Class of 2024

John Drew started his wrestling career at Jordan-Elbridge under the tutelage of Section III Wrestling Hall of Fame coach Mike Frood from 1979 to 1982. Nobody on those teams would disagree with the statement that he was probably not the best wrestler on the team, but stuck with it until his senior year.

Moving on to the next phase of his life, John joined the United States Navy in 1983 and served for four years aboard the combat ships USS Cushing DD-983 (1983) and USS Wainwright CG-28 (ironically named after a WWII Navy Admiral from Skaneateles). Upon separating from service to his country, John returned home to central New York in the summer of 1987. Having received computer training in the Navy, he extended his education at the Stratford School of Business. This led to a 30+ year career in computer programming at LeMoyne College (10 years) and Hamilton College (23 years).

Having lost touch with local wrestling for several years, John's interest was re-kindled in the early 1990s while following the career of his neighbors youngest son (and close friend) Brian Westlake. The interest in local wrestling grew exponentially from there. As the calendar turned to the 2000s, he was looking for a way to get back involved in the sport he loved. Lacking the wrestling or teaching skills to coach led to a failed attempt to pull on the stripes and referee.

As an admirer of the Section V website armdrag.com, John reached out to armdrag owner Tim Herman from Rochester. Tim was incredibly helpful in the initial design of what was originally called sectioniiiwrestling.com in 2004. The launch was incredibly successful and it wasn't long before Cornell University coach Rob Koll convinced John to take on the Section IV teams as well. At this point, the website was re-branded cnywrestling.com to accommodate the addition of Section IV. Within just a few years, Section II, VII, and X joined the cnywrestling umbrella.

The deeper John was immersed into Section III wrestling, he noticed that with strained school budgets entering the 2000s, the awards and accolades that used to accompany Section III Wrestling were not there anymore. It was a this point that he put out a call for volunteers to join a new organization called the Friends of Section III Wrestling. A veritable who's who of Section III Wrestling talent joined that first board meeting. In 2007, the Friends of Section III Wrestling was incorporated. The initial goals were simple - they wanted medals and trophies for the sectional championship, a post season awards banquet for the wrestlers, and an induction banquet for the Hall of Fame. They started handing out medals and trophies immediately. By the second year, they held their first awards banquet. By the third year, the Hall of Fame Induction Banquet was born. With an eye always to the future, the governing board of the the Friends of Section III Wrestling anxiously awaits the next call to action.

In the offseason, John lives a quiet life with his dogs. He spends a lot of time with his friends boating, traveling, and attending concerts and fairs.