Dennis Wymer, art teacher and wrestling coach at Oak Hill Academy, is seeing a vision come to life in the second year of the fledgling Oak Hill Wrestling Program. Billed as a great opportunity for our students to push themselves and become extremely fit, Coach Wymer invites any interested student to try the sport out through a six-week preseason program. Since early in the school year, he has loaded up a van (that has become increasingly more full) and headed to a facility nearby for workouts held in conjunction with the Grayson County High School Wrestling team and coaching staff. This setup represents a special advantage to Oak Hill students as Grayson County is considered a Virginia public school “powerhouse” and regularly produces state-level finalists and champions. The Grayson staff includes a former NCAA and N.C. State University top wrestler. Coach Wymer also has extensive experience as a competitor and coach, and is assisted by OHA Dean of Boys Gary Crede and Resident Manager Byron Bussey.
There are regularly 6 or more students, boys and girls, attending these workouts and the results are energizing to the program. The experience among our student participants ranges from previous varsity level to 
complete beginner. Connor S. ’19 has participated in meets and camps throughout the Mid-Atlantic states and has college wrestling interest. Kevin K. ’19, a pioneer of the wrestling team at Oak Hill Academy, was one of two students who made up the OHA team last year. He gained valuable experience at the Virginia Independent School State Meet and hopes to build on that success.
If the dedication shown during the preseason voluntary workouts is any indication, the Oak Hill Academy Wrestling Team is going to catch plenty of attention. In addition to being passionate about the sport, Coach Wymer sees participation as a opportunity for our boarding school to broaden its athletics options. And it’s working–as the numbers increase, as the excitement on campus grows, and pride is building for our newest sport: wrestling. OHA Wrestling’s season is set to begin December 1. Stayed tuned for more coverage of the action!
Shout-out to team member Dillon P. ’20 for the photos–thank you!