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Shorter Wrestling inks Junior All-American Wally Figaro
ROME -- The Shorter University wrestling program
secured another key addition to its 2011 recruiting class on
Thursday, announcing the signing of Florida prep standout Wally
Figaro.
Figaro, a native of Brandon, Fla., and star grappler at Brandon High School, is the overall No. 58 ranked recruit in the country and the nation's No. 6 ranked high school recruit at 160 according to Intermat.
"Wally is an outstanding pickup for us," said Shorter head coach Josh Henson, who guided his Hawks to a 20th place finish at the NAIA Wrestling National Championships this past season to cap an enormously successful inaugural campaign.
"When you are building a program, you look for student-athletes who can put you on the map athletically, and at the same time, serve as a cornerstone for the future," the coach added. "Wally has the ability to do that for our team."
Figaro was a Double Junior National All-American -- he placed third in Greco-Roman and fifth in Freestyle -- in 2010, placed second in the 2010 Super 32 and is a Florida state champion and four-time place winner during his high school career.
Figaro has been groomed by one of the nation's premier prep program in Brandon High and Henson believes that Figaro has a bright future ahead with the Hawks.
"Wally is the complete package -- athletically, academically and socially -- and would be a great addition to any wrestling program," Henson said. "I am very excited that he has ended up at Shorter University."
Figaro figures to join a rapidly up-and-coming program with the Hawks, who enjoyed a banner first season in 2010-11.
Shorter supplemented the Top 20 national finish by winning the 2011 NAIA Team Sportsmanship Award. Shorter also produced its first-ever Mid-South Conference individual champion in freshman Robbie Collum, who garnered Mid-South Freshman of the Year honors after taking the title at 149.
Shorter's Raleigh Abbott was a Mid-South Academic All-Conference selection and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the country at 165 during the season.
