Colton Schilling signed a letter of intent Tuesday, Nov. 20, to wrestle at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in a ceremony, flanked by his mother and father, Patricia and Steve Schilling.
“I’m excited for him,” Thorpe said. “I know they’re happy to get him and he’s going on a scholarship and he’s earned it.”
Schilling won state high school championships as a freshman and sophmore and lost in the finals last year.
He said the Mustangs were actually an also-ran as he was interested in both Oregon State University and Standford. But after taking a trip to visit Cal Poly, which also competes in the Pac-12 in wrestling, his views changed.
“I realized how high they were in academics,” he said. “The new coach (Brendan Buckley) is from Columbia and I really liked his coaching philosphy, what he stood for.”
He said the mild temperatures – 80 degrees much of the year – and the rural, small-town atmosphere of San Luis Obispo also made it “a good fit.”
He said he expects to major in general engineering, eventually switching to aerospace or mechanical engineering.
“Colton signing with Cal Poly is an accomplishment, not just a wrestling accomplishment,” Thorpe said. “Cal Poly doesn’t just sign wrestlers – you have to be a good student too and a good person. You have to come recommended.”