Hahn brothers make the grade at Fivay

When Colin and Mike Hahn walked the hallways of Fivay High in the fall of 2010, head wrestling coach Andy Medders took notice.

It's hard not to notice the Hahn brothers. With bodies that look like they were sculpted out of granite, the Hahns are physically imposing. Coach Medders persistently stalked the Hahns.

"I noticed them walking down the hallway." Medders said. "I asked them, 'What's your name, where are you from?' I could just tell from the stature and their build that they were wrestlers."

It turns out the brothers already knew who coach Medders was. After relocating from Alonso High where they wrestled for the Ravens, the Hahns wanted to wrestle for Fivay. Any jubilation that Medders had when receiving the news of their interest was quickly shot down when he found out they were both academically ineligible to compete until the second semester.

"I was devastated when I saw their grades." Medders said. "Because he was always ineligible, Mike had only a semester or two of wrestling experience. Going into his junior year (2010), he had less mat time than some kids who were freshmen and sophomores."

Through tutoring, hard work, and their wrestling coach's persistence, the Hahns became eligible in January of 2011 and have kept up their grades ever since.

Despite their lack of experience, it didn't take long for the Hahns to produce solid results on the mat for the Falcons. Colin was a region qualifier at 171 pounds as a sophomore, but in a stacked region with Gulf's LaDarious Jackson and Hernando's Zach Pritz, he was unable to qualify for the state tournament.

Mike, as a junior wrestling in the 215-pound weight class, flourished in his shortened season. He won more than 30 matches and placed third at the region tournament to qualify for the state meet the next weekend. At the state tournament in Lakeland, Mike won four of six matches and finished fourth to become the first state placer for the young Fivay program. Hahn lost both of his matches to the same wrestler, Kenneth Bynum of Jacksonville Raines. There is a good chance Hahn will see Bynum again next weekend at the state tournament as they are both ranked in the top three in the 1A 220 rankings.

This season, Mike Hahn is 34-0 and has hardly been tested. Most of his matches have ended in pins, and with the exception of R.J. Luth of Dunedin, whom Hahn defeated 5-3, nobody has come close to defeating him. The level of competition is going to be stronger starting this weekend.

"I think he's ready, because I've really been pushing him in the room," Medders said. "I wrestle him and we run. I'm constantly talking to him about conditioning. He's not getting conditioning challenges in these matches because they end so quickly."

Colin has dropped down a weight class to 160 this season and has produced a 29-6 record, including a district championship. Despite the positive results, the younger Hahn sometimes leaves Medders wanting more.

"I need to open up more and be more offensive." Hahn said. "Instead of just being a defensive wrestler, I need to be aggressive to try to score more."