Sacred Heart coach Andy Lausier to bike 1,116 miles to St. Louis to raise money for wrestling program

 

The challenge, known as Spinning 2 St. Louis, was developed by Lausier as a fundraising event for the Sacred Heart wrestling team, which is the only Catholic-based Division I wrestling program in the United States as well as the only DI team in the state of Connecticut. 

“I came up with Spinning to St. Louis out of necessity,” Lausier said. “The truth is we probably fall under the category of the most underfunded wrestling program in the country. As the head coach, I have a huge responsibility when it comes to the financial health of the Sacred Heart wrestling program. Our goal this year is to raise $100,000. That would really provide some sustainability for us from year to year.”

Lausier will have seven stops along the way including East Stroudsburg, Pa., Shippensburg, Pa., Donegal, Pa., Zanesville, Ohio, Richmond, Ind., Terre Haute, Ind., and finally St. Louis, the home of the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships. 

“When I knew that this was something I wanted to do, I immediately started training, which was about December or January,” Lausier said. “I’ve ridden over 7,000 miles since January 1, and it’s been more than 400 hours of training just on the bike. It’ll probably one of the hardest things that I’ve physically tried to accomplish.”

While Lausier makes the trip, the Sacred Heart wrestling team will join in on the action, cycling in one-hour relay segments on the SHU campus for the duration of the seven days. 

“We’re going to have guys waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning to go ride the bike in solidarity for Coach Lausier’s feat of strength, and we’re excited about it,” senior captain and 165-pound wrestler Matt Fisher said. 

Fisher, who plans to take as many shifts as possible, is part of Lausier’s first recruiting class at SHU. 

“If you could pick any coach to help rebuild a program and lead a group of guys, it would absolutely be Coach Lausier,” Fisher said. “He’s always willing to stick his neck out there for the improvement of his wrestlers and the entire sport as a whole.”

Lausier said he, his staff and his team operate on the notion that no challenge is too big. 

“I think the story behind Sacred Heart wrestling is one of the greatest comeback stories in the history of college wrestling,” he said. “When I started in 2012, the team had not won a Division I dual meet in over two years. We only had five wrestlers on our roster, and I was the first full-time head coach in the history of the program. We’ve come so far since then. I just think we have a great underdog story and if you embrace that, it’s actually quite empowering, knowing that you have the ability to never look at a challenge as too big.”

This is not the first fundraiser of its kind for Coach Lausier. Last year, he and SHU assistant coach Derek Moore ran 60 miles from Fairfield to Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the 2016 NCAA Championships took place.

“Last year, the well of donors kind of dried up, and I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to raise money,” Lausier said. “Then I thought, ‘Could I run to Madison Square Garden?’ I saw that it was 60 miles and thought it was too far, but then I watered it down a little bit and decided to do it like the NCAA tournament, breaking it up into Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I asked Coach Moore about it and he was totally up for it. We didn’t have much of a strategy, but in a matter of four or five weeks, we raised almost $20,000. When I got to MSG, I already knew that I wanted to do it again this year. This is the perfect platform to help our program.”

So far, nearly $43,000 has been raised and a generous donor has agreed to match the next $25,000 raised. Those interested in donating to the cause can do so at crowdrise.com or join the online chatter using the hashtags #Spin2StLouis and #Riding4Wrestling.

Also, check out Coach Lausier’s blog and stay up to date with the latest happenings on the Riding4Wrestling Facebook page and Instagram page.