Hen Hud Wrestler Stands Atop Podium of His Own Making
There were years when the Hen Hud wrestling program had no podium, others when the Sailors borrowed one from John Jay-Cross River High School. Those latter occasions allowed the top finishers a chance to be properly celebrated but came on a platform painted in John Jay’s purple and black.
Times have since changed for Hen Hud wrestling, thanks in large part to senior Giovanni Gioio and his father, James. Prior to last season, Giovanni and his father constructed a large, two-piece wooden podium that holds the top six finishers. It was painted Sailor blue and adorned with white Hen Hud-branded decals. They include a logo and the words: “Hen Hud Sailors.”
“It really just amps everyone on our team up,” varsity wrestling coach Shane Turrone said. “They all want to be the ones to stand on it.”
The podium was in use for the last two Sailor Classics — an annual tournament with more than two dozen teams hosted at Hendrick Hudson High School. It was also a fixture when the school hosted Section 1’s Division II championships last February, during which Giovanni placed second in his weight class.
This year, Giovanni earned his way atop the podium for the first time when he won the 138-pound weight class in the Sailor Classic. Hen Hud also won the overall team title for the first time in the event’s seven-year history.
“That felt awesome,” said Giovanni, who will enter as a contender for the Section 1 138-pound title when the Division II championships are held February 11 at the Westchester County Center. “Getting a chance to stand on top of this podium was really a great moment for me.”
Athletic director Tom Baker first broached the subject of the Gioios building the podium in 2022. They worked together to construct it at James Gioio’s shop, J&G Home Improvement in Ossining, where the elder Gioio works as a contractor.
“It probably took us a day to build, then we had to paint it, which took another couple of days,” Giovanni said. “We also had to order and wait for the decals, so it took us a couple of weeks total to put it together. We thought it would be great to help the team and the school. For us, it was a great father-son project.”
Although Giovanni was familiar with construction work, he had never been involved with a project as large as the podium.
The new structure quickly became a source of pride for Giovanni and his teammates. He remembered the reviews being positive, and remains glad the podium will last long beyond his graduation in June.
“Everyone has been shocked at how good it looks,” Giovanni said. “This is something that we did for the school as a gift. I’m really proud that the program will be able to use it for years to come.”