Rumson-Fair Haven HS wrestling team prepares for upcoming season
RUMSON, N.J. — In recent years, the Rumson-Fair Haven wrestling team has made huge strides in increasing their reputation not only in relation to other sports at RFH, but also across the state of New Jersey. Assistant Coach Thomas Colella is especially proud of his team, and talked about the efforts of the last year’s roster in helping to bring the boys to Central Jersey Group II Finals, which, despite their best efforts, they lost to Raritan. Colella, however, maintains a positive mindset regarding the strides taken last year, and asserts that RFH Wrestling making it to the Group II Finals has never been done before.
Colella also attributes a lot of the team’s anticipation for this season to the fact that the team is young. Last year, the team had 5 impressive freshmen in their starting 14 roster, and only lost three seniors; Shay Addison, who is currently wrestling at Arizona State University, in addition to Aidan Shaughnessy and Patrick Malpass, both of whom are tough losses for this year.
However, Colella reiterates that the team this year has a lot of strong wrestlers to look out for, including Ryan Boyer, who is committed to the United States Coast Guard Academy for wrestling, as well as Nick Costello, Hudson Skove, and Julian Duque. He continued to praise the younger wrestlers for their efforts last season, including Connor Delaney, Walker Skove, Evan Ridgway, and Cole Pangborn, all of whom made it through districts and are ready for more. The team placed 2nd at districts, and had four district winners and nine medal winners, eight of whom are returning this season.
“Boyer and Hudson Skove made it through regions, and got to go down to Atlantic City. This season, we’re hoping that number will triple or quadruple,” Colella explained.
He explained his excitement to work with the freshmen coming into the team this year, such as Joaquin Duque, Eamon Frye, Luke Doherty, and others, which he hopes will leverage the team to a better win-loss record than last year, which was 11-10, just over a .500.
Another component of the team that has changed is the coaching staff, which changed drastically once the head coach for 8 years, Bryan Heller, and Billy George both left the coaching staff. The new head coach is Eleazar DeLuca, who was a wrestler at Rutgers University, and up until last season, both Colella and Jeremy Schulte were volunteers with the team, and are now official assistant coaches. In addition, Zach DelVecchio, a wrestler for Rutgers who is taking a year off, will be present in the coaching capacity for the upcoming season to work with the students across weight classes.
Colella also commended the Junior Bulldawg Program, which he determines to be the “secret to [their] success.”
“By the time they get to high school, the kids already have a decade of experience under their belts, which makes them excited to be a part of the Rumson-Fair Haven tradition,” Colella continued. “The program has expanded and warrants the need for a private facility in Middletown. It’s a great problem to have.”
A lot of RFH wrestlers have younger siblings in the Junior Bulldawgs Program, which helps further corroborate the pipeline of eager kids from middle school to high school wrestling and further fosters a friendly, competitive, and fun environment for the younger kids and high school athletes alike.
“I love when the younger guys get their moment on the mat. Everyone has the chance to be that winning bout. Last year, we had a lot of instances where underclassmen, especially freshmen, were in a position where they won the entire match for the team,” Colella recounted. “The best part of coaching is watching a younger athlete overcome a tougher match and gain the confidence they need to move forward in their athletic career. When it goes that way, it’s awesome for the team and for everyone.”
The wrestling junior program and Rumson-Fair Haven wrestling have garnered an outpouring of support, awareness, and fundraising efforts in recent years, and the relationship and overlap between the coaching staffs of both programs have contributed greatly to the success of the team. Purple and white “Support RFH Wrestling” signs dot lawns, stark against the greenery, all across the two towns, especially around this time of year as the team is gearing up for the season, and coaches are thankful for the support.
“There’s nothing we could be doing without the community. The junior program, the fundraising, the parent support, they all mean so much for the team,” Colella explained. “This is a time-consuming and energy-draining sport for the entire family, and without the family and community support that we have, you’re not going to have a good team or a fun season. It doesn’t become a burden for the students or a chore to coach when we have such amazing support from the Rumson-Fair Haven community and parents.”
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