Former longtime Somerville High wrestling coach Fred Christ, a member of the National Wrestling Hall, Fame and Region 5 and Somerville High School Athletic Hall of Fames, died March 9 in Florida. He was 87.
He began teaching and coaching at Somerville High in 1950 and became the Pioneers' head coach in 1953. He remained head coach until 1974. His highlights included 12 state champions -- three in 1961 -- a 141-49 dual meet record and two unbeaten seasons.
The 1959 team was unbeaten and regarded as the best team in the state. Somerville High School played host to the state wrestling tournament in 1957 and '58.
"The biggest thrill is to see a kid succeed, to see a kid who really didn't have the ability of an outstanding wrestler to come through and do something,'' he said in 2003. "Sometimes that just meant making the team.''
One of Christ's state champions was Wayne Hicks, a two-time winner, who won at 106 pounds in 1961 and at 115 in 1962.
Hicks was the last state champion Somerville had until Sunday -- the day Christ passed -- when Jim Kirchner won the 125-pound title at Atlantic City.
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