ORANGE PARK - St. Johns Country Day School wrestling coach Hunter Hill; wait? Isn't he the guy in the corner at Clay High School?

"It was just a great opportunity to start a new program and also to start a new program with my son, Colt, a seventh grader, a big part of it," said Hill, also a state runner-up wrestler for the Clay High 2004 state champion Blue Devils. "For now, we're training a lot out of my garage and wherever we can get to some weights and running tracks. It's a challenge."
Hill, a long-time wingman for Clay High Hall of Fame wrestling head coach Jim Reape, and, for a short stint, the head guy while Reape considered retirement, has returned with a tornado of ideas to take a Ground Zero idea into fruition and, thus far, likes the enthusiasm at the St. Johns Country Day School campus about wrestling and the energy of new Athletic Director John Sgromolo.
"John has great energy and a passion for building programs up," said Hill. "We are working on upgrading the weightlifting facility on campus."
Note: Sgromolo too is a Clay High Blue Devil former athlete as a standout first baseman with a short stint in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hill, running the Clay Rotary Wrestling Invitational at Clay High the past weekend, noted his ties to Clay sports were a great foundation.
"We got four kids now, Colt and Kevin McLean who are experienced with two more that it is a first time for them," said Hill. "It gets down to the roots of being an athlete in a sport and just kind of making things work with whatever the situation brings. My garage is our training center."
Hill, who has run the Green Cove Springs area wrestling summer team for the past few years, has developed his Grapple Academy which is tasked to get interested athletes on the mat.
"We hope that the boys do well this year and then one guy talks to another guy and they get him to come to a practice and then it builds," said Hill. "Look at the weightlifting here. Coach Frisbee started with a handful of girls and now he has a team at regions with a possible two-time state champion this year. Just look at soccer here. Champions all over. It's a great atmosphere."
At the Clay Rotary on Saturday, Hill was able to coach and watch his son wrestling against a state runner-up from last year in the semifinals before finishing third in his 113 weight division.
"I'm proud that he battled into the third period before the guy from Somerset, number one ranked in Class 1A, pinned him," said Hill. "He'll learn from it, maybe see him at the state meet."