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By LORI SHONTZ; Times Leader Sports Writer
Thursday, March 10, 1994 Page:
When Meyers wrestling coach Bill Hilburt wanted to bring freshman Dan Fey
to the varsity team four years ago, Fey’s father was concerned.
Fey had just started wrestling two years before, while many of his
opponents started in elementary school. Bill Fey wasn’t sure his son had
enough experience for the varsity team.
But Hilburt didn’t think it would be a problem. Four years, two Class AA
District 2 championships and more than 80 wins later, it seems he was right.
Fey, a 135-pounder, will try to qualify for his first PIAA state tournament in
the Class AA Northeast Regional Tournament this weekend at Williamsport Area
High School.
“(Fey) was a natural,” Hilburt said. “He was built for wrestling. He has
good leg and hip strength. And he has a natural sense of balance.”
Fey’s balance extends beyond the wrestling mat. He’s already made college
plans, and he’ll study physical therapy and sports medicine at East
Stroudsburg University. His mother, Beverly, said her son is easygoing and
easy to get along with.
“Most of his aggressiveness is just on the mat,” Beverly Fey said. “He
doesn’t have much of a temper. Just on the mat, that’s the only place.”
Fey played soccer until seventh grade, when he and his sixth-grade friend
Todd Sattof, now a junior 130-pounder for Meyers, signed up together for
wrestling. Since then, there’s been no other sport for Fey.
“It’s the most individual sport,” he said. “You can see how far you can go
by yourself. There’s no team or anything. It’s more competitive.”
Fey finished fourth in the district at 103 pounds as a freshman and second
at 112 as a sophomore. As a junior he won the 125-pound class and the
Outstanding Wrestler Award. He missed qualifying for the state tournament by
two points, losing a 2-0 decision to Chad Webster of Towanda in the regional
consolation finals.
The only match Beverly Fey has missed is the last part of that consolation
final. She was too nervous to watch.
Fey didn’t let that loss upset him too much. “He realized it’s not the most
important thing in the world,” Beverly Fey said. “It was disappointing, but
everything’s going to go on.’
As far as Fey was concerned, he had improved since his sophomore year. He
had another year to get to the PIAA state tournament.
“Every year I get a step closer,” Fey said. “And this is my last
JUMP ME PLEASE
year.”
Fey would like to wrestle in college, but he doesn’t think his studies will
make that possible, especially at a Division I school.
Fey thought about dropping to 130 pounds — he even made the weight partway
through the season — but Hilburt talked him out of it. Hilburt thought Fey
had a better chance to win the district title at 135 with Lake-Lehman’s Burt
Morgan at 130.
“He wrestled very, very tough at 135 this year,” Hilburt said. “Dropping
weight isn’t always the answer.”
Fey knows he has a tough weight class at this weekend’s regional
tournament. He knows that even competing against tough competition like
Dallas’ Mike Vavrek won’t completely prepare him for regionals.
“It’s totally different from anything around here,” Fey said.
NOTES: Fey, Vavrek and Crestwood’s Paul Ashton each placed fourth last year
at regionals, missing the PIAA state tournament by one place. Crestwood’s
Michael Graham and Lake-Lehman’s Burt Morgan are the only two returning state
qualifiers from the Wyoming Valley Conference. Both wrestlers placed third.
Preliminaries and quarterfinals start at 6:30 Friday night at Williamsport
Area High school. Semifinals are scheduled for noon Saturday, with the
consolation finals at 6:15 and the championship finals at 7:30.