“UTC coach Heath Eslinger is a trustworthy, honorable person and when my oldest son John decided to attend UTC to wrestle I told Heath that my other two sons, Justin and Dominic, would be wrestling for the Mocs as well.”
Jeff Lampe, father of the three Lampe brothers who wrestle for UTC
UTC fifth year senior John Lampe has wrestled in New York City’s historic Madison Square Garden and has claimed victories in the prestigious Southern Scuffle and the NWCA National Duals.
His goal this season is to win the Southern Conference and compete in the NCAAs.
His success in the sport – two-time Kentucky state champion and Flo Wrestling All-American – has not come from attending well-known camps in Stillwater (Okla.) Ames (Iowa) or Iowa City but, in part, from hours spent working out in the family barn turned wrestling room known as the “Lampe House of Pain”
He, along with younger brothers, Justin and Dominic, honed their skills on the 24 x 24 mat as teammates and other area wrestlers eventually joined the three brothers as the place to wrestle.
“There was no open gym policy in our area of Kentucky while my sons were growing so I decided to turn our barn into a year round wrestling facility for whomever wanted to stop by for a work out,” said Jeff Lampe.
Saturday’s UTC Matches: The Lampe brothers have workout together for several years, but with a five year difference in age from John to Justin to Dominic they have never wrestled together on the same team.
Until now.
The Mocs host Southeastern Univ.
(Fla.) Saturday at Maclellan Gym at 9 a.m. followed by a noon match with Cumberland Univ. (Tenn.) and the Lampe brothers will wrestle back-to-back to-back for the first time ever. Southeastern faces Cumberland at approximately 10:30.
“This will be awesome for all of us to be in the UTC lineup together Saturday,” said John, now in graduate school (held right at a 4.0 average as an undergrad and a 4.72 on a 5.0 scale in high school) and needs two wins to reach 50 career victories.
Dominic (Fr.) will wrestle at 165, followed by Justin (So.) at 174 and John (Sr.) at 184.
“This is pretty special for UTC and the Lampe family as parents Jeff and Sheley and their three daughters will all be in Maclellan Gym Saturday,” said UTC coach Heath Eslinger (74 wins) who needs four wins to pass the late Andy Nardo (77 wins) for second place on the all-time wins list behind coach Jim Morgan with 209 victories.
The “House of Pain” workouts proved successful as the brothers have several state high school place medals between them at St. Xavier, including a combined five state titles – John (2), Justin (2), Dominic (1).
“John and Justin both earned Flo All-American honors in folkstyle, while Justin was so strong and fast in youth wrestling that few could beat him,” said Jeff. “Both Justin and Dominic won middle school state championships
“This is a special weekend for the Lampe family and we are glad our sons wrestle for UTC.”
The Mocs wrestling family believes the same.
Chattanooga Strong.
SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY FIRE (0-0, 0-0 THE SUN)
The is the first season of competition for the Fire. They competed in The Citadel Open on Nov. 1 in Charleston, S.C., and the Georgia College Open with Cumberland on Nov. 8 in Royster, Ga.
SEU is coached by former Moc Javier Maldando. Maldanado was a three-time SoCon Champion at 125 pounds from 2006-08. He was a part of the 2007 team that finished 21st at the NCAAs and his 82 wins are currently 10th all-time at UTC.
CUMBERLAND BULLDOGS (0-0, 0-0 MID SOUTH)
This is the first dual action for Cumberland of the season. The Bulldogs competed in the Patriot Open in Williamsburg, K.y, and the Georgia College Open in Royster, Ga., so far this season. They were No. 20 in the Intermat preseason NAIA rankings.
UTC is 8-0 all-time against Cumberland, including a 46-0 win in the last meeting on Nov. 8, 2013. The Mocs are 6-0 in the series in Maclellan Gym.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net