By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- There were obstacles that had to be overcome during his impressive college wrestling career.

John Marsh is the highest finisher ever by a Bridgewater State University wrestler at the NCAA Division III Championships, but he accomplished that feat after getting past some hurdles.

There was a car accident in New Bedford in which Marsh said he was injured when hit head-on by a drunk driver on Christmas Day while home on winter break from Slippery Rock University.

Then, after taking a year off from school and transferring to the former Bridgewater State College, Marsh shattered an eye socket and broke a cheekbone in eight places while playing pickup football. That happened right before the start of his first wrestling training camp with the Bears.

And throughout his career at Bridgewater State, Marsh would commute from New Bedford for early morning classes, return home to work, and drive back on campus at night for wrestling practices.

Marsh persevered through it all and received All-American honors by finishing fifth at the 2010 NCAA Championships, the best performance by a Bears' wrestler.

A two-time All-New England performer, Marsh ranks third at BSU with 111 career victories and owns the single-season records of 47 wins (shared with John Fralick) and 137 takedowns in 2006-07.

It was a highly successful career for Marsh, and he will be recognized on Friday, Oct. 17 by being inducted into the BSU Athletics Hall of Fame at the Rondileau Student Union Ballroom.

Marsh has already been inducted into the New Bedford High Hall of Fame, that happening this past May, and is in the Massachusetts Wrestling Hall of Fame (2012) and the New England Wrestling Association Hall of Fame (2020).

"I'm super excited about it," said Marsh, a 2010 Bridgewater State graduate. "I appreciate this so much. It's great to be inducted into both my high school and college Hall of Fame in the same year.

"I'm excited to go back and catch up with a lot of the guys on the team who were part of my career. I'll get to see the differences at Bridgewater. They were building a lot there when I was leaving. It's going to be nice."

After a standout career at New Bedford High, including an individual state championship at 135 pounds in 2004, Marsh went to Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania, which was a Division I program at the time.

But in between semesters, Marsh was injured in the head-on crash in his hometown and suffered injuries, including nerve damage in a leg.

He did not return to Slippery Rock and spent a full year recovering.

"I had to chill for a little while," said Marsh. "If the swelling in the leg got too bad, I could have had permanent damage."

Marsh did some coaching at New Bedford High and decided to enroll at Bridgewater State in 2006.

But days before the Bears' wrestling team's first practice, Marsh was injured.

"I was playing pickup football and shattered my eye socket and my cheekbone in eight spots," said Marsh. "I missed preseason and had two days of practice before the first competition. I was definitely out of shape. It was a little bit of a tough start."

Marsh recovered and had 47 wins and 137 takedowns that first season, making the All-New England team and the All-Pilgrim Wrestling League second team. He also qualified for the NCAA Championships.

In his final season, Marsh was again an All-New England selection and went 35-3 for the second highest winning percentage (.932) ever at BSU.

Marsh was 5-0 at the New Englands to win at 149 pounds and earn another trip to the nationals. This time, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Marsh went 4-2 to place fifth in the country and become an All-American.

It was a reward for all that Marsh had been through during his collegiate wrestling career. He reached All-American status and later went to the Olympic Training Center as a wrestler, though an injury stopped him at that point.

"It felt good," said Marsh. "Twice I've had doctors tell me I shouldn't continue wrestling. But I went on to become an All-American and made it to the Olympic Training Center."

Marsh couldn't help wondering back then how much those setbacks cost him on the way to becoming an All-American.

"It's a shoulda, coulda woulda story," he said. 'I could have been a national champion (if not for the obstacles). It took me a little time to be happy with it (thinking about what might have been). It took a while to get to my full potential."

Marsh thinks back to the long days he had to put in during wrestling season.

There were the early classes, the ride back to New Bedford to work in the day and then a return trip to Bridgewater State for practice.

"I definitely put a lot of work into it," said Marsh. "I did roofing, siding, worked in a pizza restaurant after classes. Then I'd drive back to school for practice. It was a couple of hours of driving a day. I was a full-time student, a full-time athlete and was working.

"My senior year, I worked really hard over the summer to save up so I wouldn't have to work in the school year. I was able to focus a little bit more on wrestling."

Marsh has worked for five years at his gym, Essential Strength and Conditioning, where he is a physical trainer and works with students on wrestling and jiu jitsu.

"A lot of the hardship that I went through has made me such a successful coach,'' said Marsh. "I get just as much of a reward coaching."

The return to Bridgewater State next weekend will give Marsh the chance to recall all the good times he had while overcoming obstacles to attain wrestling greatness.

"Whenever I do something, I always give it my all," said Marsh. "When I started wrestling in high school, it became my world. I'm always competing. I feel like I thrive in competitive situations."