Both North and South have opened the year with losing records in the wrestling ring. Despite a lack of team success, each team has individuals who are among the best in their weight class.##M:[more]##
Traditionally, WW-P wrestling has suffered from a lack of participation. No team can win consistently if it has to forfeit matches regularly. This year, though, both teams can claim a full roster due to increased interest from athletes in lower grades.
The future looks promising for both schools, which have been mired in a competitive conference, and have never been able to roll out from under the district’s historical powerhouses.
The teams will face each other on the last day of the regular season, Saturday, February 10. The match, which begins at 10 a.m. at High School North, is expected to be a close one. “I can see this one coming down to bonus points,” says South coach Craig Wilson. “In the 14 weight classes, we might wind up splitting the matches 7-7. It’s going to come down to pinning someone, or who can avoid getting pins.”
WW-P North
Wrestling is often thought of as ultimate individual high school sport. Each athlete is judged on what he can do on his own facing one opponent. If he wins, he is responsible, If he loses, he alone is to blame.
Coach Bill Mealy, who has been at the helm of the High School North wrestling program since the school opened seven years ago, coaches this singular sport with the philosophy that every member of the team is just that—a member of a team.
Mealy himself is part of a father-son coaching team. His son, William Mealy Jr., 26, coaches the junior varsity wrestlers at North. His other son, Christopher, is a sophomore and wrestles at 125 for the Knights. With the inclusion of two sets of brothers on the varsity team, the Kayes and the McGuigans, wrestling at North is very much a family affair. Under Mealy’s tutelage, the feeling of being a family extends to the rest of the team, as well.
Mealy credits his senior leaders with pulling the Knights (4-6) together as a team. “They’re very encouraging to the younger guys. I like to see that this group is setting a good example for the underclassmen. If we break up and work in groups and we’re teaching new moves, the older wrestlers will let the younger guys get in on the move, as long as they’re doing it right.”
The team’s captains this year are seniors Jeff Rotella (135, 12-1), Joel Kaye (140, 7-5), and Dan McGuigan (152, 7-7). Along with junior Ted Hirt (130, 10-2), Matt Kalinowski, (145, 9-5) and Ethan Kaye (103, 8-6) they represent a strong core of an undermanned team.
Rotella and Hirt have been close to automatic for their team. Rotella is ranked first in the CVC in the 135 weight class. his 12 wins include seven pins. “Rotella’s style is unique. He has done a lot of freestyle wrestling. He doesn’t usually use your basic move, but he can execute them all very well. His unique style helps him in that if you’re wrestling him, you can’t know what to expect. He’s just a tough kid and a great wrestler,” says Mealy.
Ted Hirt is ranked third at 130 as a junior. He has four pins thus far this year. “Ted is a technician. He knows his moves real well, and if we’re teaching something new, he pays attention, he makes sure he gets it right, and then he uses it. He’s always trying new things to see how they work and when he gets them, they’re part of his arsenal.”
Mealy says several wrestlers are sacrificing their own records for the sake of the team. Both Dan and Tim McGuigan, twins who also play football for North, are in the most highly competitive weight classes in the CVC. “Dan has a tough match-up every time he goes out there. He’s a tough kid. People underestimate him, but he’s beaten some very good wrestlers, and had strong matches against great competitors,” says Mealy.
Tim McGuigan, despite wrestling in a higher weight class, has compiled a 9-6 record with three pins. He’s ranked third in the conference at 160. “Tim has a great attitude. He’s out there to help the team. He weighs in at 152, but he’s wrestling 160. He’s giving up 8 pounds right off the bat, but he’s had his pins, and every time he’s going out there to try and win no matter who he’s up against.”
Mealy has been impressed by Joel Kaye as a wrestler and as a leader. “He lost a tough match recently, and I knew he was having a hard time with it. But he got up and shook hands and was right there cheering on the next guy. He didn’t throw his headgear, he showed the younger guys that when that happens, you take it like a man. It’s little things like that that really help to build a team,” said the coach.
Joel’s brother, Ethan, seems to represent the future of the Knights wrestling program. As a freshman, he is ranked third in the CVC in the 103 weight class. His record is 7-6 with three pins.
