Wrestling
Favorite athlete: Justin Gaethje (UFC)
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the Wetzel as a senior.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When my team and I decided to bleach our hair during my sophomore year.
Music on playlist: Country, reggae, and folk.
Future Plans: Serve in the military or wrestle in college.
Words to live by: “Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing, moderation is for cowards” -Petty Officer Shane Patton
One goal before turning 30: Owning a home on a large piece of land.
One thing people don’t know about me: I am a killer at Karaoke.
By GORDON GLANTZ
For Hatboro-Horsham senior Chris “Stauby” Staub, his two callings -- carpentry and wrestling -- teach similar life lessons.
“My dad is a roofer,” said the 145-pounder. “We have a lot of blue collar people in our family. I always liked working with my hands and building things. I really started to like it after going to tech school and learning more about it. I like to see a finished product. That’s why I really like carpentry. It’s hard but, in the end, you get to see a finished product. I really enjoy it.
“If you want to do something, you’ve got to do it. You’ve got to work hard for it. Things don’t come easy. Sometimes you really have to grind for stuff. That makes what you do seem even better. You have to buy in. You can’t do it halfway.”
H-H coach Trent Mongillo believes Staub, the grinder, is peaking at the right time in his stellar scholastic wrestling career.
“He’s doing really well,” said Mongillo. “He has certainly improved in all areas of wrestling.”
At both endeavors, the part-time student at Eastern Center for Arts and Technology in Upper Moreland can see the fruits of his labor as he inches closer to his ultimate goals with each try.
“For sure,” he confirmed. “We grind, when we’re in the wrestling room. We work so hard. I wrestle all year round, and I have been for a long time. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. I really love wrestling. I love the grind of it, because you have to grind in the sport to get better. There is always someone out there working harder than you are. That makes me want to work harder and grind more.
“To see all this hard work paying off, it feels so good. I’m not done yet. I’m going to keep going, but it really does feel good.”
Obvious Move
While it is semi-common for there to be two-year captains, a three-year captain is a rarity.
But Staub is a rare breed.
It was about halfway through his sophomore year that Mongillo and his staff made the obvious move.
“His leadership continued to shine through at our practices on a daily basis, really from the first day,” said Mongillo. “It really starts with the work ethic. That gets you to notice him, initially, and then it was all the character things.”
There has been nothing since that has made the coach regret the bold decision.
“He’s an all-around great kid,” said Mongillo. “He’s a leader on our team, and he does everything that we ask of him.”
And on a 2023-24 team that is heavy on freshmen and light on seniors, that leadership is invaluable.
“He is certainly a vocal leader,” said Mongillo. “He says what is on his mind, and is certainly not afraid to let others know what he is thinking or feeling or how others should be acting or behaving. It’s nice, as a coach. It takes a lot of pressure off of me.”
Climbing the Podium
Growing up in the Hatboro-Horsham Wrestling Club since the age of 4, Staub winning the recent Wetzel Classic at H-H was a major achievement.
“That was amazing,” said Staub. “I wrestled for Hatboro-Horsham (Wrestling Club) until I was in 8th grade. It was awesome being at home and winning that tournament in a good match against a state qualifier. The hometown crowd was pretty loud in there. It was all amazing.”
The Wetzel performance was an example is how he is climbing the podium at wrestling tournaments, going from third as a sophomore to second as a junior to several firsts so far in this his final season of major goals (regional championship, states, 100 wins, etc.).
“That has kind of been theme for me throughout the years,” said Staub. “At a lot of tournaments, I’m kind of just climbing the podium, year after year.”
Although robbed of his freshman season because of COVID, Staub is hoping to join the school’s elite club of 100-match winners.
“It’s a huge goal of mine,” he said. “After finding out my freshman year was cancelled, I was devastated. I remembered as a youth wrestler, my dad telling me that none of it mattered and that it was all preparation for high school.
“Getting 100 wins was always one of my goals, but losing my freshman year made that goal way harder. I just want to persevere and do it anyway. I think I have 24 more to hit that goal.”
