Next time you scan the championship banners in the gym and look at the legacy of Conval High’s wrestling program, consider the unbelievable, storybook way that the sport got its start. No program, no budget, no uniforms, just an enthusiastic senior transfer student from Wisconsin who coaxed a phys ed teacher/wrestling enthusiast to give his time and, what-the-heck, see if anyone was interested in forming a team.
In the winter of 1972, with the support of administration, the student body, and parents, Conval formed its first wrestling team with kids who knew little or nothing about the sport. They worked two to three hours a day, and up to three days per week, and their unabashed enthusiasm for learning, developing, and becoming a team earned them a shocking result at season’s end. ....
Ed Ogden was the new kid in town. Unlike most new kids, Ed wasn’t shy. The senior was outgoing and enthusiastic, had lots of opinion and questions, and when questions didn’t seem to have an answer, he worked to find a remedy. Hailing from Neenah, Wisconsin, Ed made it known to everyone that the two sports that mattered to him were football and wrestling. Conval was a much smaller high school than Neenah, but at least there was the option of a very popular intramural flag football program. Ed threw himself enthusiastically into it.
Ed Ogden, unbeaten during regular season.
But then as winter approached, Ed wanted to know why Conval didn’t have wrestling. In fact, most at Conval had never even heard of it. Eventually, he met a like-minded staff member, physical education teacher Dick Hebert, who was a wrestling enthusiast at Plymouth State. The two teamed up to get the ball rolling.
Hebert donated his time as coach, and Ed began swooping through the high school drumming up interest. While some parents discouraged their kids from participating because they thought it was like the “wrestling” seen on TV, nearly two dozen guys enthusiastically decided to give the new sport a try.
They borrowed tops from the cross country team, began with sweat pants, and the high school’s Interact Club donated funds for the athletes to purchase safety head gear. Parents donated their time to take the team to away games. Funds for meet entrance fees and referees were donated through the sale of “Cougar cushions” for sitting on the bleachers.
“We have to drill, drill, drill fundamentals all the time because fundamentals win it,” said Coach Hebert of his young team. And Ogden added as practices continued, “They know all the basic moves; now it has to become automatic.”
In their first-ever meet, Conval fell to New Hampshire powerhouse Keene High 66-6, with Ogden securing the Cougar’s only points by winning via pin in the 167-pound weight class. Though dominating their opponents, Keene High legendary coach Dave Miniickiello saw something in the Cougars that would work to their advantage, noting he’d “rarely seen a team with as much spirit.”
Conval opened its home season with a 38-18 loss to a veteran Holderness Prep team, with more than 100 fans in attendance. For first-time fans, the first meet included a handout that described how a wrestling match was scored.
In a brief regular season, Conval defeated Mascenic and New Hampton Prep, while bowing to Winchendon Prep and Nashua High.
No one, absolutely no one, expected Conval to do well at the state meet at Timberlane. But that spirit, and a “never say pinned” attitude, drove the Cougars to shocking heights. Incredibly, Conval put together its finest effort of the season to finish third in the state, trailing only state champ Keene and runner-up Timberlane. The young Cougar grapplers scored more points than Nashua, White Mountains Regional, Henniker (now John Stark) and Oyster River.
“Led by their coach Dick Hebert, a very excited group of Conval wrestlers returned from Timberlane Saturday evening with a third place trophy in the state championship—their reward for the determined and consistent effort they mounted in this, their first year as a varsity team,” wrote the Peterborough Transcript. “Coach Hebert ‘just couldn’t believe’ how well the team had done. ‘Each kid did exceptionally well. They all pulled together and hit it right on the nose. We wanted third place and we got it.’”
That first year, six Conval wrestlers qualified for the New England meet in Essex Junction, Vt., with Pete Martel—who recorded the fastest pin of the season versus Mascenic—finishing fourth.
Ogden, undefeated during the regular season, strained ligaments in his knee during the state meet finals and had to settle for second place. He wound up helping Coach Hebert coach the New England qualifiers. (As it turns out, Ed went on to Hebert’s alma mater, Plymouth State, only to re-injure his knee and ending his wrestling career. Undaunted and still enthusiastic, however, Ed went on to be a wrestling commentator for the college’s radio station broadcast of wrestling matches.)
In late March of 1972, the Conval communities rallied to the cause, approving a budget for the next season that would include uniforms, transportation, and paying officials. “It shows that the team’s hard work, spirit and desire for a program has not gone unnoticed by the public and school committee,” said Hebert.
The next season, new member Ted Mann became the Most Valuable Wrestler in the state of New Hampshire, and numerous athletes over the years would go on to win state championships in their class. From an unbelievable beginning, Conval High rose to become one of the most successful wrestling programs in the state—even winning it all in 2010! (More on those champs later…)
Conval High 2010 state champs!
The 1971-’72 Conval wrestling team:
Paul LaBossiere, 98 lbs.
Bill Shaw,105 lbs.
Sandy Hutton, 112 lbs.
Malcolm MacKenzie, 118 lbs.
Chip Smith, 126 lbs.
Steve Hall, 132 lbs.
Peter Martel, 138 lbs.
Tom Hogan, 145 lbs.
Rick Barron, 155 lbs.
Ed Ogden, 167 lbs.
Dana Healey, 185 lb.
Roland Lemire, unlimited
Alternates:
Doug Nichols and Brian Chase, 98 lbs
Tom McPhetres, 126 lbs.
Fred Reese, 145 lbs.
Art Kelleher and John Nyland, 155 lbs
Jim McPhetres, 185 lbs.
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