By Dan Cleary

2/22/2008 - Rasslin' to the Top... Finally

The tears flowed freely. Hugs, kisses and backslaps were abound. And there were smiles wider than the Grand Canyon.

Yes, High Point finally did it. After getting to the state semifinal round 19 times and the state final nine times, the Wildcats finally hunted down their most elusive prey—a group state championship in wrestling.

In one of the most impressive showings ever in a Group 3 state final, the Wildcats, the North 1 champions, crushed North 2 champion Sayreville 63-3 before 3,800 raucous wrestling fans Feb. 17 at the beautiful Ritacco Center on the campus of Toms River North High school.

This one was a long time in the making. For years, the Wildcats (30-1) have been strapped with the tag as the best team never to win a group championship. High Point has dominated North 1, Group 3 for the last three decades, (High Point’s first section crown was in Group 2 in 1984) but only had sectional titles to show for it. Of course, most schools would die for just one section banner. Sayreville (24-3), which bared the brunt of 19 years of frustration, was enjoying its first trip to the final after winning its first-ever section crown in the program’s 50-year history.

But there was no way the Wildcats were going to be denied. Not after losing to Ocean Township and South Plainfield the last two times they made the trek down to The Shore. The Wildcats chopped down Timber Creek (22-4) of South Jersey in the semifinals, 59-9, which served as a tuneup to the main event.

High Point, which has been the consensus No.1 team in the state for most of the season, was the heavy favorite, but no one expected the juggernaut that was the Wildcats. High Point’s much-heralded “Fab Five” freshmen of Nick Francavilla (103), Drew Wagonhoffer (119), Joey Gaccione--also head coach John Gardner’s nephew--(135), Ethan Orr (140) and Billy Smith (152) have garnered a lot of press and attention this season, and rightfully so. They are the cornerstone of the program that right now looks like it is ready to make run for the ages at High Point.

But it was a senior that got the “Wildcat Express” rolling when Brad Thomas (29-4) scored key wins at 215 and heavyweight in the semifinals and final, respectively. It only seems fitting that Thomas would be the catalyst. Not only has he wrestled exceptionally well this season, he is one of the team leaders and is steeped in the wonderful and colorful tradition of High Point rasslin’.

Thomas is the son of longtime assistant coach Mickey Thomas, who wrestled at High Point and has coached at the school since 1977. No one on the current Wildcats roster knows more what High Point wrestling is all about than Brad Thomas, having grown up around the sport and seeing firsthand the jubilation of winning a section crown and heartbreak of losing a state final.

Brad witnessed his father and the Wildcats suffer tough losses to Phillipsburg in the mid 1990s as a kid. But he also saw how resilient a bunch the Wildcats were, coming back each year to take another shot at the state crown. Thomas and the current ‘Cats showed that same moxie after losing the last two years at the Ritacco Center.

After the Wildcats emphatic win over Sayreville, I was standing on the mat watching the celebration and I was moved by how much joy the victory had brought to the Wildcat faithful, a group that has NEVER wavered in support of the squad. After I congratulated Gardner, a great coach and even maybe classier of a person, I approached Mickey Thomas.

Now, anyone who knows Mickey Thomas, knows he is a fairly no nonsense type of guy. Mickey has always been very good to me over the years and I couldn’t been happier for him. But to see the smile he had on his face was incredible. I congratulated him and the first thing he said to me was how proud he was of his son and how he got all started. It was side of Mickey that I’m sure not too many people outside of High Point see.

As I said, it was moving. Father-son relationships that spill over into coach-athlete arena can be very tricky sometimes. But the Thomas boys will have something they can share with forever that transcends sports.

As I watched the celebration unfold, I couldn’t help but think how happy some of the people who are so close to the program felt. Jeff Hull, the legendary coach who got it all started with the Wildcats back in the early 1970s and guided the Wildcats in two stints to nine section crowns, was there and looked like a proud papa.

Hull, now the vice principal at High Point, coached Gardner, who won High Point’s second individual state title in 1990, and then watched his former grappler make history with the team title. What a feeling that must have been for Hull, another one of those great coaches whose coaching ability may be only surpassed by what type of a gentleman he is to everyone he comes in contact.

