Maximus Konopka: On the road to greener pastures

Photo: Max Konopka celebrates with longtime coach, TJ Silva, after capturing the Ironman title. Photo by Sam Janicki.

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 4, which printed Dec. 19, 2025.

By Tristan Warner

There are 490 miles that separate Greens Farms Academy in Westport, Conn. from Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

That journey was made by Jack Conroy’s squad … well, the seven student-athletes who caught an invite, that is … to the 2025 Ironman Wrestling Tournament.

What if you were told that 2025 Ironman champion Maximus Konopka, the first ever representing a school from the state of Connecticut and now the nation’s No. 1 ranked wrestler at 215 lbs., logged over 400 miles per week, in his own right,  just to get to school?

You read that correctly.

The Simsbury, Conn. native made the offseason move to Greens Farms Academy just before the start of his junior school year in search of the best training opportunity in the Constitution State.

He does not have to go it alone, though. In fact, the future Virginia Tech Hokie’s longtime personal coach, TJ Silva, made the move as well. The two commute approximately 160 miles round trip daily to GFA for school, practice and then home.

Getting to go to tournaments like Ironman made the move worth it, Konopka says.

“Simsbury High School is five minutes from my house, and Greens Farms Academy in Westport is an hour-and-a-half drive every morning,” Konopka explained. “It is a big change, but it has been worth every second. This was the decision I had to make to keep developing academically and athletically and be ready to start as a freshman and hopefully win four NCAA titles.”

Silva, who has coached Konopka since he was in the elementary leagues, saw something special in him from day one. He has continued to serve as his mentor, both on and off the mat, to this day, even cornering him in the Ironman finals where Konopka outlasted Faith Christian (Pa.) senior Cael Weidemoyer, 9-5.

“When we had the opportunity to make the jump, Max was really focused on putting himself in a situation where, in two or three years, he could be ready to contend for a national title,” said Silva, who just had twins six weeks ago and was actually looking to take a step back from full-time coaching.

“Just when I wasn’t sure if I’d even be coaching this year, Max went all in, and Jack (Conroy) reached out and helped create a situation that made sense.

“The opportunities like this … to come to events like Ironman and chase the best competition in the country … would be hard to do at a public school in New England.”

Greens Farms Academy’s boys’ team finished in the Top 20 in the team standings with just six guys, all of whom were juniors, after Konopka won a title, 285-pounder Ryan Schneider reached the Blood Round, and all six student-athletes recorded at least two victories.

On Sunday, Kayla Batres continued her winning ways after capturing a Junior National title in Fargo last summer for Team Connecticut by claiming the 110-pound title at the Women of Ironman Tournament.

Needless to say, Conroy and Silva left Northeast Ohio feeling pretty optimistic about the future of the GFA program.

“It is really something special that Jack has cultivated,” Silva continued. “I am stoked to be a part of it, to help build this program into a national power, and to see people start taking Connecticut and New England wrestling seriously.”

“We came out here with a little bit of a chip on our shoulders,” Conroy, the head coach, elaborated. “TJ (Silva) and I are both originally from Connecticut. We’ve lived here our whole lives, wrestled here and coached here. So, we take a lot of pride in Connecticut wrestling.”

Meanwhile, Conroy, who WIN spotlighted in a USA Wrestling Coach’s Corner feature in the Volume 31 Issue 10 July Fargo Commemorative Issue, has continued to raise the standard for a program he essentially built from the ground up.

When he inherited the varsity program, the former Bucknell wrestler started with six kids. Now over 50 kids make up the roster, which equates to roughly one-fourth of the school’s male student body.

“When you have a kid who wins a tournament like Ironman, it helps educate the community so much more about wrestling,” Conroy stated. “It means you can be the No. 1 guy in the country. You can do special things at the college level, and it continues to grow the culture.

“In a state like Connecticut, a non-traditional wrestling state, you get to help build and shape culture,” he added. “You get to shape the way people view the sport and what the parents value.

“When you ask, ‘How many Connecticut kids have won the Ironman?’ … the better question is, ‘How many Connecticut kids have participated at the Ironman?’ Probably less than 20. We (Conroy and Silva) both coach the Connecticut National Team, and we are all about growing the sport in the state as a whole.”

Konopka is certainly bearing the flag for Connecticut and all of New England, for that matter, as he continues to build toward bigger goals in the future.

“His long-term goals are to become a multiple-time national champ, to make World Teams, and to win World medals,” Silva said.

For the remainder of this season, though, Konopka, who won two New England titles while representing public school Simsbury, is eyeing his first National Prep title later this winter.

“I have to believe in it,” he stated. “If I can believe in it and envision it, and obviously put the work in, then I can do it.”

Konopka may quite literally be taking the road less traveled, but with every mile, he’s closing the distance between himself and the top of the wrestling world.