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04/08/2016 12:00 AMMackay Revis wrestled his way to the State Open as a freshman and he savored the taste of the big stage so much that he wanted to get back to that summit on a yearly basis. Mackay’s craving for success ultimately helped him pin down a prominent place in Haddam-Killingworth wresting history.
Mackay, a senior who grappled in the 160-pound weight class, got into wrestling in the 6th grade before hitting the high school mat and then going 16-12 in a rookie year that culminated at the State Open. The initial success was a small sign of bigger things to come for Mackay, who finished his career with a record of 98-43 and became the first wrestler in Cougars’ history to qualify for the Open in all four years of his career.
“My freshman year, I didn’t really know how big of a deal the Open was until I qualified. It was an adrenaline rush and I was so excited,” says Mackay, who went 28-7 in his farewell campaign this winter. “After that, I made it my goal to go to the State Open all four years and to accomplish that goal, it felt amazing.”
HK finished fourth as a group at the Class S State Championship in the recent season with Mackay making the final of his 160-pound bracket. Although Mackay took a 13-8 defeat to Jacob Berry-Parker of Somers in the title bout, he didn’t relinquish his chance for a championship without a fight.
“I wrestled him earlier in the year, so I knew it would be a tough one. Before that, I was watching all of the preceding finals and then I started to get warmed up around the 138 final,” says Mackay, who won his first two Class S matches in a combined 50 seconds with two pinfalls. “I started to go at him in the first period and had a big throw on him. It was 5-5 at one point in the second, but then he just took over.”
Mackay went from 16 wins in his first year at HK to 28 as a sophomore. He then won 26 matches for his junior season and claimed victory 28 times this year. Mackay started putting in the extra effort following his freshman campaign and he never stopped working for the rest of his Cougars’ career.
“After freshman year, I knew it was time to get serious. It was then around my junior year that I realized I could be something special if I put the hard work into it,” says Mackay, who also wrestles for KT Kidz in the offseason. “Wrestling for me was amazing and I wouldn’t change any of it for anything. It’s an individual sport, so you can’t blame anyone else for your failures. It’s all eyes on you, plus the adrenaline rush you get from matches are crazy.”
While praising his athlete for his claim to HK fame, first-year Cougars’ Head Coach Nick Adler says that much of Mackay’s success is a product of his year-round, nose-to-the-grindstone commitment on the mat.
“What makes him unique is that he is the first wrestler from HK to qualify for the State Open tournament all four years of high school, which in an incredible feat,” says Adler. “I believe this is a result of the feeder program at the middle school, the evolution of the curriculum at the high school, and his dedication to the sport through offseason work.”
As Mackay took great pride in being HK’s lone senior this season, he experienced a time-tested truth throughout his tenure with the team by getting out of wrestling what he put into it—everything.
“I had some help leading the team from some of the juniors, which was good, because I couldn’t have done it all on my own. The coaches looked up to me as someone who could help keep the team together and focused,” says Mackay, who thanks his family, teammates, and coaches, plus the people at HK and KT Kidz. “In my opinion, wrestling was something I felt I was really good at, so I put everything I had into it. I’m so grateful for the experiences I had with my teammates and coaches. I’d also love to give back to the program one day and maybe return as a coach.”