Ark Valley News - Randy's Ramblings

Randy's Ramblings
By Randy Fisher
Last Updated: December 07, 2017

Of Mohawks and wrestling hashtags

After covering the December Pools wrestling tournament Saturday, I interviewed coach Tate Lowe and three wrestlers.

There was one common question I asked of all four: Who do you think performed better today than you expected them to? And all four gave the same answer: Xavier Schechter.

“Xavier Schechter. X Man," said Devin Gomez. “He surprised everyone. He's like a dark horse. I don't think he really cares, he just came out there and did what he had to do and had fun doing it."

“Xavier Schechter at 195. He went 3-1," said Carter Nold. “A senior, he's been JV all through high school. He really surprised us. He scored a lot points today and helped the team out."

“Xavier; I call him the dark horse," said Tony Caldwell. “He just came out here and wrestled his matches. Surprised us all."

“I was very scared about how I was going to do because it was my first time doing anything varsity," Schechter said. “I was having a lot of fun because I wasn't expected to do so well."

To the average fan, Schechter is a serious-looking, studious kind of guy. That is, until you notice one thing that makes him appear quite different from your average high school wrestler.

His hair. Rather, his haircut. It's quite noticeable, even when wearing head gear.

“We always tease him that the barber missed a spot," said Gomez.

Actually, it looks like the barber missed several spots. That's because Schechter sports a Mohawk, and it looks cool.

“He's had that haircut since we were 12," said Nold, one of Schechter's senior classmates.

Schechter said he's had the Mohawk since middle school.

“I tried it for a summer," he said. “I liked it because it kept my hair up out of my face for both football and wrestling, so I kept it."

“Coolest haircut on the team, by far," Caldwell said.

Even coach likes the cut, calling it “awesome."

I'm sure Schechter will keep it around the rest of the season, especially if he continues to wrestle like he did Saturday.

†††

Have you heard about the wrestling team's motto, Take 2018? It represents their goal of winning the Class 5A state championship in February 2018.

Although it was a collaborative effort, Gomez is generally credited with creating the catch phrase. The Hornets have even converted it to social media.

“One day I was thinking about how we're going to get more people into the wrestling scene and get more people to our home duals and state wrestling," Gomez said. “A bunch of us were talking, and I was like, ‘Hey, let's start a hashtag, Take 2018.' We're going to use that to try to get more popularity for this sport."

He sees it as a way for more people to be aware of, and hopefully become more involved with, the Valley Center wrestling program.

It also seems to have a side effect that's helpful in team sports.

“Sometimes people will chant in practice, ‘hashtagtake2018,' " Gomez said. “We're all bonding on the hashtag. It's funny sometimes. … It really does bring us closer."

Randy Fisher is news and advertising assistant and sports writer for The Ark Valley News. Reach him at legals@arkvalleynews.com or 755-0821.