North placed fifth as a team at the East Brunswick Bears Invitational, a 12-team tournament held on December 29. In this event, only eight members of a team compete, as opposed to the 14 weight classes contested in a regular dual meet. Rotella won his weight class at the event, Hirt placed second, Joel Kaye placed third, McGuigan placed fourth, and Ethan Kaye and Kalinowski both took fifth in their groups.
Mealy says that while this group of wrestlers is strong and experienced, the team as a whole doesn’t have enough experience to wrestle at every weight class. “Sometimes we give up points in dual meets because we don’t want to put one of our younger guys up against one of the best wrestlers in the county. We’d rather forfeit the match and let him wrestle JV, so he can get experience. The last thing we want to do is take a new kid and throw him against the hammer. If you constantly throw him out to the wolves, he’s going to get discouraged,” says Mealy. “A lot depends on the kids and their attitude. We try to keep an eye on how they’re doing mentally as well as athletically.”
Mealy, a phys ed and health teacher at North, says being part of his wrestling team builds character in a student, both as a person and an athlete. “Our philosophy has always been that we teach more than wrestling. Wrestling is unique, but if you’re involved in pretty much any other sport, you need to be aggressive. Wrestling can help you with that. You need the same traits, being part of both sports can help the other out,” says Mealy. “The more agile and able to move you are, the better you’ll be. Wrestling teaches you about making good decisions. In football, it’s easy to make a good decision in the field if there is nobody on you. In wrestling, there is always somebody on you. It helps build a sense of anticipation, which is something every athlete needs.”
WW-P South
Now in his fourth year, Pirates coach Craig Wilson has what he’s always hoped for: a full line-up card. He says the team has traditionally struggled not because of a lack of individual talent, but because of a paucity of overall participation.
“This year, we had a good crop of freshman come out for the team.” Wilson says his efforts to cultivate interest in lower grades, including informing potential South students about the sport and about camps and clinics in which they can participate, has finally paid off.
The new talent joins a group of experienced wrestlers, including senior Joe Everingham, who last year became the first wrestler in school history to earn a spot in the state tournament. “In order to qualify, you have to place in the top three in districts, then in the top three of regionals. Joe was second in our district, and third in the regions. He’s working hard to make it back there this year,” says Wilson of the 189-pound wrestler.
Everingham is off to a 10-2 start. “Joe makes things happen when he’s wrestling. He is so tough when he’s on the bottom. He’s impossible to hold down,” says Wilson.
Captains Dan Fryer and Andrew O’Shaughnessy have been instrumental in getting the team to work hard together. “They lead the warm-ups before matches and in practices. They’re leaders,” sayd Wilson. “The younger guys on the team have improved as the season has gone on because these guys pass on what they know, and are always helping out as best they can with the younger guys.”
O’Shaughnessy, wrestling at 215, placed fourth in his class at the Holy Cross Invitational Tournament. He went 4-1 in the highly-contested tournament, and has an 11-2 record on the season. “Andrew is a great upper weight wrestler. He loves the upper body work, pitting strength against strength. If someone gets him down, there’s nobody better at what we call the FMR—the fat man’s roll,” Wilson says affectionately.
Fryer, wrestling at 152, started the season 6-4. “Fryer is a leader in the room. He’s tough on his feet and he likes to get into scrappy situations,” says Wilson. “He’s great at rolling out. He’s just going to keep working and he always comes out of it in a better position.”
Junior Derek DeLorenzo has been a big part of South’s improvement. Derek Delorenzo didn’t wrestle in his first two years at the school, but has broken out a 9-3 record in the lightweight 103 class. “He’s fast. He’s very good on his feet, and he takes every opportunity given to him to get a takedown, then he looks for the pin.”
The young wrestlers that South hopes will anchor the team for years to come include Matt and John Redmond, twin freshman wrestling varsity and JV at lower weights. Zach Mozenter, despite being a freshman, is a varsity mainstay, and has compiled a 5-5 record in his 119 weight class. Two more freshmen made strong showings at a JV tournament held January 15 at WW-P North. Justino Gonzales beat out all other 130-pound wrestlers, and Stephen Kuzy won his 145 weight class.
The team started the season 3-5. “Considering last year we only won one match, it’s much improved. I want them all to keep improving as individuals. I’ve seen everyone on the team take great steps forward so far As long as they keep improving, and stay with it, working hard, we’re going to build this into a strong team,” said Wilson.
