Hamrick’s state-medal dream derailed by appendix problem

Eric Hamrick's dream of winning a medal in the NJSIAA state individual wrestling tournament ended Tuesday at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center.

Hamrick, a Collingswood 140-pounder who visualized himself standing on the podium at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on Sunday, suffered a ruptured appendix, said his father, Ron.

"I can't tell you how disappointed he is," said Ron Hamrick, Collingswood's athletic director. "He worked his whole life for this, so it's pretty bad.

"I feel really bad for him. He did everything he was supposed to do, and it was taken from him quickly."

Hamrick said his son felt sick at 7 a.m. Tuesday and four hours later, his mother, Linda, rushed him to Lourdes in Camden. After tests, he went into surgery at about 6 p.m.

Collingswood wrestling coach Dechlin Moody said he arrived at the hospital after practice Tuesday and saw Eric Hamrick before he was wheeled into surgery.

"What a shame," Moody said.

Two days earlier, Moody had praised Hamrick for his hard work in the wrestling room, saying, "He realizes that it's his senior year, his last shot. He has wrestled tough competition, and he's peaking at the right time."

On Feb. 11, Hamrick won the Region 7 140-pound title with a 1-0 victory over Northern Burlington's Wayne Stinson, who had beaten him twice before. The crown was his first in a regional competition after he won three district trophies.

"My goal is to place in the top six," Hamrick said at the time. "I wrestled at 140 only twice [during the regular season]. The rest were at 145 or 152. I definitely benefited because dropping [back] to 140, I felt a lot stronger."

Hamrick's record this season was 35-4. His career mark is 138-25. Along the way, he broke the school's career wins record of 115, set by Rich Panisi in 2008.

Alex Irwin and Steve Shields, Eric Hamrick's partners in the wrestling room, had been looking forward to seeing him perform at states. They said he was more focused, stronger, and more confident than ever.

Shields had picked him to place in the top three.

Hamrick will never know how he would have finished in a field that features favorites Eric Fajardo of Boontown and Devon Gobbo of Delbarton. However, he does have a memory that will last a lifetime.

After he won the regional crown, his father put a bear hug on him, closed his eyes, and kissed him on the cheek.

"It felt good," Eric Hamrick said. "Because I gave back to him for always being there for me."