Young wrestling team goes far on effort, toughness

It didn’t take long during preseason practices and scrimmages for Joseph Down, head wrestling coach at Vernon Township High School, to realize that the student athletes were ready to face the ultra-tough challenges that awaited them on the mat.

“To be honest, from the get-go, I knew this team was different from teams in the past,’’ he said. “We went to an early scrimmage at Newton High School in December and our kids did not back down.

“I always mentioned two words I wanted to see throughout the year and that was effort and toughness. I felt like we brought those two things to our first scrimmage, which carried over to our first tournament of the season.

“We were able to take second place at the Clifton Holiday Tournament, which was a great way to gain momentum into the season. We had a total of nine medalists out of the 14 weight classes.’’

The Vikings had a good showing at the very challenging New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) District 4 Tournament.

“One more contest that stood out was our end-of-the-year individual post-season tournament,’’ Down said. “We were able to have four athletes place in the top four within their weight classes. We also had three athletes who advanced to the regional tournament the following week. This was the most wrestlers Vernon has had in the region since 2012.”

Athletes placing in the district tournament were Daniel Lovett (second place), Jeyss Abreu (third place) and True DiGuiseppe (third place).

The seniors proved to be good leaders for Vernon this winter.

“I think our seniors did a great job leading this year,’’ the coach said. “Isaac Thomas was consistently getting athletes to work out in the summer. He knew that if the team wanted to succeed, it took more than wrestling only in season. Daniel Lovett did a nice job of motivating teammates to reach their goals. Lovett was our only region qualifier from the previous season and he made sure to bring more with him this year. Sophomore Gavin Pych has always been a leader in the mat room. He is arguably the hardest worker at practice, always challenging athletes to get better. His work ethic definitely rubs off on other athletes in the room.’’

Abreu was among the wrestlers who constantly got better as the season progressed.

“Jeyss Abreu was our most improved wrestler from last season,’’ Down said. “Jeyss was not able to win a match in districts his junior year. Jeyss got better at his craft and was able to place in districts and reach the region tournament.’’

The Vikings tallied six overall dual meet victories, two of which they earned in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Colonial Division.

“We are very young,’’ Down said. “We had three freshmen that were able to have double-digit win totals this year. We also had two freshmen who earned First Team All League: Dominic Cimaglia and True DiGuiseppe. Michael Ivancich, the other freshman, was able to place fourth in districts as well.

“Sophomores Danny Rendon, Gavin Pych and Phil Pritchard continued to get better day after day. I am looking for our seniors, Zach Ezzo, Pat Kaminksi and Reilly Hague, to be leaders next year.’’

Named to the NJAC Colonial Division First Team were Dominic Cimaglia, True DiGuiseppe, Daniel Lovett and Jeyss Abreu.

Honorable Mention in NJAC Colonial Division went to Isaac Thomas.

These athletes placed at the Clifton tournament: Daniel Lovett (second place), Isaac Thomas (second place), Jeyss Abreu (second place), Pat Kaminski (second place), Reilly Hague (second place), Lou Damato (second place), True DiGuiseppe (second place), Gavin Pych (third place) and Michael Ivancich (third place).