the spring and get some juniors more interested," added McKeon. "It's tough in the fall with everybody playing a sport, but 40 girls came out. The NFL has been very supportive and sent us flags and footballs. I was lucky that my math teacher Brooke Randall played in an 18-and-older league in Jamaica Plain and helped all of us out. We set up a clinic for intramurals that helped the girls learn to pass, throw, and catch."

McKeon, a wide receiver, started playing on a boys team when she was in the seventh grade. She really caught the bug when she went to the Nationals at Disney's Wide World of Sports in her freshman year as a member of the Peabody Youth Flag Football girls stars.

"The NFL really goes all out at Nationals," she said. "They paid for our trip and hotel. Most of the teams were from out west or down south, and they play year-round. There are so many really great players and so much intensity in every game. I hope down the line we'll have a team at Peabody High, but it's tough with all the budget cuts."

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Austin Bradshaw, who founded the Peabody flag program and last year started leagues in Beverly and Lynn, will expand again next year to Salem and Danvers. Bradshaw tried something new at the 7-8 year old level in championship games recently with a round-robin series between his three cities and would like to include all age groups next year.

Beverly beat Peabody, 50-40 and Peabody bested Lynn, 38-0. Beverly then topped Lynn, 28-6, to set up the championship game which was won by Beverly, 36-24 over Peabody.

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Jean DePlacido is a part-time writer and columnist at The Salem News. Contact her at jmdeplacido@aol.com.

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