https://linebet-bangladesh.com/en/mobile

Old Bridge relying on talent, coaching for strong wrestling season

Date:

Share post:

The Old Bridge High School wrestling team hopes a veteran roster and an addition to the coaching staff will bring promise to its 2017-18 season.

Coach Bryan Garnett’s team is coming off a 5-12 season last year, but Garnett believes that this season will feature more victories because of the talent coming into the program — as well as the wrestlers returning from last year.

- Advertisement -

“It was a bad year for us, no doubt,” Garnett said. “I only had one senior last year. So I have basically my whole starting lineup back, plus a mix of new kids who have talent. So I think we can put together a lineup that is pretty solid up and down. I’m looking to have no holes. That’s our plan this year. We have a lot of kids with experience on the team, and I think it’s going to help us.”

Garnett believes the team’s schedule will also help.

“We have a good schedule this year,” he said. “It’s not as brutal as it was last year. We went to a couple of quad [meets] that were really brutal. But this year, we have two nice home quads, and we have a good mix of teams.

“We wrestle in a strong county. There’s a lot of good teams here. We’re looking to place high in the county. I have a funny feeling that we’re going to send a lot more people to the county tournament and a lot more people to the states this year.”

Garnett is also proud to have a new assistant coach joining his staff. Josh Baker was on a two-time state  group championship team in 2005-06 and 2006-07 when he wrestled for Jackson Memorial High School. Baker graduated from Jackson Memorial in 2009 and went on to wrestle for the University of Rhode Island.

Garnett believes his addition to the staff, which already includes Rob Weiss and Mike Corrigan, will make a big difference in how the Knights perform this year.

“Josh is the newest member of our staff, and I’m very excited to have him on the staff,” Garnett said. “Baker’s bringing enthusiasm, and he’s bringing a drive to win, and I can already see it rubbing off on the kids. He has an encyclopedia knowledge of wrestling, which is a plus. He makes practice fun, which is also a plus. He was on those teams that won back-to-back titles at Jackson Memorial. So, as he always says, he’s bringing the Shore swagger to Middlesex wrestling.”

Garnett praises his roster and believes that from top to bottom, his team should be able to compete.

“The better kids on our team include Jake Wiatroski, a two-time state tournament qualifier, and Mike Botte, our regional qualifier,” Garnett said. “We have other guys who were right on the cusp. Dylan Ur was good for us. We have a new freshman coming in that we like, Vinny DiDerra. Some of the bigger guys did well in the districts last year. Tim Grigoryans and Chance Cooper did very well. And we also have guys in the middle that are very good, [including] Justin Gonzales, who keeps amazing me with his speed and how good he is. So we have a great roster here.”

Seniors Botte, Wiatroski and Ur all believe the team has the talent but will take the overall effort in order to win a state title this year.

“Our main goal is to win a state championship,” Botte said. “That’s everyone’s main goal. But I expect to see everyone working hard this year.”

“The goal is to progress as a team,” Wiatroski said. “We all work hard; we just need to show it on the mat.”

“I think that all of us need to do better that what we did yesterday,” Ur said about progressing each day. “If we keep doing that, we’ll win a state title.”

Stay Connected

213FansLike
89FollowersFollow

Current Issue

Latest News

Related articles

Monmouth Park shows gains in handle for 2022; Lopez, Gonzalez capture titles

OCEANPORT – Monmouth Park showed a 25.2% increase in total handle and a 16.07% increase in on-track handle,...

Webslinger storms home to beat Oxymore in $500,000 Nownownow Stakes

OCEANPORT – Webslinger is a maiden no more. In fact, the 2-year-old son of Constitution could well be...

Power Attack set for major test in $500,000 Nownownow Stakes at Monmouth

OCEANPORT – There is nothing quite as satisfying for a thoroughbred trainer as a plan that comes together...

L’Imperator sets track record in winning Presious Passion Stakes

OCEANPORT – The only graded stakes winner in the $102,000 Presious Passion Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sept....