Valley View senior and 285-pound weight class wrestler John Shnipes posted his 100th victory and went 5-0 with four wins by fall at the Lackawanna Trail Duals on Saturday.
Favorite teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, Penn State football, and Penn State, Ohio State and Iowa wrestling
Not many athletes are All-Region in two sports. You’ve done it for football and wrestling. It means a lot. I put a lot of work into both sports and it’s nice getting recognition.
Athletes you admire: Football-wise, I loved Troy Polamalu. UFC-wise, I like Urijah Faber and Jon Jones. They’re two motivators.
I’m guessing that wrestling at 285 pounds has its advantages when you don’t have to worry about weight. Are your teammates who are worried about making weight a little envious? I try not to eat in front of them. I’m not that type of guy.
Most famous athlete you’ve ever met? I met UFC fighter Frankie Edgar at a wrestling tournament at the beach a few summers ago, at Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
Three people you’d like to have dinner with. My teammates, my family and Jon Jones.
Who’s your funniest teammate, in either wrestling or football? There’s a lot of them. Wrestling, I want to say it’s Spencer Duffield. He’s a pretty funny guy. Football, Janaasah Boone. He’s a character.
What’s the biggest thrill you’ve had in sports? Definitely for football, it was winning two district championships. And wrestling, winning my 100th and making it to regionals as a freshman.
Congratulations on being named all-state first team in football. What was it like getting that phone call? Oh, it meant a lot to me. That’s always been one of my goals growing up. Walking through the commons and seeing all the jerseys being hung up, that’s one thing I’ve always wanted.
You were runner-up in districts last year. What are your goals for this season? This season I want to win it. We’re going to get it this year.
What would you like to improve on in the next few weeks to help you reach that goal? We’re going to condition and we’re going to work on some new moves. It takes a day or so to master. I’ll hit it a lot during practice and keep going over it until I get it to where I need to.
Give me a skill you would like to master. I’d like to go to school to be a diesel engineer. I’m real into the diesel trucks. I got accepted into a few schools. I’m not sure which one yet.
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Marty Myers began his career as a sports writer at The Wayne Independent in Honesdale, where he served as sports editor and later managing editor. After 10 years there, he joined The Times-Tribune in 1994 and has spent the ensuing years reporting on high school sports, local and professional golf. An award-winning journalist, he also enjoys his duties as a copy editor for The Times-Tribune, editing stories and designing pages. A native of Williamsport, Marty resides in Clarks Summit. Reach him at mmyers@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100 x5437 or @mmyersTT.