Fresh off a 2-2 performance the famed Escape the Rock Tournament on Saturday, Staub is encouraged about his other goals as well.
A year ago, he barely missed placing high enough in regionals to make the state fray.
“That’s one of my huge goals this year,” he said. “I want to win regionals and I want to go to states.”
Bright Future
A lover of all kinds of music and self-described “killer” at Karaoke, Staub is also looking beyond this year.
He has longed to not just serve his country in the military, but to do so in an elite unit (Navy Seals, Army Rangers, etc.).
“That’s definitely something I have always wanted to do,” he said. “I like to push myself a lot. I think wrestling has instilled that in me. I have always been interested in the Seals or Rangers or some kind of Special Forces.”
However, there are colleges – including those with a military environment – that could provide an opportunity to continue wrestling.
“I would love to serve in the military one day,” he said. “I just have to find the right fit for me. I’ m just exploring all my options right now.
“I could go anywhere and then join the military after (college). I could get a degree and then go to officers’ candidate school and become an officer. That is definitely an option.”
As far as Mongillo is concerned, Staub will make any scenario work because that’s just who he is.
“He turns in his work and gets good grades,” he said. “He is well-liked by his teachers and his peers.
“He had to conquer major adversity, like the entire ninth grade class, when COVID shut everything down. He wasn’t able to have a freshman season. It was something like 685 days where we couldn’t do anything or host anything.”
Adding that wrestling can help with the extreme rigors of special forces training, Mongillo acknowledges that his star wrestler will have tough choice to make.
“I think he wants to continue to wrestle,” said Mongillo. “It’s just a matter of how that’s going to be and how that’s going to look for him.”
DNA Evidence
While the Family Staub competing in wrestling may not go back to ancient Greece or Rome, there is a significant history.
His grandfather, Bernie Staub, wrestled at Lower Moreland. His dad, also Chris (but not Sr.), wrestled at Council Rock.
Even his nickname is a legacy.
Staub explained: “A lot of people call me ‘Stauby.’ My dad was called that back in high school. People just gravitate toward that nickname.”
Behind him, there are two brothers. H-H sophomore Benny (133 pounds) is also a captain. Another brother, Ollie, is in 8th grade and currently grapples at 87 pounds.
Staub did play football for H-H as a junior but decided to gravitate back to the family calling this year to pursue his goal of seeing the bright lights of the state fray.
“It’s a huge goal of mine, ever since I was a kid,” said Staub, who said he has dabbled in boxing and martial arts and might get more into MMA after his wrestling days over. “I always wanted to go to states. The goal is and always has been to get to states.”
Even though there are two younger brothers in the pipeline, Mongillo is already lamenting Staub’s graduation.
“We have been talking about that,” said Mongillo. “There weren’t many kids like Chris before, and there aren’t going to be many after, even though he has two brothers who are still coming through the program. It’s going to be a lot different. You could rely on him to do a lot of things. You could say something to him one time, and he makes sure that everyone else on the team will do what is asked of them. It’s definitely going to be a lot different.”
Gratitude and Giving Back
In addition to his father, Staub wanted to thank his mother, Diane.
“My parents really helped push me through it in my youth and fall in love with the sport,” he said.
And then there is Mongillo.
“I’d definitely like to give a shout out to coach Trent,” said Staub. “He puts in a lot of time. He does everything he can for the kids on the wrestling team. It’s a lot of time. Even after practice, he is at home researching wrestling and watching videos and looking at records and tournaments and teams. The amount of time he puts into wrestling is insane.”
The same can be said of Staub, who spends whatever extra time has working with the youth at the same wrestling club he grew up in.
“I help out at the youth club a lot, coaching and reffing for them,” he said. “I’ll stop in at their practices and help out, or go to their meets and help coach. Me and both of my brothers went through the youth club. I just like giving back. These kids are the future.”
And Mongillo hopes that future still includes “Stauby.”
He will leave a light on for him.
“Hopefully, it’s not too long before he wants to come back and volunteer or even have a position as a coach here,” said Mongillo, who has nominated Staub for several prestigious leadership awards. “I see that in his future at some point.”
