On Thursday, May 16, 2024, Bensalem seniors Jonathan Bedoya, Christian Martinez & Chase Pollard were recognized for continuing their wrestling careers at the collegiate level. (Photos provided courtesy of Jess Ody/Bensalem HS)
Jonathan Bedoya – Jamestown Community College (Wrestling)
Major: Criminal Justice
Final list of colleges: Jamestown, King’s College, Elizabethtown
Reasons for choosing Jamestown: ”I’ve always wanted to travel, and it helps me financially. It also prepares me for the following year to wrestle at the Division 2 level.”
What was the progression that led you to wrestling at the collegiate level? “I started wrestling in eighth grade, and I only joined for fun and to lose weight. I picked it up seriously in 10th grade when I realized I could make it to regionals. Ever since I lost that match in 10th grade, I was driven for success. I started thinking about college this year when programs reached out to me.”
Coach Donavin Williams says: “Jonathan Bedoya is by far one of my favorite kids I ever got to coach. Only because his freshman year I had him do a writing prompt, and his writing prompt was as simple as – ‘Hey, what are your goals? Give me three short-term, three long-term.’ I remember his long-term goals were – he wanted to be a family man. He wanted to have a family one day and work a job. He wanted to stay healthy and in shape, and he had one more goal that I thought was interesting for short-term. I said, ‘Hey, Bedoya, are you sure you meant to write this?’ He said, ‘Sure.’ I said, ‘You realize you didn’t say you wanted to win a match. You just wanted to not get taken down,’ and he said, ‘Yeah – I didn’t win a match last year in middle school. I got taken down a lot, and I know that’s a first step.’ I said, ‘A self-aware man is a good man.’ Luckily enough for him, in his first varsity match, he didn’t get taken down at all. He actually won the match, so that set us on a trailblazing path. Since that time, he has grown. The sport for him is infectious. He’s excited to go to college and get better. That’s the nicest thing – all my guys want to get better at the next level, and he is leading the charge. He started wrestling freestyle. He’s wrestling every weekend at a tournament somewhere. I’m really proud of him. He matured a lot. He was getting in trouble a little bit as a freshman, causing a little bit of havoc in school. A couple times I had to grab him out of class and say, ‘Yo, dude, please stop,’ but now he’s a good man. He’s A-OK. All three of these guys are the type of guys who could date my daughter if I had one.”
About Jonathan:
Favorite food: Buffalo wings
Favorite movie: Fight Club
Favorite TV show: Narcos
Favorite artist: Deftones
Christian Martinez – Elizabethtown University (Wrestling)
Coach Donavin Williams says: “Christian is a kid who grew up in our youth program. I probably met him when he was about eight years old. I was fresh into my coaching career, but I’d keep in contact with his mom
just to see how he was doing. I remember saying to his mom – ‘He’s going to do fine. Just make sure he likes wrestling, and it’s fun to him.’ Christian is a three-time league champion – I know state champions from our league that are not three-time league champions. Right from the get-go his freshman year, he had a ton of success. He had some really good senior leadership, and he ended up adopting that same work ethic, that same mindset, that same mentality. Even better- outside of wrestling, he a lot of great goals. He wanted to go to school to be an engineer. His grades were important to him, and he rode about a 3.8 all the way through high school. In the spring, he had a 4.0 because when wrestling was over, it was even easier for him. He’s just one of those kids – I never had to worry about him. He was always good to go. He was on time, he never got in trouble, and he made sure he was someone his teammates could look up to.”
Chase Pollard – Delaware Valley University (Wrestling)
Major: Criminal Justice
Final list of colleges: Del Val, King’s College, Gannon University.
Reasons for choosing Del Val: “I decided to go to Del Val and stay close to home. All the guys I grew up wrestling with – I already have a family there, and it will make my family bond stronger.”
What was the progression that led you to wrestling at the collegiate level? “At first, I thought wrestling was just going to help me get to my MMA (mixed martial arts) career, and I wasn’t going to wrestle in college. After I started taking it real serious and seeing my potential, colleges started flying at me.”
Coach Donavin Williams says: “Chase was a great project. He was one of those kids – he came in, and his freshman year he didn’t wrestle. I had one of the best wrestlers in school history in front of him, but he got an opportunity to learn. He had an opportunity to sit back, wait for his opportunity and learn. As he grew, he matured. If you saw him as a freshman, he was playing around on video games or even giving little excuses – ‘Coach, I’ve got to go and do this.’ As a senior, that went away. He was focused, he refined his game. It was really nice to watch the young man he became. Even better to keep in contact with him or him messaging me – that’s their goal. Their goals are sometimes to beat me, so I’m in for all of that.”
About Chase:
Favorite food: A nice steak
Favorite TV show: All American
Favorite music: “Country music all day.”
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