As a sophomore wrestler at North Harford two years ago, Justin Hohner became discouraged with the sport after a disagreement over strategy with his coach, and he quit before competing in postseason individual action. Hohner came back strongly last season under new coach Thomas Corrice, winning the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference championship at 189 pounds and finishing fourth in the regionals. As a senior, Hohner has compiled a 26-1 record at 189 pounds. He also plays lacrosse and has earned an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he'll play lacrosse.
How hard was it to quit wrestling two years ago?
It was tough and a hard thing to do. It was an important decision I made. But I made it, and I'm happy everything worked out well. I'm back to where I am now.
What was the key to your coming back strong last year?
I set some goals for myself. I wanted to win the conference. It's something I set out to do, and I did it.
Do you feel you were justified in quitting?
Yeah, I believe so. At the time I did it, the team duals were over. All that was left was the individual tournaments. When I did what I did, I didn't want to hurt the team. I waited until my obligation to the team duals was over.
Do you have visions of a state championship this year?
Yeah, I want to go as far as I can with this. I'm taking it match by match right now and trying not to look too far ahead. I'm doing my best to keep winning.
What's the one thing you'd like to improve on ?
My shot [takedown]. It's something I want to get better at now that I'm near the end of my high school career. I wasn't into it earlier in my career, but now I've discovered I enjoy it.
What do you like most about lacrosse?
Working as a team. I feel you learn a lot about yourself on the lacrosse field. There's a lot of different aspects of the game. There's the running that you get in soccer, the hitting that you get in football. So I think it ties in a lot of basic things in sports.