Wrestling: Phillipsburg 'in the blood' for Gentzle

Brad Gentzle knew that he wanted to be a head wrestling coach at some point in his career, but it may have come a bit sooner than even he expected it to. 

However, after being approved as Phillipsburg's 13th head coach during Monday's Board of Education meeting, he's raring to go.

P'burg returns 10 starters for the 2021-22 season.

"I'm excited," Gentzle said during a phone interview on Wednesday afternoon. "Every day I've got things popping into my head."

The former Easton (Pa.) and University of Pittsburgh standout was among just three candidates who applied for the job when it opened up in early May. Former middle school coach and P'burg wrestler Tim Longacre, who also threw his hat in the ring, will be the No. 1 assistant on a staff that includes Bryan Kopesky and Jared Crouse -- two former Stateliner wrestlers.

Longacre, 48, was thought to be the odds-on favorite to become the next head coach when this process got underway last month following the arrests of former head coach Dave Post and longtime assistant Scott Silvis for their alleged roles in a scheme to influence a tenure vote at the school.

But when Gentzle, 34, made the decision to be the man in charge, Longacre was totally on board.

"For me everything is a personal decision," Gentzle said. "To be honest, I had put in to be an assistant in early May. It took me five to six weeks to get to that point [of applying to be the head coach]. It wasn't an easy decision. Ultimately it came down to the kids and what's best for the program."

Keeping the continuity with the kids and parents was instrumental in that, as well as having Longacre based at the high school.

"One of the concerns with any head coaching position is being in the building," said Gentzle, a seventh and eighth grade Social Studies teacher in the Pohatcong Township school district. "Having Tim in the building is huge."

Longacre, employed as a member of the career and technical education staff at the high school, will be a tremendous asset for Gentzle by being around the wrestlers during the day until he arrives for practice. The two are definitely on the same page -- coaches 1 and 1A, you may say.

Though Gentzle went to Easton and wrestled for Hall of Fame coach Steve Powell, the first to win 500 matches in PIAA District 11 history, he was born to be a Stateliner. His mom was a P'burg graduate and his father also kept stats for the football team. His brother, Don, also an Easton alum, is the junior varsity baseball coach for the Warren County school.

"I remember being 8 years old and bundled up in P'burg gear watching the Thanksgiving game at [Lafayette College's] Fisher Field," Brad Gentzle recalled, "and rooting for Phillipsburg. It's in my blood."

Longacre and most of the diehard P'burg wrestling fans have never considered Gentzle to be the "enemy" just because he wrestled for the Red Rovers. Nonetheless, it should add to the fun when the teams renew their rivalry for the 84th time on Jan. 25, 2002 at P'burg. Easton owns a 64-19 edge overall, but has lost five of the last seven meetings, including a 42-22 decision at home in 2020. 

The series had been continuous since 1947, but was interrupted last season due to the pandemic.

"Brad is a P'burg guy," Longacre said. "He gives 110 percent to this community. He's a surrogate son. I'm ecstatic that Brad has taken over the program and I'm looking forward to his reign."

Longtime Phillipsburg athletic director Tom Fisher on Tuesday said that hiring Gentzle as head coach was a "no-brainer."

Brad Gentzle (Facebook)

"The administration is overly supportive," Gentzle said. "I have a lot of respect for Fish. I coach lacrosse in the spring and I'm involved with football [as team statistician]. We've developed a good relationship. When I sat down with him about the [head wrestling job] it was the best conversation we ever had."

As Phillipsburg gears up for this weekend's Kalahari Duals in the Poconos, finding a replacement for Longacre at the middle school is next on the agenda. The 2021-22 high school schedule is set with matches at High Point (Jan. 10) and Southern (Jan. 29) upping the dual meet total to 15.

"We love wrestling Southern," Gentzle said. "That was made official [Wednesday]. I'm happy we're wrestling Warren Hills and Delaware Valley. I like our schedule."

Ending a two-year drought without a state placewinner -- the program's first since 1964-65 -- and claiming another Group 4 state title are also high on Gentzle's to-do list.

