CLAREMONT — Anyone walking into Frederick W. Carr Gymnasium at Stevens High on Wednesday evening could make no mistake about who the man of the hour was.

Colby Shepard, a Stevens senior, has been wrestling since he was in second grade, through the youth program in nearby Newport. He wanted to continue wrestling in high school, but Stevens did not have a team, and the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association does not allow students to compete at another school for an individual sport. So Joe Shepard, Colby’s father, started an independent team at Stevens, which practices and competes alongside Newport.

On Wednesday, Shepard finally got the chance to wrestle in his home gym. Newport allowed one of its home meets to be moved to Stevens, for what Joe Shepard said was the first wrestling event held in Claremont in nearly 60 years, so that Colby could have a true Senior Night.

Shepard’s family members took up multiple rows of seating next to the scorer’s table, and many of his friends sat in the balcony wearing customized T-shirts with “Colby the wrestling guy” and the like written on them.

“It’s always kind of been a dream, and I didn’t know if it was ever going to happen,” Colby Shepard said. “I’m just happy to go out and wrestle. Obviously it’s a blast to be in my home gym, have my home crowd here. I always wanted it to happen, and this year it finally got put into works, which was very exciting for me.”

Shepard also plays football and baseball for the Cardinals, but his first experience with a winter sport did not go well. He played a year of rec basketball in first grade and came home saying he never wanted to do that again.

Joe Shepard grew up in Newport and wrestled for one year there, and he suggested that his son give it a try. Colby was hooked instantly, winning a state championship in fourth grade and working with some of the best coaches in the area.

Springfield High regularly opened its gym for Shepard to practice there. Chauncey Wood, now the coach at Lebanon, used to work at Newport and helped Shepard refine his skills as a youngster. Shepard has even practiced in the hangar at Newport’s Parlin Field airport, with mats set up and all.

Stevens does have a proud wrestling tradition — Dick Nelson, who was honored Wednesday, won a New England championship in 1963, losing just once the entire season. But the program was dormant for several decades before being revived by the Shepards, with help from athletic director Doug Beaupre.

“In my mind, this has been in the works for four years,” Joe Shepard said. “I approached Doug, and I approached (Newport athletic director) Jeff Miller, and from there it was very simple. We already had the teams that were scheduled to come, so that was no problem.”

Entering Wednesday, Colby Shepard had won all 18 of his matches this season, and he opened the evening with his 19th straight victory, pinning a Springfield wrestler with 20 seconds left in the first round. Facing Campbell later in the night, Shepard suffered his first loss of the year via a second-round pin. But he bounced back in the final match of the event, opening up a large lead over another Springfield opponent and securing the pin 30 seconds into the third round.

Shepard still has 11 regular-season events remaining before the NHIAA Division III championships on Feb. 18 in Bow. He finished 29-9 last year and took third at the state meet, then was in the top eight at the Meet of Champions the following week. Shepard will conclude his high school career at High School Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va., in late March. But Wednesday will surely go down as a highlight, even though he is no longer undefeated.

“It was definitely an experience that I’ll never forget,” Shepard said. “I was expecting quite a few friends; I was not expecting that many. I realized it’s more than just the sport, it’s about the people and the connections I’ve made. My entire family was here, families from other friends, and it was an all-around nice experience.”

Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.

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