The following article is posted with the permission of Jay Jenkins, staff writer for the Charlottesville Daily Progress.

Gentil a Giant on the Mat

By Jay Jenkins, Daily Progress staff writer
May 3, 2003

In Webster’s Dictionary, the definition for champion reads “a valiant fighter” or “a person who fights for another or for a cause.” If the publication needs a picture to place next to the word, they need to look no further than Woodberry Forest’s Conner Gentil.

After steamrolling through the regular season with a perfect 40-0 record, the senior from Richmond who wrestled at the 189-pound weight class, finished seventh at Nationals to earn all-American status.

The impact that Gentil had on the program at Woodberry will be obvious in the record books.

Gentil finished his three-year wrestling career at Woodberry with a 115-19 record, placing him third in school history in victories.

The top two (Glenn Prichett — ’96, 134 wins and Andy Coulson —’87, 124 wins) wrestled four years. Gentil also ranks third in the prestigious school’s records for pins.

During his senior year, Gentil finished 46-2 and recorded a team-high 28 pins. He also can boast titles at four regular season meets, including the highly touted Lake Taylor Invitational in the Tidewater region.

In the postseason, Gentil cruised to a second straight title at the Virginia Independent Schools state meet, propelling a young Woodberry team to an impressive second-place finish. At the national meet, Gentil placed seventh and was named an all-American, an honor that is bestowed to the top eight finishers.

When asked which of the accolades meant the most to Gentil, he quickly smiled and pointed to his moment on the national stage.

“I would probably say finally placing at Nationals,” Gentil said. “That is the kind of tournament you want to do well in, no matter how well you do in the season.

“You want to get a good place at Nationals. Although everybody wants to get a good place at Nationals, sometimes, the top eight wrestlers don’t get a place because of the way the tournament’s set up and it was really good to finally get one.”

For Woodberry coach Dick Glover, the importance of having Gentil serve as his team’s captain stretched far beyond the mat.

“The most important contribution for Conner has been his leadership,” Glover said. “We had a rather green team in which the expectations were not great this year. Because of the senior leadership, with Conner and the other seniors, providing outstanding leadership, this team progressed as much in the course of the year as any that I have had.”

Glover also pointed out that the 17-year-old held a quality that most coaches do not get from high school athletes. “His maturity and his balance is so exceptional. He has got this combination of work ethic and maturity and with a wonderful sense of humor,” Glover said. “It is so rare for a youngster to lead without antagonizing. He has a gift for leadership.”

For Gentil, the accolades are not restricted to his performance on the mat, but also a standout student at the Madison County boarding school.

Gentil, who has been accepted and plans to attend UVa in the fall, is the senior prefect, an honor that goes to the top senior at the all-boys’ school campus. He also plans to major in either civil or mechanical engineering at Virginia and it was one of the key factors in deciding to attend there.

“I have always wanted to work with my hands and be an engineer. That was a big issue in picking Virginia,” said Gentil, whose father, Steve, was also a state wrestling champ at Woodberry.

“It is also in-state, pretty close to home and it is a fun place to go,” Gentil said. “My brother is also there right now and it seemed like a great match.”

While Gentil was not offered a scholarship to wrestle at UVa, he has talked with Cavaliers coach Lenny Bernstein about walking on the team in the fall.

“I want to give it a shot; I would regret not giving it a shot in college if I did not do it. I want to go out and have fun with it and see what I can do and see if I can compete at that level,” Gentil said.

So how did Gentil turn out to be such an outstanding wrestler at Woodberry? Gentil is quick to point to the leader of the Woodberry program, Coach Glover.

“He is all about being a class act. It is not about just being the best wrestler; it is about being the best person. He is not diehard to the point to where he is obsessed only about winning. It is about good sportsmanship, good character and good wrestling as well.”

“There is a sense of pride in wrestling for Coach Glover and every wrestler has that at Woodberry.”

As Gentil graduates from Woodberry later this summer, he indicated that he will not only take the memories that he made on the playing fields, but the opportunity that being a three-sport captain allowed him to take advantage of.

“As any sport does, being a captain teaches you how to work with your team and your teammates,” Gentil said. “Being captain was extremely different for each sport, but you can take certain things from each one and apply them to things you do in life.”