Hamel will go down as one of the finest to ever wear a Cadetwrestling uniform. On top of being a three-time placer at the NewEngland Championships, Hamel had a historic senior season where heled all of Division III in wins. His 46 wins during his 46-8 seniorseason still holds the record for the most single-season victoriesin NU wrestling history.
Hamel was a two-year team captain, and during his senior yearwhere he went on to win All-American honors after placing third atnationals. The Cadets finished the 1997-98 season with an overall12-2 team record in duals and finished second out of 14 teams atthe New England Championships with all 10 members placing.
Hamel recalls his fondest memories of Norwich as “beingaround the team and being around the guys,” he said.“It’s a lot of the little things that I remember, thejourney and the great friends I made.
Hamel wrestled under the tutelage of Jessie Castro for his firstthree seasons and then his senior year with Rich Hasenfus.
“I got the best of both worlds with my coaches,”Hamel said. “At first when Coach Castro left I thought it wasa major loss, but looking back I gained other things. Both coacheshad two different skill sets and I’m pretty fortunate becauseI don’t think I would have become an All-American if Ididn’t have that.”
Nowadays, David and his brother, Paul, own the Hamel BrothersLandscaping business that they have run for the last 12 years. Helives in Natick, Mass. with his wife Holly and four kids; Gavin,Grace, Quinn and Chloe.
