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02/15/2017 11:00 PMGrayson Adler never stops hitting the wrestling mat throughout the year. In addition to competing for Haddam-Killingworth, Grayson also participates in multiple camps and out-of-state tournaments with club teams, and those extra reps have led to a great career and sensational senior season with the Cougars.
Last winter, Grayson went 32-2 en route to runner-up honors at the Class S State Championship and a spot at the New England Championship in the 152-pound weight class. Now competing in the 160 division, Grayson has grappled his way to a mark of 25-0 in a senior season that’s seen him reach a milestone of 100 career victories. Grayson achieved that feat at the Guilford Duals on Jan. 21.
“I love how it’s only you out there and you have to rely on or blame only yourself and no one else. It gives you a chance to fix things,” says Grayson. “100 wins is a big milestone because I only had 15 wins my freshman year. I didn’t think this would happen. It started to slowly become more possible and it’s amazing to get there. After my freshman year, I started to do camps and clubs in the offseason. I slowly progressed and it helped me get to where I am now. All last year and into this season, I was training for this year with national tournaments. I wanted to make my last year a good memory.”
In addition to hitting the century mark, Grayson made another great memory on Jan. 28, when he earned a gold medal at the Highlander Invitational in Portland. He also won his third Most Outstanding Wrestler Award of the season with his performance at that event. It was a weekend that tested Grayson’s physical limits after he’d recently endured an illness.
“I struggled to make weight that week because I was sick the week before. I made weight by half a pound,” he says. “I went into my first two matches and pinned my opponents in around 30 seconds each. My final match was against a kid from Massachusetts, so I had never heard of him, but I didn’t let that affect how I wrestled, and I pinned him in a minute and 30 seconds.”
Someone who’s seen Grayson wrestle throughout his career is his brother Nick Adler, who’s also HK’s head coach. Nick says that his sibling’s success stems from the fact that he never turns off his motor and is always thirsty for competition.
“I think what made him such a successful wrestler is the fact that he never switches off. For him, he has been competing and training in wrestling constantly for the past four years. He is the reason why many of our younger wrestlers train in the offseason now, after seeing what an offseason club did for him,” says Coach Adler. “He also has a state of mind where he isn’t afraid of anyone. He doesn’t care if you’re an unknown or the No. 1 nationally ranked kid in his weight. His response is always the same—that he’s going go out there and kick their butt. He’s competed on a national level, which has exposed him to many of the top competitors in the nation, and some international competitors.”
Grayson says that having his brother as his coach fits perfectly into his life as he’s able to continuously practice his craft with a permanent sparring partner. Still, Grayson explains that every Cougars’ coach he’s worked with has helped pave his path to prominence.
“It’s cool having my brother as coach because he helps me with my technique and even my diet. We train on a mat at home and it’s good to always have someone you can talk to about technique,” says Grayson. “I had three different coaches my first three years. My former coaches, Geoff Korper and Doug Stevenson, were big about a winning state of mind. That, plus technique, helped me drive to do better. The past two years, my brother has helped me with strength training in the offseason. I also feel that if I wrestled for a bigger team and school, I wouldn’t have gotten as much specific help as I’ve gotten, so I’m thankful for that.”
Now looking to close the book on his HK career on a high note, Grayson wants to improve upon last year’s solid postseason showing at this winter’s marquee meets.
“My goal for states is to go all the way to New Englands and also win at the State Open,” says Grayson, who his brother, his dad Timothy Adler, teammate Aidan Korper, his offseason coach John Knapp. “I almost placed at regionals last year, so I’d like to place or even win.”