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A budding chef, Falcon junior Andrew Richards also sizzles on the mat
Linguine versus the waist line.
That's a match that can burn any high school wrestler. Pasta is predisposed to win the battle, after all, which could cost its consumer a spot in his team’s lineup.
That’s not a particular problem for Andrew Richards, though. His affinity for food goes beyond the taste buds, so he manages to appease both his cravings and his wrestling coach.
The junior wants to attend culinary school after graduating from Fauquier High and then open a restaurant with his mother, Jennifer. But that’s a long-term goal. Short term, Richards hopes to improve on the wrestling mats.
This past season, Richards, 17, was ranked No. 7 among AAA 125-pounders much of the season. He won a Cedar Run District tournament title and placed third at the Northwest Region tournament to qualify for state. There he went 0-2, but his goal of earning a top-eight state medal is still reachable before graduating.
“It's a realistically set goal,” Fauquier coach Bryan Hurst said. “A reachable, but high goal.”
Of course, to reach it, rich foods like linguine can’t be a large part of Richards’ diet. For example, on one recent Monday during the wrestling season, he munched on some fish and a salad rather than the chicken cordon bleu Jennifer made for his father, Alan. But with the end of the high school season there’s opportunity to order off an expanded menu.
Richards gets some of his best meals from his mom, as well as his inclination to cook.
“I’m just a foodie. I love cooking,” Jennifer said. “I cook a lot of Italian and French, and during the season it’s very difficult. It’s more healthy, clean eating [for Andrew], which is good.”
Offseason leaves more leeway way for linguine, which is part of Richards’ favorite dish to cook. He often helps his mother make breakfast meals, like omelets, and also lends a hand in preparing spreads for family celebrations at Christmas and Easter. But the dish Richards was born to cook is linguine and clams.
“Because I ate it almost every single day when I was pregnant with him,” Jennifer said.
But ability to cook isn’t innate. It’s an acquired skill for Richards.
“I always watch her cooking, and she’ll teach me,” he said.
By no means does Richards spend all his offseason in the kitchen, though. In fact, time spent on the wrestling mats outside of the high school season is largely responsible for his success in 2008-09.
“He's worked hard in the offseason and just put the time in,” Hurst said. “His confidence level is way up there.”
Richards improved immensely after his sophomore season ended in the Northwest Region tournament. He went 2-2 at that meet and failed to qualify for state.
“I just worked really hard in the offseason, lifting weight, doing drilling moves, going to tournaments, just basically not stopping,” Richards said. “It’s been a great season.”
A strong wrestler on his feet, Richards finished third at 2007-08 districts as a sophomore, but he expanded his strengths and made a deeper run in the postseason as a junior this past season.
“He's gotten much better on the mat,” Hurst said. “Last year I was very hesitant to put him under anybody because he'd get turned and could get pinned. Now he doesn't. He gets back points...”
See the Friday print edition of the Fauquier Weekend for the complete story.
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