First Posted: 1/5/2015
The decision to go to State University of New York at Oneonta was an easy one for Wyoming Area graduate and wrestler Nicholas Heck. And the transition seems to be going just as easy.
“I took a ton of visits and finally decided on Oneonta,” Heck said. “It was just where it felt right and where I could do my best athletically and academically. It had a great wrestling program and a great coaching staff.”
Heck, a sophomore, wrestles for the Red Dragons at 141 and 149 pounds. Through the first two months of his second year, he’s shown some promise after a solid career wrestling at Wyoming Area.
As a senior for the Warriors, Heck, at 138 pounds, won the third-place bout at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Northeast Regional tournament in Williamsport to qualify for the state tournament. There, he was eliminated in the first round. Heck finished his senior season 32-3.
Oneonta head coach Duane Ritter, who is a Wilkes University graduate and a Muncy native, has seen Heck grow over the past two seasons. Oneonta is a state institution and most of Ritter’s wrestlers are from New York, though there are others from Pennsylvania in the program.
Dallas’ Dominic DeGraba is also on the team.
“We recruited them a little bit out of state,” Ritter said. “The majority of kids are from in state. It was good to add them to the roster.”
Ritter describes Heck as an aggressive wrestler who works hard.
“He’s a hardworking kid,” Ritter said. “He’s adapted to the college life well. He gives you all he has each match. It’s a tough transition going from high school to college.”
As a freshman at Wyoming Area, Heck finished second at districts. He was fifth in his sophomore season. He didn’t wrestle in districts his junior year before winning a district gold in his senior season.
Heck credits the ease of his college transition to his high school coaches. But there have been a few growing pains along the way.
“It’s certainly a transition to get used to,” Heck said. “It’s a big difference. The kids are going hard all the time. I like it a lot. The transition was a little easier for me. My high school coaches knew how to get us ready for the next level. It wasn’t as big a jump as it could have been.”
Throughout the season, Heck has been going from 149 pounds to 141 pounds rather frequently. The Red Dragons lost one of the top wrestlers to graduation, who was at 149.
Dropping and adding weight hasn’t been easy.
“It’s a big eight pounds,” Heck said. “It all depends on how much you’re cutting. The 141 guys are smaller and faster. But at 149, there’s a little more strength involved.”
Oneonta sits at 1-3 on the season. The Red Dragons, however, have lost to some of the best teams in the country thus far. At the John Reese Duals hosted by Messiah College in November, the Red Dragons went toe-to-toe with some of the top teams in the country.
At 141, Heck earned a major decision over No. 3-ranked Messiah’s Jarred Furry, 17-7. The Red Dragons lost the match, 21-20, however. In Heck’s only other dual meet appearance this season, he fell to Rhode Island College’s Ricondo Cole, 10-3.
The Red Dragons got back to work this weekend at the North/South Duals at Ursinus College. Oneonta then hosts the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Championships on Saturday, Jan. 17.
“I just want to get better every day,” Heck said. “The coaches trust us to do that and do our best — in the classroom as well as the wrestling room. It keeps everyone competitive.”
Heck is studying biology in the Pre-Physician’s Assistant track. He is the son of Anthony and Maria Heck, West Pittston.
