Mayfield wrestling: Vinnie D'Alessandro opts for gap year at SPIRE Academy
Jun. 19—Vinnie D'Alessandro aspires to be at his best when he enrolls at Bucknell University.
But first, the recent graduate of Mayfield will make a pit stop at SPIRE Academy in Ashtabula County.
D'Alessandro has decided to attend SPIRE, located in Harpersfield Township, as part of its post-graduate program. He will spend a year working out with and competing with Coach Mike Kullczycki and his staff, while also taking online classes that will transfer to Bucknell when he enrolls in 2024.
"Bucknell doesn't redshirt athletes, so I was looking for a post-graduate program to use as a gap year before I go to Bucknell," D'Alessandro said. "At first I looked at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, but my father met someone at the Top Gun tournament last year and told us about SPIRE."
After visiting the sprawling SPIRE facilities, meeting the coaching staff — which includes former Madison standout Andrew Gasber — and going over his options, D'Alessandro opted to train at SPIRE for a year before moving on to Bucknell.
"The training facilities there are really good," he said. "So are the coaches. They offer different courses to help with the mental aspect of the sport. It's a training regimen that will prepare me for college and college wrestling at Bucknell.
"I really like what they're building there in their programs."
SPIRE does offer dorm lodging, D'Alessandro said, but he will commute daily from his home in Mayfield. The online classes he will take will give him a jump-start when he begins his path to a business major at Bucknell.
D'Alessandro has been working out at SPIRE for a number of weeks now, but the regimen will ramp up even more come August.
He recently returned from the Junior National Freestyle Duals in Oklahoma, where he represented Team Ohio and went 4-4 against the nation's best. His next tournament will be at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., in July.
"It takes some adjusting to get used to Freestyle," he said. "It helps a lot with takedowns and wrestling on your feet. Wrestling in freestyle tournaments will help bigtime with my transition to college next year."
While at SPIRE, he said he will wrestle in predominantly college open tournaments.
"I'm excited," he said of the SPIRE experience. "Instead of taking a redshirt year, this serves the same purpose. I won't waste a year of college eligibility with this move. I will continue to work out and get used to what college life will be like before I actually go there."
D'Alessandro finished his senior year at Mayfield with a 44-6 record and placed fourth in the Division I state tournament at 132 pounds.
