About

At the conclusion of a wrestling season in Illinois, underclassman have an opportunity to compete in a state tournament just like their varsity teammates in what has become known as “Frosh-Soph State”. The group originally scheduled to run the local qualifying tournament in 2022 had to pull out of the event at the last minute. This put the regional qualifier in danger of being canceled.

Not wanting the two hundred Frosh-Soph wrestlers to miss out on the opportunity to qualify for their state tournament, Glenbard South wrestling team captain Steve Orsolini approached his coach about their team taking over the host duties. His coach was initially hesitant as they did not have the workers to run an event of that size. Steve assured him that he could get and train the needed workers.

As Vice President of the school’s National Honor Society (NHS), Steve knew many of his peers needed to complete their service-hour requirement. He contacted the NHS Coordinator and had the tournament approved as an NHS compliant service-hour event. Through these leadership efforts, Steve was able to get enough volunteers committed and trained to work the event.

With these commitments in hand, Steve and his brother Matt re-approached their coach who agreed to take over running the tournament. Not only did the tournament go off without a hitch, but it was also a financial success for his high school program, raising over $4,000 for the team. These funds were used to fund a trip to an overnight wrestling tournament. A first for the program.

Steve and Matt understood that without the funds they had raised many of their teammates could not afford such a trip. This realization inspired them to form Rising Tide Wrestling. Their organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established to support the participation of economically challenged wrestlers by providing grants for registration fees and related expenses.