CT chapter of HOF awards three
college scholarships
The Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame has selected three outstanding student athletes to receive $500 college scholarships.
Shelton High’s Patrick Gillen has been selected to receive the career achievement scholarship, South Windsor’s Jake Odell has been chosen to receive the scholar athlete scholarship and Nonnewaug’s Tyler Tilbe has been selected to receive the Erik Weihenmayer scholarship for overcoming exceptional adversity.
Gillen, who will be wrestling for the University of Virginia next fall, finished second in the recent National High School Coaches Association national tournament in Virginia at 215 pounds. Gillen, who won a state record 204 matches, won two New England championships and two State Open championships wrestling for Shelton High. This season, Gillen was 53-1 and was named the outstanding wrestler in six tournaments, including the Class LL, State Open and New England championships.
Odell, who has a grade point average of just over 3.5 out of 4.0, is a member of the National Honor Society, who competed in wrestling and football at South Windsor High. He was recognized four times as an Academic All-State wrestler, won two Class LL championships and captured his first State Open title at 152 pounds this winter. He finished in the top three of his respective Class LL weight class all four years.
Tilbe is the first two-time State Open champion from Nonnewaug and the Berkshire League despite wrestling with Tourette syndrome. He earned a school-record 160 victories, won three Class S championships and four Berkshire League titles. He earned Academic All-State honors for four straight years and was an Academic All-American as a junior. He wrestled at 125 pounds as a senior.
Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. It has challenged Tilbe on and off the mat. “When I’m in the middle of an intense match and my brain suddenly decides that it wants me to step on a line a certain way or kick the back of my heel with my other foot, this can cause a problem,” Tilbe said. “This puts me out of position and averts my attention. Until I complete this action that the Tourette syndrome tells me to do, it is very difficult to focus on anything else other than that twich.”
Scholar Athlete $500
This scholarship will be awarded annually. Requirements include:
• Be a senior, 4 year wrestler
• Have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale or 80% of an alternative scale at conclusion of the junior year
• Be a top three place winner in a CIAC divisional tournament (Class LL, L, M, S) at least once in career
• Be a top five place winner in the State Open at least once in career
Please include information about additional accomplishments in CIAC divisional, State Open
and New England tournaments along with information about extracurricular activities and prominent roles in school and/or the community to support the nomination.
Career Achievement $500
This scholarship will be awarded annually. Requirements include:
• Be a senior, 4 year wrestler
• Have a GPA of at least 2.8 on a 4.0 scale or 70% of an alternative scale at the conclusion of the junior year
• Be a CIAC divisional tournament (Class LL, L, M, S) champion at least once during career
• Be a top three place winner in State Open at least once during career
• New England champion or place winner supports nomination
• Repeating as champion at the divisional tournament and State Open is strong criteria
• Out-of-season accomplishments strengthen nomination
Please include information about additional accomplishments at the New England tournament
and off-season wrestling tournaments to support your application. Multiple titles at the CIAC divisional and State Open tournaments will benefit your application.
Erik Weihenmayer Scholarship $500
This scholarship will be awarded in those years when a deserving candidate is nominated.
Requirements include:
• Be a senior, 3 year wrestler
• Demonstrated the ability to overcome exceptional adversity
The recipient of this scholarship lives by the message written by Weihenmayer in his book, The Adversity Advantage: "I believe that inside each of us is something I can only describe as a light, which has the capacity to feed on adversity, to consume it like fuel. When we tap into that light, every frustration, every setback, every obstacle becomes a source to power our lives forward. The greater the challenge, the brighter the light burns. Through it, we become more focused, more creative, more driven, and can even learn to transcend our own perceived limitations to bring our lives more meaning."
About Erik Weihenmayer
The scholarship awarded for overcoming adversity is named after Mr. Erik Weihenmayer, a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. A former middle
school teacher and wrestling coach, Erik is one of the most exciting and well-known athletes in the world. Despite losing his vision at the age of 13, Erik has become an accomplished mountain climber, paraglider, and skier, who has never let his blindness interfere with his passion for an exhilarating and fulfilling life.
On May 25, 2001, Erik Weihenmayer became the only blind man in history to reach the summit of the world's highest peak - Mount Everest. On August 20, 2008, when he stood on top of Carstenz Pyramid, the tallest peak in Austral-Asia, Weihenmayer completed his quest to climb the Seven Summits - the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. Erik is joined by fewer than 100 mountaineers who have accomplished this feat. Additionally, he has scaled El
Capitan, a 3,300-foot overhanging granite monolith in Yosemite; Lhosar; a 3,000-foot ice waterfall in the himalayas; and a difficult and rarely climbed rock face on 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya. More information can be found at www.touchthetop.com
