MHS wrestler will head to Stanford University on scholarship

Ethan Woods is "super excited" to announce his commitment to attend Stanford University, where he will wrestle on scholarship and study aerospace engineering.

When talking about Ethan Woods, a senior at Manchester High School, one of the most common things you will hear anyone say about him is that he is a "hard worker." Whether it's his coaches, his parents, his teachers, or his guidance counselor, each one will applaud his work ethic and reinforce that it is hard work that has brought him success in the classroom and on the wrestling mat.

It has also brought him a dream come true.

With dreams of studying aerospace engineering while wrestling for a top university, Ethan began exploring his options in his sophomore year, and decided that Stanford University was his ultimate goal. Together with his parents--Jason and Melanie Woods; his coaches--both in club wrestling and in Manchester; and the high school staff, he outlined a plan to make that dream a reality.

"He has taken every AP and honors class we offer at Manchester," guidance counselor Hollie Kolcz said. "He has taken the most rigorous courses available, in order to prepare himself for college level work. He's driven, and he works hard to prioritize his many responsibilities.

"And he has always had a goal in mind to be a student first, and athlete second."

The combination seems to have worked. He applied to Stanford as well as several other schools, so he would have a fall-back in case his Plan A didn't materialize. But on December 9, Ethan received a text from Stanford's head wrestling coach, letting him know that early admission decisions would be released within the hour. He spent that hour seeking his dad's support and talking over his options. But when he logged on to his admissions page on the Stanford website, he knew that he had achieved his loftiest goal. He clicked on the notification and his letter of acceptance was displayed. He'd made it!

Ethan, too, will be one of the first to describe himself as a hard worker.

"I'm not the top student in my class," he admits (he's actually #4 as of the end of his junior year). "And I was in the second tier of athletes to be considered as they were planning their recruiting for next year. So I've just worked as hard as I could, to get to the level that I needed to be, to reach my goals."

Wrestling coach Steve Vlcek says, "Once [Ethan] sets his mind to doing something, he'll definitely get there. He wrestles pretty much year around; I don't know that I've ever had another kid who has done that. The majority of his success comes from inside himself--it's not from natural ability as much as his hard work and what he's done to develop as an athlete.

"He's very proud of what he's done, but he's not boastful. He's very humble about it. He has a lot of great qualities."

Principal Kevin Mowrer agrees.

"He’s always been a highly engaged athlete," Mowrer said. "He's also a well-rounded student--one of our top Spanish students, he participated in interviews and took a leadership role in selecting our new Spanish teacher. He's also participated in mentoring, many youth camps, and a wide variety of out of school experiences in addition to his athletic achievements."

Ethan has been wrestling since he was five years old, starting in the Manchester Wrestling Club and by third grade joined the Advantage Wrestling Club out of Tecumseh, that has given him the opportunity to develop his wrestling skills year-round ever since. Attending wrestling camps and tournaments across the state and around the country gave him a competitive edge, and the networking he found via his coaches actually helped give him an inside track at Stanford.

"I knew they had a good wrestling program, because my coach's best friend was on the coaching staff at Stanford," Ethan explained. "So I had been looking at that school and then I learned that they also had a very well respected aeronautical engineering program."

That was all he needed to know to start setting his goals. He actually applied to Stanford before learning that he was on the recruitment list. "I submitted my application on November 1," he said. "And on Nov. 3 I got a call from the head coach, offering his support through the admission process. I still kept everything on the down-low until I got my acceptance letter on Dec. 9, though."

Even weeks later, the whole experience still seems a little surreal to Ethan.

"Sometimes I think I must have read the letter wrong," he says with a shy smile. "But then my dad tells me that if I read it wrong, so did everyone else, and then I know this is really happening."

Kolcz and Mowrer said the entire high school staff, as well as many of the students, are very excited for Ethan's success in getting into such a prestigious university.

"We've had our students go to some impressive schools over the years," Mowrer said. "Stanford is really a great school. It's a tribute to Ethan's hard work that he has made it. But even more importantly, it helps the students and the community realize that even a kid from little Manchester can reach this level of success if they set their minds to it."

"Everyone's very excited for him," Kolcz added. "I'm looking forward to seeing all the things Ethan will do with his future."

Ethan Woods and his club wrestling friends, all of whom are pursuing or plan to pursue wrestling beyond high school: Neil Andrassian, a junior at Bedford High School; Will Feldkamp, a senior at Dexter, committed to wrestling at Northern Illinois University; Drew Marten, senior at Tecumseh and committed to wrestle at Central Michigan University; Carl Antrassian, a freshman at University of Pennsylvania; and Ethan.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.