Jon Sauve
Accomplishments: This Eagles thumper hammered out 124 wins to only 15 losses in his four-year career at the school. Sauve was big and powerful, a handful for the wrestlers he competed against in the 171 and 189-pound weight classes in which he competed. A two-time District 3-AAA champion (1998-99), Sauve also made his bones on the state stage by becoming a four-year placer. After finishing sixth as a freshman, he made the semifinals three straight years, finishing second, winning a state title and placing third as a senior.
Did you know: Ripping off that many wins is nothing to sneeze at in the late 90s, and it would have and probably should have been more. Sauve was injured his sophomore season — he was slammed at the Manheim Central Holiday Tournament by Parkland's Jon Trenge and suffered a neck injury — and was sidelined the first month of his senior year because of an injury he suffered during football.
Why here: Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of placing athletes in heavier weight classes ahead of guys in stacked lower weights, and that opinion was reflected in a first draft with Sauve just outside the top 25. But on second, and probably third and fourth review, special consideration was given to Sauve's losses more than his wins. Of his 15 setbacks, 13 were against state placers and eight of those were to state champions. That and the fact that he placed four times — he won the 189-AAA title in 2000 — on high school wrestling's biggest stage couldn't be ignored.
What they said: “He was boring because no one could beat him, and he did it by playing two and three sports. He was the strongest kid I ever had and could bench 400 pounds his senior year in high school. He beat guys that he wasn't supposed to beat. He beat guys with guts, and he just didn't want to lose.” — Roger Barrick, former Cumberland Valley head wrestling coach.
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