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04/13/2022 12:00 AMJordan Armstrong’s journey to the sport of wrestling is one that even he didn’t expect. Jordan had been playing basketball for his entire life up until high school, but made a U-turn that ultimately took him to the top of the podium as member of the Morgan wrestling team.
In his freshman year, Jordan came to an agreement with Tony Cimino, a senior captain on the Morgan boys’ basketball team, that he would try out for the wrestling squad if he didn’t make the Huskies’ roster. Jordan did not make the cut and suddenly found himself wrestling for Morgan during the winter season.
The rest was history for Jordan, who went on to enjoy a storied career on the mats at Morgan. This year, Jordan led the Huskies as a senior captain and capped off his campaign by taking first place in the 220-pound division at the Class S State Championship.
“I’ve only been wrestling for three years, because we didn’t have a season junior year due to COVID. I actually played basketball my whole life before high school,” says Jordan. “Tony came to an agreement with me and said, ‘If you don’t make the basketball team, then you have to wrestle.’ As you can tell, I didn’t make the basketball team, and I’m still mad about that. My brother Robbie Consiglio was Tony’s senior captain when he was freshman, so Tony and I were already friends.”
Jordan suffered an injury prior to the SCC Championship, but still advanced to the final of the 220-pound weight class on behalf of Head Coach Jon Wolfer’s squad. Two weeks later, Jordan competed at the Class S State Championship and earned four pinfall victories to claim the crown, pinning Yael Garcia-Rodriguez of Windham at the 2:49 mark of the title bout.
“It felt unreal. I sprained my LCL a couple weeks before at SCCs and couldn’t return to the mat until two days before,” Jordan says. “I was confident I was going to win states before the injury, but after I couldn’t even walk, I had to have Coach Wolfer carry me to the bus, and I was on crutches for five days. So, the fact I still won it all with my knee 60-percent healed, I’d say was just unreal.”
Jordan fell in love with wrestling almost instantaneously. Jordan enjoys the individual nature of the sport and the fact that everything hinges on his shoulders during a match, but also embraced the camaraderie that was prevalent within the Morgan wrestling program.
“My favorite aspect about wrestling is that it’s a one-person sport. If you lose, it’s on you—no excuses. I don’t know about you, but I hate losing,” says Jordan. “My favorite part about wrestling wasn’t even when I won states. It was building relationships with my fellow wrestlers and coaches.”
Coach Wolfer has been affiliated with the Morgan wrestling team since Jordan’s freshman year, but this season marked his first one as the Huskies’ head coach. Jordan, who also played football for Morgan, says that Wolfer and Jimmy Lewis, an assistant coach with both programs, have had a huge impact on him throughout his career.
“Coach Wolfer has always treated me as an adult and always has been courteous and respectful. Those are his two favorite words actually. He has taught me many lifelong lessons. He’s just an awesome guy,” Jordan says. “My assistant wrestling coach and line coach in football, Coach Lewis, is one of the realest people you’ll ever meet. He will do anything for me that will help me grow as a person. You only hear good things about this guy. Anywhere I go with him, he’s always saying hi to someone.”
After missing out on his entire junior year of sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan was worried that he wouldn’t be able to compete at all through the remainder of high school. However, Jordan suited up as senior captain outside linebacker for the Morgan football team last fall, earning All-Pequot Conference honors for a squad that qualified for the playoffs. Jordan went on to lead the wrestling team as a captain in the winter season, finishing the year with a record of 25-4 and a state gold medal around his neck.
“After my junior year of sports was canceled, I was extremely angry since other states were able to have it,” says Jordan. “Leading up to my senior year, my hopes were low, and I wasn’t getting them up again like I did the year prior. I’m extremely happy I was able to have my senior year of sports.”
Jordan will be joining the United States Air Force after he graduates from Morgan. As he looks back at his time in high school, Jordan feels pleased about how everything culminated in his senior year.
“I couldn’t be any happier for my senior season of sports,” Jordan says. “Football made the playoffs for the first time in six years, and now I get to rub it in my brother’s face that I’m a state champ and he never was.”