High Point’s first state champ, Fred Swanson, who won the crown in 1971, was there and has been an ardent fan of the program for years. Swanson put High Point wrestling on the state map with his title, giving the then-young school an identity and helping the program emerge from the gigantic shadow of Newton wrestling in the county.

Jan Michaels was also there. The former state champion from Vernon was an assistant to Hull before taking over the reins in the mid-1990s. The Michaels-led Wildcats were always a top 3 team in the state, but could never get past Phillipsburg or Warren Hills. Michaels told me he was overjoyed for the program, Gardner and Mickey Thomas.

Then there is Gardner, who was always called Johnney during his wrestling days at High Point. I covered Johnney in high school and loved the way he approached the sport. He was a thinking man’s wrestler with great ability and technique. He never beat himself and was always ready to strike when his opponent made a mistake. He has brought those traits to the sidelines and he did an amazing job keeping his squad focused at the task at hand despite losing two key wrestlers in Kyle Donadio (152) and Griffin Panicucci (112) to season-ending knee surgeries last week.

He was able to take an underclassmen-laden squad to the pinnacle of high school sports without missing a beat. The Wildcats only loss was to national power Blair Academy and they wrestled every top team that they could. The Wildcats can never be accused of ducking anyone.

In the course of the season they beat Group 1 champ Kittatinny, Group 2 runner-up Brearley and Non-Public A champ Camden Catholic. They also had Group 2 champ Long Branch on their schedule, on the road no less, but Long Branch had to opt out because it conflicted with the Shore Conference Tournament Championship, which it won.

Group 4 power Jackson was also on the slate, but it had to cancel as well. So there is no real argument that the Wildcats are not the best team in the state and that is a credit to Gardner and the rest of the Wildcats, who haven’t been mentioned yet like Gavin Tarsa (145) and Tyler Forbeck (130), who are state ranked, Vin Gallo (171), Joe Donahue (189), Billy Gould (112), Tom Diviantonio (125), Billy Hotalen (160), Trevor Pappenmeier (189/215) and Anthony Luciano (Hwt.).

COUGARS ROAR: Not be forgotten in High Point’s historical win, was Kittatinny bringing home its eighth state title under John Gill. The Cougars (24-7) held off a fired-up Collingswood squad, 31-30, to capture their seventh state crown in eight years and first in Group 1. The Cougars won the Group 2 title in 1996 before going an incredible run from 2001-2006. The eight crowns are the most in Sussex County Interscholastic League wrestling history. Pope John is second with five, then Jefferson with three and High Point and Sparta each have one.

Kittatinny and High Point became the first SCIL schools since Jefferson and Pope John to win a state title in the same year. PJ won the then-Parochial B title and Jefferson the Group 2 crown in 1994.

The victory was also the 400th in Gill’s superb career. He is Sussex County’s all-time wins leader ahead of Hull (285) and Henry Boresch (245) of Newton, the Godfather of New Jersey high school wrestling. Gill is another class act (I know, I’m getting all sentimental over these coaches, but they deserve all the praise they receive.) and an outstanding technical coach.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but that word is not in Gill’s vocabulary. The Cougars gave High Point its closest match and wrestled one of the toughest schedules in the state which paid off against Collingswood (24-3). Collingswood had ousted perennial Group 1 champion Paulsboro is the South Jersey sectional tournament.

Gill and the Cougars know how to win. To use a baseball analogy, Kittatinny’s win was like a crafty, veteran lefthander taking the hill and getting the most of what he has got. The veteran will always get the big strikeout when it is needed (like Derek Valenti’s huge pin at 135) and work the corners (like giving up tech falls instead of pins).

Like a pitcher, the Cougars worked out of trouble in every inning and came up with a key out (like Hobie Wannamaker’s win at 171, which saved the Cougars’ season) when needed. The Cougars lost their final two matches, but held on for the win, just like a pitcher who leaves the bases loaded with the winning runs on base before securing a victory.

High Point, on the other hand, was like a young, power pitcher, who threw gas from the beginning to the end, never giving the opposition a chance to get in the game.

It was quite a scene at the Ritacco Center, one that I will as well as High Point and Kittatinny fans will never forget. Although with the return of almost the entire team, High Point’s title could be a harbinger of things to come. But you never forget your first.

That’s it for now, see on the sidelines.