Wrestling: Cougars roar in giving Gill 500th victory

HAMPTON TWP. -- John Gill is the first to say that no one man is bigger than the sport of wrestling. But in New Jersey, especially in Sussex County, the veteran Kittatinny wrestling coach is a larger than life figure.

Kittatinny celebrates coach John Gill's 500th win. (Photo by Christine Silva)

Gill reached yet another milestone on Monday night, as his Cougars rolled to a 48-21 victory over Jefferson to present their legendary coach with his 500th career victory. They also took a big step toward clinching the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division title.

Kittatinny (14-1 overall, 5-0 division), ranked No. 11 in the state by the New Jersey Wrestling Writers, can secure its fourth straight division championship with wins over Newton on Wednesday and Hackettstown on Feb. 5. Jefferson drops to 15-5, 4-1.

"Winning the division is more important, but I'm really proud of this," said Gill, whose program got its 500th win last year and is 532-189-5 in 39 seasons. "I will treasure this the rest of my life, but I want the focus to go back to the kids. It's a special job being a high school coach in any sport. We're not Paulsboro or Phillipsburg, but Kittatinny wrestling has a name and a tradition. Carl Bateman [who started the program in 1975 and coached for the first five seasons] and John Gill got this program going. We've got a nice thing going here."

Gill, whose record is 500-150-5 in 34 seasons, is the winningest coach in the county by a long shot. Former High Point coach Jeff Hull (288) is second on the list, followed by current 'Cats coach John Gardner (276) and legendary Newton coach Henry Boresch (250).

In fact, Gill is the only coach in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area to reach the 500-win mark. Only legendary Hunterdon Central coach Russ Riegel (469), Rick Thompson (345 wins with Mountain High, Phillipsburg, Hackettstown, Voorhees and Franklin), Voorhees' Bob Hall (332) and current Central coach Steve Gibble (329) have won 300 or more. There is some dispute over Riegel's total. The Central record books list him with 533 victories, but those have been found to include 'B' match wins (junior varsity).

Only five coaches -- Stan Woods of Emerson-Park Ridge (652 from 1967-present), Dennis Smith of Delran (605 from 1976-2013), Ralph Ross of Highland (601 from 1964-2000), Paul Morina of Paulsboro (568 from 1985-present) and Gene Barber of Absegami (507 from 1977-2010) -- have more victories than Gill on New Jersey's all-time list. 

As is usually the case, many of Gill's former wrestlers, including Newton coach Eric Bollette, were in attendance to witness the historic victory. Bollette wrestled on the very first of Gill's 18 sectional championship teams in 1991. Perhaps no one in the building was rooting harder for the Cougars, since a loss on Monday meant that Gill would go for 500 on Wednesday against Bollette's Braves.

"He's a great coach, teacher and friend," said Bollette, whose late father, Jack, was a longtime coach in the Kittatinny youth program. "He's had the great ability to relate to kids and adapt over the years. It's tough to win 200 matches, let alone 500. As a program, you try to measure yourself against the best in the area and model yourself after the successful programs. I'm proud of what coach Gill and his teams have accomplished over the years and want to congratulate him on a tremendous accomplishment."

This banner, designed by Diane Gill, was unveiled after the match.

Current Kittatinny wrestlers are also proud of their coach. Take senior 195-pounder Garrett Armstrong, who wasn't planning on coming out for the team as a freshman until Gill convinced him otherwise. Fittingly. Armstrong's pin of Tyler Zimmerman in the evening's 12th bout secured the 500th win -- giving the Cougars a 42-18 lead with two bouts to go.

"This means a lot," said Armstrong, a District 3 champion last season and a member of the school's football and lacrosse teams. "[Gill] even said to me, 'I can't believe a kid that I had to beg to come out as a freshman clinched No. 500 for me.' He's a great leader. He doesn't just teach you how to wrestle, he teaches you how to become a man. He preaches that he's not trying to make us all be great wrestlers, but make us be great men. Hopefully, I will take the lessons I've learned from him and use them the rest of my life."

In a fateful twist, this match was to be wrestled last week and rescheduled to Monday due to snow. Gill would have dearly loved to get No. 500 this past Saturday on the road at Delaware Valley, because it would have meant a Kittatinny win over archrival High Point on Friday (a 48-18 loss).

"I guess it was meant to be," Gill said. "As bad as I felt Friday, it was great to see people tonight that came back from 30 years ago. I'm very proud. It's a special feeling to have them come back and show their support. I'm a teacher first. The 500 wins is second. It's very important to me because I love the sport. It's bigger than John Gill or Dan Gable. I want to promote it."

Kittatinny will present Gill with a gift commemorating his 500th win prior to the Cougars' home match against Hackettstown on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

KITTATINNY 48, JEFFERSON 21

106 -- So. Kasey Hotz (15-10), K, p. So. Anthony Antoneck (15-7), 3:49.
113 -- So. Chris Shrieks (15-7), J, forfeit.
120 -- So. Nick Klinger (23-4), K, md. Fr. Mark Bohn (17-6), 10-1.
126 -- Sr. Bryan Damon (20-2), J, d. Sr. Christian Silva (17-10), 3-0.
132 -- So. Austin Scrivani (21-5), K, p. Fr. Jakob Jakova (7-13), 2:47.
138 -- Sr. Matt Tripodi (19-4), J, p. Jr. Trevor Schutte (0-7), :30.
145 -- Sr. Nick West (9-13), K, p. So. Anthony Avellone (1-6), 2:27.
152 -- Sr. Nick Romyns (13-3), K, md. Sr. Anthony Letizia (12-10), 14-1.
160 -- Sr. Frank Avallone (12-5), J, d. Sr. Tyler Parkyn (5-13), 8-2.
170 -- Sr. Kieran Gerrity (24-3), K, forfeit.
182 -- Sr. Dylan Wunder (20-7), K, md. Sr. Amir Amro (9-11), 10-2.
195 -- Sr. Garrett Armstrong (22-5), K, p. Sr. Tyler Zimmerman (18-5), 1:50.
220 -- Sr. Robert Hajnos (20-3), J, d. Sr. Andrew Simpson (20-6), 6-0.
285 -- Sr. Tom Smith (19-7), K, p. So. Avery Sheruda (7-7), 5:58.
Records -- Jefferson 15-5; Kittatinny 14-1.
Official -- Dave Marotta.