Both Matt Leslie, Western Wayne sophomore, and his brother, Jacob Leslie, 7th grade, placed well at the recent Mid Atlantic Wrestling Association’s Eastern Nationals.
Jacob placed eighth and Matt won first place in their respective divisions. Before placing eighth at Nationals, Jacob placed in the top four at Districts and was second place at Regionals in his division. Before winning the National competition, Matt placed third in Districts and first in Regionals.
Both boys are a part of the Gracie NEPA Grappling Club in Olyphant which their father owns. They participated in this recent competition with the Grappling Club.
Jacob has been wrestling since he was in fourth grade and enjoys his training for the sport.
“It’s all on you,” Jacob explained. “It’s a lot of hard work that you have to do individually.”
An inspiration for Jacob when it comes to wrestling is his older brother, Western Wayne sophomore Matt Leslie, who wrestles for both the Western Wayne team and the Grappling Club.
“My brother helps me,” Jacob said. “He teaches me a lot and motivates me to wrestle better. I want to be like him and have success.”
Matt is honored to be an inspiration for his younger brother.
“It’s really cool to see someone grow and develop so much and know you served as a mentor for that person,” Matt explained. “My goal is help my brother succeed and even to see him do things that I can’t. My brother really pushes me to be the best I can be.”
