The 2021-22 winter sports season brought some incredible performances by Bernards athletes. Two of those athletes were Sean Hunnewell on the wrestling team and Austin Tondo on the ski team. Hunnewell was district champion in his weight class at 138 pounds, and came in fifth in Region 5 with an overall record of 26-5. Tondo finished 3rd overall in the state for boys with 167 total points and finished 9th in the Race of Champions which allowed him to compete in the Eastern High School Championship, in which he finished 5th overall in Slalom and 6th overall in GS in the state. The top 12 boys and girls in the state are invited to compete.
Sean’s season contained many personal accomplishments, but he said his most important was winning the district. Sean said that he “wrote that goal down 100 times at the start of the season, and it’s what [he] was working towards everyday, so it meant a lot to accomplish it.”
Sean has wrestled since his youth, continued to do so into high school, and has been on the wrestling team since his freshman year. Coach Brothers spoke very highly of him, saying “He leads by example on and off the mat. Amazing work ethic and amazing character, a fantastic student athlete and great wrestler. He has been a champion since the youth level all the way on up to his senior year. Great kid who we all will miss a ton.”
Sean’s 25-6 record led the team, and despite losing in the regional tournament, he still finished third in Somerset County and fifth in the region. He described his season as “all about improving and enjoying the last ride.” Sean wanted to embrace his final season, not taking any workout or practice for granted. It helped him appreciate how hard he actually worked to get to where he got.
Austin Tondo has established himself as one of the best skiers in the state, finishing third in the state with 167 total points. Tondo said he felt that the feat was “something that was really challenging, but [he feels] was a result of the past years of experience in ski racing. Over the years, a lot of time and effort has gone into bettering [his] skiing ability and [he feels] like in [his] final season [he] really got to show that.”
Tondo was one of 12 boys in New Jersey to represent the state in the Eastern High School Championship, in which he finished 65th in Slalom (5th in New Jersey) and 62nd in GS (6th in New Jersey)..
Austin was personally happy with how his season went. For his senior year, he wanted to “leave it all out on the mountain so [he] could never look back and wish [he] had done anything differently and [he] can confidently say [he] did just that.” He wasn’t just focused on individual success, however. He had a big focus on team building, and said making states with some of his closest friends was “the perfect bookend to [his] racing career.”