Senior wrestler Michael Spielman recently committed to participating in Division I wrestling at Harvard University.

Spielman has been wrestling since he was in fifth grade, holding a passion for the sport since then. His coaches’ role in his career success cannot be understated. They pushed him to be the best he could be early on. 

“I think one of my biggest motivators is my coaches… They sacrifice to coach. My coach and I joke that he spends more on gas driving to practice for the whole season than he gets paid by the school,” he said. 

Head coach of the Strath Haven wrestling team, Tony Gilliano, has coached him for 7 years. 

“His work ethic and his determination [stand out]. Honestly, I’ve been doing this sport for a long time, and it’s hard to find another kid that actually walks the walk and talks the talk,” Gilliano said. “He looks to just get better every day.”

One of Spielman’s coaches unfortunately passed away during his junior year, only pushing him further to honor his legacy. 

“Coach Tom Ellis from Sun Valley, and that [his passing] was a big motivator. I owe it to him to do good. One of the last days he was alive was coaching me, and so I’m going to do everything I can to make him proud,” Spielman said.

Transitioning from middle school to high school presented challenges for him, showing him the real world of wrestling. 

“Your freshman year, you’re still like a boy, you’re still a kid, but depending on [the circumstances], sometimes you wrestle a junior or senior in high school,” Spielman said.

During sophomore year, the work he had put in on the mats and in the gym put him on the radar of some colleges. That year, his varsity record was 40-4, he placed eighth at states, and he won the regional tournament.

Spielman’s path to collegiate wrestling came with many roadblocks, apart from challenges on the mat. 

“Junior season, I was kind of lighting the world on fire. I was ranked like second or third in the state, and predicted to make the state finals,” he said. “Two weeks before districts junior year, I tore my meniscus.”

This forced Spielman to make tough decisions on whether to keep going or not. 

“My coach came to me, and he said, ‘Look, Michael, if you sit out, no one’s going to judge you for it,’… But he said, ‘Look, if you’re going to do this, you have our support. You always talk about being hard and being tough and grinding, and this is your opportunity to prove to yourself how tough you are,’” Spielman said. 

With the support of his coaches he powered through junior year, officially placing himself on the map. That year, he placed eighth at states and made national rankings, placing top 12 in the 19U division, as well as 19th in the country overall for high school wrestling. 

This made him the first wrestler from Strath Haven to be nationally ranked, and one of the few from Delaware County to ever achieve that level. 

“He’s been in some big spotlights, huge tournaments, national-level tournaments, and he remains focused on the task at hand. He doesn’t let the environment around him change who he is or what his focus is,” Gilliano said. 

That year, his record in varsity wrestling was 43-9, and he ranked third in his weight class. This gained even more attention from colleges looking to recruit for wrestling. 

In spring 2025, during his junior season, one of Spielman’s club coaches reached out to Harvard University’s assistant coaches via email. According to Spielman, this sparked a conversation with the university’s staff and resulted in a campus visit. 

“We [Spielman and the coach] really connected on a deep level of what we were [both] looking for. What he wanted out of a kid, and what I wanted out of a program,” he said. “And then they had me out for a visit… It was a place that I knew I had the potential to thrive.” 

Spielman is looking forward to his senior season and to his collegiate career. 

“I’m a big believer in being the best version of myself, being the best Michael Spielman can be, and I’m excited to be able to go off to a division one program where I have the greatest opportunity to become that best version.”

Through the lessons he learned along his journey, Spielman advises young high school athletes to adopt his relentless mindset on their paths to success. 

“Almost every kid is capable of playing on a varsity sports team and going off to play sports in college, but they don’t believe it,” he said. “I challenge every kid to just work a little bit harder and see what can happen.