Fort Cherry’s Welsh commits to Brown
Warning: getimagesize(): Filename cannot be empty in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 139
Warning: Division by zero in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 142
Forth Cherry junior Braeden Welsh grew up watching Derry graduate George “Micky” Phillippi win three state wrestling championships.
He continued to watch Phillippi, as he competed at Virginia before transferring and finishing his collegiate career at Pitt.
Phillippi has moved on to become the operations coordinator for the wrestling team at Brown University in the Ivy League, and when Welsh found out the news, he was eager to take a visit to Providence, R.I.
“I grew up watching Micky wrestle, and when he opened a club in Derry, I went there to train and got to know him,” Welsh said. “I loved the campus and the other coaches and the wrestlers on the team were great.”
Wrestling at Brown is challenging for several reasons: For starters, it is a Division I program, and as an Ivy League school, academics take precedent.
Welsh, who started wrestling at 7, decided to focus solely on wresting when he got into middle school. He trains at Young Guns and the Mat Factory when not working with his high school teammates.
“I go to different clubs so I can work with other wrestlers,” Welsh said. “It definitely makes you better to not have to train with the same guy all the time. I know I need to improve on my hand fighting in college. I will also need to stay focused on my studies. My parents always make sure I get good grades and maintain them.”
Welsh plans on studying engineering while he attends Brown.
“I have always been gifted with math,” Welsh said. “I am not sure what type of engineering I want to get into at this time, but I have some time to decide.”
Being an intelligent young man isn’t always the easiest because Welsh is always reminded of his smarts when he makes a mistake.
“I am smart, but I will do some dumb stuff at times, which I usually hear about,” Welsh said.
Before Welsh heads east, he will be looking to improve upon last season’s fourth-place finish at the state tournament. Welsh believes the Rangers have the opportunity to improve as a team this year.
“I think we will be better this year, and if we can stay healthy and field a full lineup, then we should be fine because that really helps when you wrestle in Double-A,” Welsh said.
Despite being one of the leaders on the team, Welsh lets his actions on the mat do the talking.
“I encourage guys to go to practice and work hard in the offseason, but I am really not much of a hype man,” Welsh said. “We have a guy on the team that’s good for that.”