"I have a little different philosophy and will look to give [our wrestlers] more freedom to wrestle in positions where they are more comfortable. Once we establish their style, then we will fine-tune and work on the needed improvements.

"Nobody on this year's team has won a Group state title," added Gentzle, who will look to guide the 'Liners to their 23rd state championship and first since 2018. "That's especially important for these kids."

P'burg 2021-22 schedule

Dec. 17-18 -- at King of the Mountain Tournament 
Dec. 22 -- at Livingston
Dec. 28-29 -- Bethlehem Holiday Classic at Liberty (Pa.) High School
Jan. 4 -- Hunterdon Central
Jan. 6 -- Watchung Hills
Jan. 8 -- Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament
Jan. 10 -- at High Point
Jan. 12 -- Ridge
Jan. 14 -- at Warren Hills
Jan. 19 -- North Hunterdon
Jan. 21 -- at Kittatinny
Jan. 22 -- Cranford
Jan. 25 -- Easton (Pa.)
Jan. 26 -- at Montgomery
Jan. 29 -- at Southern
Jan. 31 -- at Bound Brook
Feb. 2 -- at Hillsborough
Feb. 5 -- at Delaware Valley
Feb. 7 -- Sectionals first round
Feb. 9 -- Sectionals semifinals
Feb. 11 -- Sectional championships
Feb. 13 -- Group championships
Feb. 21 -- District 10 Tournament
Feb. 23, 25-26 -- Region 3 Tournament at West Orange
March 3-5 -- 89th State Wrestling Championships in Atlantic City
Notes: Bold indicates home events.

Wrestling: 'No-brainer' for P'burg to hire Gentzle

It doesn't get much bigger when it comes to public high school wrestling in these parts than being the head coach at Phillipsburg High School.

It's without a doubt the toughest and most scrutinized position when considering the expectations to win and dealing with a rabid fan base and parents, etc. It's not a job for everyone.

Perhaps that's why so few applied or showed serious interest when the Stateliners opened the job, just internally at first, and began the process to find the program's 13th head coach last month. As reported here, it was not the extensive, exhaustive process one might expect it to be.

Turns out, that person was already in the building. Brad Gentzle, a longtime assistant, was approved as the new head coach during Monday night's Board of Education meeting. The former Easton (Pa.) and University of Pittsburgh standout now begins life for the first time as the main man in charge. And all signs indicate that he was the only choice as far as the school is concerned.

"When somebody who's been an 11-year assistant and has done everything you ask and more, and is passed over, what kind of message does that send to him, and more importantly, the rest of our assistant coaches," athletic director Tom Fisher said, when asked about the hiring process and what led the 'Liners to promoting Gentzle.

"We have loyal assistants here at P'burg and very seldom have turnover with our coaches. Brad has been one of our main clinicians in the room. [Brandon] Paetzell and [Brian] Meyer, two Lehigh graduates, said he was very instrumental in their careers [as state placewinners and runners-up for P'burg]. It was a no-brainer for us."

As Fisher pointed out, the school also hired within the last time around when former state placewinner Dave Post took over for the 2010-11 season. His teams went 155-24 (second-most wins in program history) and won eight sectional and six Group 4 state championships during his 11 seasons in charge. That was the longest one-stint tenure for the program (Jan Dutt served 10 consecutive seasons from 1970-80, going 132-25). 

Since Dutt stepped down following the 1979-80 season, there have now been seven head coaches at P'burg and only two -- Jason Magditch (four seasons from 2006-10 and a Nazareth (Pa.) alum) and now Gentzle -- were not former Stateliner wrestlers. Gentzle served an assistant coach under both Magditch and Post, who was not rehired after he and and longtime assistant Scott Silvis were arrested in May for their alleged roles in a scheme to influence a tenure vote at the school.

Besides Gentzle, there were only two other candidates who officially applied for the job: Middle school coach Tim Longacre, who will be Gentzle's top assistant on the high school level, and former P'burg wrestling great and coach Rick Thompson, who said he was never granted an interview in his quest to embark on a fourth stint with his alma mater. 

It's unclear whether the other two even underwent interviews in the traditional sense.

