Sixty-eight years may have separated the graduation year of the youngest and oldest alumni men and women who got together on Saturday, Jan. 18, yet they all shared a lifelong love for Gilman wrestling. So it was that more than three dozen former Gilman wrestlers, coaches, and friends gathered together in the C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Fitness Center for a wrestling alumni reception in conjunction with 41st Annual Haswell M. Franklin '50 Gilman Duals. Sandwiches were savored and stories swapped as past teammates and friends rekindled old relationships and forged new ones. Head Varsity Wrestling Coach Bryn Holmes took a break from the on-mat action to offer an update on the tournament — and the season's — progress. Afterward, more laughs were exchanged, and plans to reconnect made before the group migrated back to the Finney Athletic Center to catch the rest of the dual meets.

Said Teddy Brown ’84, "I always liked to go to the Duals with my dad [former Gilman teacher and coach Eddie Brown, Jr. ’57, who passed away this past November]. He loved to see what the Gilman grapplers had to give, and it was sort of an annual ritual for us. We always loved seeing past wrestlers and coaches there. The coaches like Howdy Knipp, Jeff Duke, David Hooper, Mark Harbold, and Chris Legg ’67 (and many more) were so instrumental in teaching us and shaping us as young people — using the sport to ingrain in us discipline, tenacity, trust, determination, humility, respect, and more. The decades of wrestling alumni that show up for events like this is a powerful testament to just how impactful the sport and our experience with it at Gilman and beyond has been on us."

In the Duals, Gilman had a strong showing, winning its first four matches before coming up a few points short against Greens Farms Academy in the finals. Several individual wrestlers even went undefeated in their weight classes on the day.

See more photos from the Wrestling Alumni Reception

See photos from the Duals