Athlete of the Week: Curran Sullivan

Whether delivering bone-crushing hits on the gridiron, pinning an opponent to the wrestling mat or de-twigging a hapless attackman on the lacrosse field, senior Curran Sullivan remains a commanding and influential presence for Exeter athletics.Sullivan, a tri-varsity athlete since his lower year, constantly strives to improve all facets of his sporting career, reaching the national tournament for wrestling his upper year and being elected lacrosse captain last spring.“Curran is definitely one of the biggest leaders on the team,” fellow football player and upper Mason Polk said. “He knows where he needs to be, and he will always be there at the right time. Whatever job he has, he does it. He’s definitely the one who is paying attention and doing what he needs to do.”Sullivan comes from a family of athletes — his two older brothers were both varsity athletes at Exeter — and has been playing football and lacrosse since middle school. However, when Sullivan arrived at the Academy, he was hit with a rude awakening.“I came into Exeter a little bit cocky because I had a successful middle school career, but it was a reality check when I got here because everyone was much bigger and faster than I was, and that took some getting used to,” Sullivan said. “But it taught me some valuable lessons about being the big fish in a little pond — I was really a little fish when it came to the big sea.”Dissatisfied with being on the JV football, basketball and lacrosse teams as a prep, Sullivan was determined to play varsity in three sports his lower year. “I wanted to be part of more competitive teams and to prove who I was to myself, to show myself that I could succeed in that kind of competition, and that I could do something special athletically with my time here at Exeter,” he said.As the year progressed, Sullivan improved significantly, from his physical skills and stature to his self-esteem . “By lower year I was physically more developed, which is to be expected with a year of training, and much more confident,” he said.This steady improvement continued throughout Sullivan’s Exeter career, and his determination and drive inspires other players on the team. Senior and football teammate Matt MacKay commented on Sullivan’s performance and reliability.“He's a great guy to have on your team, because you know he'll always have your back,” MacKay said. “He's a hard worker.”Despite making varsity football his lower year, Sullivan was not content with his position on the team, unsatisfied with his slow feet and lack of self-assuredness. Dropping basketball that winter, Sullivan found success and, more importantly, confidence in wrestling, which he later translated to his other sports. Although he was placed in JV during tryouts, having never before wrestled competitively, Sullivan went undefeated for his first four matches and was promoted to varsity before mid-terms.“When I made varsity for wrestling, my main concern was to not get beaten on the mat. I really just hated to lose, something my wrestling coach told me was the same with my brother,” Sullivan said. “On JV, I had success and felt really good, but then I went to varsity and, although I did pretty well the first couple matches, I got pinned a couple of times, and I think that was one of the worst feelings I’ve ever experienced. I pushed myself to work hard and not lose.”Sullivan’s affinity for wrestling is deeply rooted in his experiences growing up with his brothers. “I was always getting in fights with my brother Casey, who, when wrestling at Exeter, was an All-American his senior year,” Sullivan said. “I hated the fact that he was eight years older than me, and that when we got into fights he could always beat me up. I hated that feeling, being physically inferior to him, and I felt that I needed to prove myself.” This attitude has influenced Sullivan throughout all of his four years at Exeter.Sullivan translated his wrestling success to further himself in other sports. “I needed to get quicker, and wrestling did just that — it made me quicker,” Sullivan said. “I cared so much about not being taken down, and that made my legs a lot faster. It made me so much more confident because I knew how hard I was working, and I couldn’t imagine my opponent working as hard as I was. I was good at wrestling, which made me feel like I was wanted on Exeter, and when I started winning matches, I finally felt useful as an athlete here.”Over the next two years, Sullivan constantly honed his skills, all the while driven by the goal of being the best. “I don’t like the idea of somebody out there being able to wrestle me to the ground — I don’t like the idea of someone else being physically superior to me,” Sullivan said.In the winter of the 2012-2013 school year, Sullivan qualified for wrestling nationals. “That was one of the best sports moments I’ve had at Exeter.” Sullivan said. “I can’t really describe it — the match that qualified me for nationals went into overtime, and the match before that had gone into double-overtime, and I was completely dead. When the whistle blew and I won by two points, I got energy from I don’t know where, and I just jumped up — it was an amazing experience.”In the spring, Sullivan plays varsity lacrosse, and this year he will captain the team. Sullivan got his start in the sport during middle school but refrained from trying out for the varsity team his prep year. “I went straight to JV and then went to varsity my lower year.” Sullivan said. “I’ve always viewed lacrosse as a really fun way to compete, because in wrestling it’s all about grit, and in football it’s all about hitting people, but I’ve always thought that lacrosse is a really fun game, and it has been a great way to meet people and make friends.”Lacrosse has also been a great social opportunity for Sullivan. “I have always found it to be one of the most positive social experiences at Exeter. I still keep in contact with the majority of the team from last year and two years ago, and I really had a good time playing lacrosse,” Sullivan said. “My upper year went pretty well. I was definitely higher on the food chain, but there were always seniors ahead of me. I never really minded that because I knew that they were going to do a great job, and they deserved their positions.”This past year, Sullivan’s teammates elected him to captain their lacrosse team for the upcoming spring. “One of the reasons I was elected captain was because I could have a conversation with anybody on the team, and I think that was true of everybody because the team chemistry was great. I was sociable, and there weren’t many other uppers on the team,” Sullivan said.Lower and lacrosse player Charlie Russ also weighed in on Sullivan’s personality as a teammate. “Curran is a really nice guy and he’s a great player for our team. He’s a really good influence, since he’s always trying to help me and other guys on our team get better. On and off the field, he’s always just a great guy to be around.”This coming season, Sullivan hopes to lead Big Red lacrosse to their first victory against Deerfield in over a decade. “For lacrosse, the goal every year is to beat Deerfield. Even if I were to blow out my knee during that game and could never play lacrosse again, I would be happy if we beat Deerfield,” Sullivan said. “I hate losing to Deerfield, because we haven’t beaten them for so long and so people assume that they are a better team.”As for his personal objectives, Sullivan hopes to end the season on a good note. “My goal for this season is to get back to nationals and to become an All-American. I know that is a stretch, but that is something I’ve set for myself, and I’d like to stick to that.”