Eamon Garrity-Rokous ’20 is a two-year captain.
According to Head Coach Kassie Archambault ’06, Garrity-Rokous has been a key member of the team since his first year and has evolved into a leader and mentor.
“Eamon has been a four-year varsity starter for us. He joined as a [Junior] and immediately made a huge impact on the team. He’s always been a very strong, consistent wrestler and for us. His growth has been in his leadership for the team. He’s been really supportive and really pushes everyone in the room to work hard. He brings an intensity and focus to the team,” said Archambault.
On the mat, Garrity-Rokous’s best skill is his ability to move his lower body, according to Archambault.
Archambault said, “Eamon is very strong on his feet in the neutral position, so he’s very good at getting his opponents out of position and taking them down to the mat.”
According to fellow Co-Captain Marisol Nugent ’20, Garrity-Rokous is a genuine person whose leadership abilities extend beyond wrestling.
“Eamon is my best friend. He’s definitely my rock. At the end of a tough day, we can always confide in one another and just talk about how we’re feeling or what’s going on… Wrestling is an intense sport, and it’s hard to find people who understand the physicality of it and how demanding it is, so when you have another person who knows what you’re going through and can relate, it’s always good to have,” said Nugent.
Garrity-Rokous aims to lead the team with his sharp focus and infectious attitude.
“I’m definitely very hyper-focused. Hopefully that focus spills over to the other guys on the team and they see how focused I am in practice and how focused I am in matches as well as how much I remind them to think back on why they started wrestling: to go out there and have fun and to go out there and win. Once I remind them that vocally and show them how I care on the mat, hopefully they get the message and then they realize what the sport is all about and how to improve in the sport,” said Garrity-Rokous.
Other teammates look to emulate Garrity-Rokous’s work ethic as he tries to push others to succeed, according to Somen Chakrabortti ’22.
Chakrabortti said, “During workouts and things like that, [Garrity-Rokous] works really hard, and you can tell because he’s sweating and he’s embracing the grind. That motivates the rest of us to work as hard.”
“He’s such a good technical wrestler. He’s always happy to work with athletes and show them what they could be doing better, what they could improve upon. He’ll work with anyone in the room while we’re drilling and then really motivating and pumping up the team to do well and to bring one hundred percent,” added Archambault.
According to Nugent, she admires Garrity-Rokous’s ability to excel in both athletics and academics.
“When [Garrity-Rokous] is in the zone, he’s in the zone, so I think that’s one of the things he does as a leader, which is just show kids how a wrestler is, how they act in the classroom. He leads by example, and on top of that, the fact that he is so smart as well is a huge thing because he shows kids how it’s possible to balance both,” said Nugent.
Garrity-Rokous is thankful that his experience at Andover has allowed him to grow as a teammate and a captain.
Garrity-Rokous said, “Being a member of the Andover Wrestling program has, over time, refocused my wrestling mentality. Sometimes you feel as a wrestler that wrestling is more of an individual sport and you forget the team aspects of it. I think the Andover Wrestling program reminded me and refocused me on why I started wrestling in the first place, and that was to have fun and challenge myself. And so now when I’m wrestling… I tend to focus more on others and the team aspect of things and that we’re all out there just to have fun and be challenged.”
