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03/29/2018 12:00 AMMike Burchell recently completed a three-year career with the Hand wrestling team by putting together one of the best seasons from any high-school grappler in state history.
Mike joined the Tigers as a sophomore and then had a solid junior year that saw him capture the Class L state title in 285-pound weight class. As a senior this winter, Mike topped that accomplishment by posting a perfect record of 40-0, while taking home a grand slam of postseason crowns with his first-place finishes at the SCC, Class L, State Open, and New England championships. Mike concluded his Hand wrestling tenure as a three-time All-American with a record of 104-15.
“Having a senior year like that meant a lot to me. I worked really hard for it. I feel like it was expected, because no one in the heavyweight division put in as much work as me,” says Mike, who clinched the New England title by pinning Ryan Higgins of Massachusetts in just 41 seconds. “I was expected to win it all, but I had to work hard for it. I couldn’t have done it all without my coaches.”
Mike had to keep his head on straight while going toe-to-toe against several top-tier opponents from around the Northeast throughout his lengthy postseason run. Mike says the key to his success was that he never took any one of his heavyweight opponents lightly in the 285 division.
“The hard part of those tournaments is to stay focused. A two-day tournament can take a toll on you,” Mike says. “The big thing for me is to not think ahead and wrestle your game. My mindset going in is believing that the move I use will work. You can’t think ahead, and [you have to] take everyone serious.”
Mike likes the nature of wrestling with how the best competitor always comes away with the win. However, even though he was the one who had his hand raised in victory every time out this year, Mike recognizes that there are still some things he needs to work on as he gets ready to wrestle at the next level.
“It’s one-on-one, and the better guy wins. It’s indisputable, and you can’t argue who is better. It’s also a competitive sport that humbles you,” says Mike. “I’ve improved drastically. It’s night and day with my sophomore year to now. I made my biggest leap as far as technique from junior year to this year. It takes a while to learn technique, and I progressed a lot, but I’m still learning.”
Tigers’ Head Coach Mike Docker remembers Mike’s humble beginnings when he first joined the squad. Docker says that Mike quickly grasped the skills that he needed to succeed on the mat, allowing him to go on a rapid rise up the rankings of wrestlers in Connecticut.
“Mike is a sponge that absorbs every bit of info passed along to him. Coaching him was easy. He is so strong and well-coordinated that the moves came easy,” says Docker. “We the coaches would show him technique, and he would process it and almost immediately put the technique to use. There were times where we would go over a move, and he would execute the move the very next day at a match and get a pin as a result...I am very happy that he has gone as far as he has and am excited to follow him in college.”
Mike has earned a scholarship to wrestle for Division I school Appalachian State University in North Carolina. On the heels of such an exceptional career at Hand, Mike wants to keep his momentum going and wrestle his way to top of the podium at the biggest competition there is at the collegiate level.
“I want to be an NCAA champion. That’s the No. 1 goal right there. But I also want to first work my way into a starting lineup and get my business degree,” says Mike, who thanks his dad Mike, brother Chris, and all of his wrestling coaches. “It’s meant a lot to see my hard work pay off here at Hand. Wrestling is important because it teaches you hard work. I was 15-7 my first year here, but I kept working hard, and it got me to where I am now.”