Wrestling: Thompson, Sbriscia apply for WH job

It didn't take long for some names to surface as Warren Hills seeks its next head wrestling coach.

Open Mike has learned that former Phillipsburg coach Rick Thompson and Dave Sbriscia, a former wrestler for the Warren County school and an assistant on former Blue Streaks coach Jarrett Hosbach's staff, have inquired about the vacant position.

Hosbach, who guided the Warren Hills program for the past 13 seasons, officially submitted his letter of resignation last Monday morning. It was speculated that Sbriscia would be a candidate to become the 81-year-old program's eighth head coach, but Thompson, one of the most decorated coaches in New Jersey history, is certainly an intriguing name in the process.

The advertisement seeking fall and winter coaches was posted on the school's web site on Feb. 28. Although the deadline to apply was this past Friday -- a span of nine days -- athletic director Geri McKelvey said she was giving it 15 days since Hosbach had just submitted his letter. She also said there is no immediate rush to hire a new coach.

"To be fair, we wanted to give [candidates] an ample amount of time," said McKelvey, who figured she had received four or five inquiries about the wrestling job as of this morning. "But it's not on my radar right now as I'm focused on getting our spring sports up and running."

McKelvey also realizes the unknown of potential teaching openings for 2018-19 may also be limiting the number of potential candidates, though she is still accepting applications. As someone who has been employed at the school for 24 years, McKelvey is well aware of its rich wrestling tradition -- formed under legendary coach John Goles -- and how important that next hire will be to the community.

"We're not going to fill [the coaching position] for the sake of filling it," McKelvey said. "I'm not opposed to giving it a little extra time. We don't create jobs to hire coaches. It's education first, then athletics. We will go through the process and I will create a panel [to help with finding a coach]."

What qualities is McKelvey seeking in that next coach?

"I'm looking for someone who will take control of the program, someone with managerial know-how, and will look out for the best interests of our kids," she said. "There are a lot of things, not just the knowledge of the sport."

Sbriscia, a 2006 graduate and a three-year wrestler for Warren Hills, going 78-22 overall, won two district titles and was a two-time region placewinner -- winning a Hunterdon-Warren Tournament championship at 215 pounds in his senior season.

Thompson, considered one of the sport's premiere motivators, stepped down after nine seasons as the head coach at Bangor Area High School in Pennsylvania following the 2016-17 campaign. But he's ready to get back in the saddle.

"I made a mistake [retiring from coaching]," Thompson recently told Open Mike. "I'm not looking to step on anyone's toes [at Warren Hills]. All I can do is offer my services."

Thompson, 62, also has made stops at Mountain High School (Orange, N.J.), Hackettstown, Franklin and Voorhees in addition to his three successful stints at Phillipsburg, where his teams went 268-59-1 overall and captured 15 sectional and seven state championships -- the most under any Stateliner coach.

Overall, Thompson, a Slippery Rock University graduate, is 471-231-4 -- going 124-81 in his most recent stint at Bangor. An accomplished wrestler, Thompson won two state titles (1971 and '73) and placed third ('70), while winning four district and three region championships for the Stateliners.

His first tour as Phillipsburg's head coach was from 1980-88, leading the school to seven team state finals in eight seasons at the helm and its first championship in '83. His second tour was from 1991-95, where he won two more titles in Group 3. The third tenure was for three seasons from 2003-06, guiding the 'Liners to a Group 3 championship in 2004.

Hosbach's teams at Warren Hills finished 165-135 overall, including a 7-13 campaign this season. The Streaks advanced to the North 2, Group 3 sectional semifinals, dropping a 48-25 decision to champion Voorhees.

During his tenure, Hosbach guided Warren Hills to its fifth sectional title in 2007, while coaching 29 district, nine region and 17 county champions, along with three state placewinners -- Dave Richmond (third in 2006), Jon Slack (third in 2010) and Andrew Pacheco (sixth in 2014).

Warren Hills, which had a lot of success on the youth level this season, is expected to return nine starters on the high school team in 2018-19, including state qualifier Nick Galka (220) as well as Region 3 qualifiers Greg Slivka (113), Chris Ostir (145), Nick Hildebrant (160) and Duro Ajayi (285).