Kudos to Aaron Siedel’s dad for asking if his son wanted to try wrestling.
When playing on a baseball field didn’t strike his fancy as a kid, the Northern Lebanon junior moved to grappling on a mat instead.
And the rest is history.
Seidel is ranked fifth in the nation in his 121-pound weight class by FlowWrestling.org and first in the state in Class 2A. (Penn State commit Nathan Desmond, of Wyoming Seminary, is third nationwide in Class 3A among 121 pounders.)
He seeks his third consecutive Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association championship this month, which would be a record third for a Northern Lebanon wrestler. Last fall, he committed to Virginia Tech.
But you wouldn’t know it from how he behaves around others, including youngsters.
“Aaron is unique because of his willingness to make sacrifices that most teenage kids would never dream of making,” his head coach, Rusty Wallace, told LebTown. “He is goal-oriented and driven. And he’s grounded and humble. Traits you don’t find often in high school athletes.
“Aaron always prepares as if he is the underdog. He never wants praise or attention. He’s a great role model for young wrestlers. Just work harder than everyone and be the best at the basics.”
Seidel, 17, said he “kind of fell in love” with wrestling. “It’s one of the hardest sports.”
The competition is tough, and you have to make weight, for example. Seidel described himself as “kind of athletic,” and wrestling appealed to him for that reason, too.
“I really enjoyed it and wanted to get better at it,” he told LebTown. “You have to work at it.”
Seidel grew up around older wrestlers and wants to pay it back. He tries to help younger kids with their moves – and sharpen his own technique along the way.
Beyond his school practice, Seidel works out at Steller Trained, an elite gym run by Chance Marsteller in Reading, and Lancaster Alliance Wrestling in Manheim. He also sometimes assists at middle school tournaments or lends a hand running a practice at Clovis Crane’s house.
The Lancaster Alliance Wrestling Club “is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering, promoting and encouraging the sport of amateur wrestling. It is our intention to build character, physical health and well-being, sportsmanship, self-confidence, self-esteem, positive attitudes about dedication, persistence and hard work among the younger generation,” its website said.
“Our young athletes love him,” Wallace said. “He is great with them. He loves to spend time coaching and teaching them tech and they hang on every word.”
Seidel’s first Pennsylvania championships came at 106 and 107 pounds; this year, he moved up to 121. As a freshman, he became known as the “babyfaced assassin.”
He won his third District 3 Class 2A championship Feb. 24 at Central Dauphin East. He topped his day with a 24-11 major decision victory against Bishop McDevitt’s Greyson Music in the final, recording nine takedowns in the championship match. In his previous two matches, Seidel recorded a tech fall victory 19-2 in 3:50 against Berks Catholic’s Brayden Hartranft in the semifinal and a fall in 1:48 against Annville-Cleona’s Oliver Funck in the quarterfinal.
Right now, Seidel – whose career record is 145-2 – is focused on another state title, with the tournament to be help Thursday through Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey. This past weekend he qualified for the PIAA event with yet another championship, at the Class AA Southeast Regional tournament, which was held at Bethlehem Freedom High School.
Longer term, could Seidel represent the USA at Worlds? At the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles?
But he said he definitely wants to coach.
“I love this sport.”
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