(Photo courtesy of the Seaford School District)
Wrestling and baseball don’t really go together, right? Well, maybe not. But that won’t stop a Seaford High School student from competing in both sports.
Senior Tom Lynch is the type of student-athlete coaches wish they can get on their squads. Lynch, a baseball player and a wrestler for Seaford’s varsity boys teams, is a one-of-a-kind athlete.
For four years, he’s competed on both teams, standing out in each with a different skill set, but the same mentality. It doesn’t matter what he’s about to do. As soon as the bell goes off or the umpire yells that it’s time to throw out the first pitch, Lynch is ready to go.
Lynch is a three-year All-County wrestler, and started out 9-0 in the 145-pound weight class in 2019. It’s the first time he’s gone undefeated so deep into a season, and the senior is starting to say his good-byes prior to heading to college.
The Tribune spoke with Lynch to discuss his wrestling season, his baseball career and the future.
Q: How has your wrestling season been thus far?
A: I’m 9-0 to start the year. I wrestled in two tournaments and I won both of them. I was also in two dual meets. It’s the first year I’ve started off 9-0, so it’s been great.
Q: How do you feel you’ve grown with this program?
A: I’ve grown a lot. All four years of varsity have helped me really improve in practice, which helped me in tournaments and dual meets.
Q: What are some of the challenges you face as a high school wrestler?
A: It’s tough because the practices are really hard and it’s tough to make your weight sometimes. There’s long tournaments, too.
Q: How did you get started wrestling?
A: When I was younger, my brother and I started wrestling at the same time. We thought it was a good idea, and it’s a lot of fun.
Q: Do you see yourself wrestling in college?
A: Either wrestling or playing baseball. I’m a pitcher. I throw a four-seam fastball, two-seam, curveball and change-up. I like baseball a bit better, so I’d like to focus on that in college.
Q: How do the skills from baseball and wrestling correlate?
A: It’s just that you really can’t ever give up. You have to try your best in each sport.
Q: Why do you want to play baseball in college rather than wrestle?
A: I’m not really sure yet, but I just really enjoy playing baseball a lot. I’ve grown up playing baseball and a lot of my family plays it, too. Not much of my family wrestles besides my brother and I.
