It figures a Sanderson would appreciate a Lynch. The families display the same characteristics. Adam learned early wins and losses were only part of the experience. Besides Scott, now an orthopedic surgeon at the Hershey Medical Center, the family includes Adam’s father, Mike, uncle, Andy, and grandfather, Bob. John Manotti and John Place, who wrestled at Penn State in the 1980s, and Dustin Manotti, a four-time All-American at Cornell, are other Mifflinburg products. The Wildcats captured PIAA Class AA titles in 1977 and 1980. The program started in 1952, with Bob Lynch wrestling the first bout of the first dual meet. Bob was also the first wrestler to take the mat when Mifflinburg opened a new gym in 1953. Fifty-three later, a pre-match arrangement led to Adam becoming the last wrestler to compete in the same raucous gym. “There’s a lot of wrestling and Lynches there,” Adam said. “It was pretty cool.”
Still, being a Lynch provided some challenging moments. Adam’s coach his first three years of high school was Mike, a PIAA runner-up in 1977 who wrestled at Bloomsburg University. Mike modeled many of his ways after his father, who had a 10-year stint as Mifflinburg’s head coach. And when Mike Lynch sent a team to the mat, it represented an entire community. “We had a year-round program,” said Mike, who remembers a time when Mifflinburg had more than 200 wrestlers in its elementary program. “We stressed a lot of things that college programs did. It wasn’t the same commitment level, but the kids had a good understanding of what it takes to be a top-level wrestler.” Mike led the Wildcats to a 21-1 mark in 2003-04, with the only loss coming to PIAA Class AA dual meet champion Bloomsburg. Mike, a commercial airline pilot, served as Mifflinburg’s varsity coach from 2002-05, also coaching former Penn State wrestler Steve Troup. Mike instilled discipline in his wrestlers, once ending a bout during a close dual meet after a Wildcat shoved an opponent off the mat. The referee was prepared to allow the Mifflinburg wrestler to continue. “Integrity and discipline were more important than winning,” Mike said. “We always focused on doing the little things. We weren’t focused on winning because it took care of itself. We wanted kids doing things right.”
Mike’s prodding helped Adam develop into one of the Wildcats’ best wrestlers. But when the postseason arrived, Adam always found himself in loaded brackets. He never qualified for the PIAA Championships, but he earned respect throughout District 4 for the way he handled emotional setbacks. “My dad is a pretty disciplined guy,” Adam said. “When your dad is the head coach, you don’t get as much breathing room as the other kids. If I mess up, other kids on the team see that. That was good for me, too. It kept me in line.” After high school, Adam attended the Naval Academy, where Scott spent a year and Andy graduated. Adam was prepared for the Navy’s disciplined ways, but he wanted to move closer to home, so, like Scott, he transferred to Penn State after one year in Annapolis. Adam also had athletic reasons for his decision. “Wrestling I here, thought I would probably have the best chance of reaching my potential,” he said. Adam spent his first three as a Nittany Lion in the background, competing in open tournaments and preparing starters for Big Ten duals. Three weeks in Hershey and Sanderson’s arrival helped his career. To prepare for medical school, Adam shadowed Scott at the Hershey Medical Center last summer. The duo squeezed wrestling conversation between discussions about bones, muscles and joints. “We talk wrestling all the time,” Scott said. “It’s kind of like a cult.”
Like any Lynch, Adam enjoys mat wrestling. Mifflinburg wrestlers are known for their ability to execute Granby and Peterson rolls, bottom moves Bob, who attended Lock Haven University with former Old Dominion coach Gray Simons, introduced to the community. But Scott said Adam needed to improve on his feet to compete in college. “He’s a lot better on his feet,” Scott said. “I think that’s typical of our family. We worked on the mat a lot. That was kind of my strength, bottom wrestling because it was the most fun. He’s worked a lot on his feet.”
Adam’s background and personality meshes with Sanderson’s coaching style, which has driven multiple wrestlers from the team. Sanderson named him the starter at 141 after Colby Pisani left the program earlier this month. Adam fits the template of what Sanderson wants in a wrestler: reliability on and off the mat. Mike said Adam cooks his own meals, rarely eats junk food, studies on his own and monitors his bedtimes. Family and friends closely follows Adam’s progress. Mike and his wife, Melissa, are regulars at home and away meets, Bob chats wrestling with anybody during competitions and Scott attends Penn State events when his schedule permits. “I’m not around him a lot of the time, but from what I hear the coaches love him,” said Scott, whose son, Patrick, wrestles for Hershey High School. “He works so hard and everyone has told me that. He’s such a nice kid. We all want to see him do well because he’s been so dedicated.”
Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article