"We had about six, seven who sent in applications or resumes," Fisher said. "We didn't solicit [for a coach]. With the media and social media, everybody knew the job was open and how it became open. Most importantly, we had a heckuva candidate right in [the building]."

Fisher also said the combination of Gentzle and Longacre, along with assistants and former P'burg wrestlers Bryan Kopesky and Jared Crouse, was a great package deal.

"Why go out and look when you have a qualified, deserving person who has been working for you?" Fisher said. "We know what we're getting with Brad. We know his work ethic and his morals. Why try to reinvent the wheel?

"Tim Longacre has been the main person responsible in developing our feeder program. He's a teacher and he never had any skin in the game, as far as having a son who wrestled. He did it because he loves P'burg wrestling. They're all teachers and we feel strongly about having educators as coaches."

The most revealing part of the process was just how involved John Garriques, whose name was floating through the rumor mill, was in finding a new coach. The head coach at Centenary College and former Stateliner state runner-up, didn't respond when asked by Open Mike if he was a potential candidate when reached via email earlier this month.

"We had some discussions with John. He was a sounding board for us," Fisher said. 

Garriques was a fan favorite during his high school days and would have been an extremely popular hire with the P'burg faithful. His son, Owen, is coming up through the Stateliners' youth program. 

Garriques, who came to Phillipsburg following his freshman season at Hackettstown, went 106-19 from 1993-97, winning two district titles and three state medals (fourth in 1995, fifth-sixth in '96 and second in '97). At Centenary, he's guided the Cyclones to an overall mark of 111-85-1 in 15 seasons and had an NCAA Division III qualifier in all but two years. 

He has coached several of the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area's top wrestlers over the years, including Kittatinny graduate Chris Burdge, the program's first four-time All-American and current head coach at Sussex County Community College.

"Johnny's just not ready for high school yet. Maybe someday," Fisher said. "He's done a fine job at Centenary. He said he has unfinished business there and wasn't ready to leave yet."

Gentzle, 34, was a two-time region qualifier and PIAA District 11 champion, and a Class AAA state qualifier in 2005 at Easton (Pa.) for coach Steve Powell. He went on to become an NCAA Division I qualifier at Pittsburgh under coach Randy Stottlemyer.

Gentzle inherits a team that is expected to challenge for North 2, Group 4 sectional and Group 4 state championships in 2021-22. The 'Liners return 10 starters (seven seniors), including state qualifiers James Day (75-27 career) and David Pierson (52-37), along with former state qualifier and HWS Tournament champion Nate Zastowny (35-9 as a sophomore and 8-5 last season).

Wrestling: Gentzle named P'burg head coach

Phillipsburg High School has a new head coach. 

Brad Gentzle, who served as an assistant under former coach Dave Post, was approved as the Stateliners' 13th head coach during Monday night's Board of Education meeting. He was approved by the school's Athletics Committee during its recent meeting.

Gentzle and longtime athletic director Tom Fisher did not return phone messages seeking comment on June 11, when Open Mike learned he was in line for the job.

P'burg enters 2021-22 sitting on 998 victories.

Gentzle, 34, who has proven to be a valuable asset as an assistant coach, was a two-time region qualifier and PIAA District 11 champion, and a Class AAA state qualifier in 2005 at Easton (Pa.). He went on to become an NCAA Division I qualifier at the University of Pittsburgh.

Gentzle, along with longtime middle school coach Tim Longacre, has been coordinating the 2021-22 high school schedule and the program's summer commitments since the arrests of Post and longtime assistant Scott Silvis for their alleged roles in a scheme to influence a tenure vote at the school.

Longacre, who will be an assistant on Gentzle's staff, along with former P'burg wrestler Jared Crouse, also applied to become the varsity head coach and was among just three to do so. Former Phillipsburg wrestling great and head coach Rick Thompson also applied for it.

"I didn't even get an interview. I'm disappointed," Thompson said on Monday morning. "I've always tried to do the best for P'burg. I wish Brad Gentzle the best of luck." 

Hunterdon Central coach Jon Cantagallo-Rohm is the only other person known to have shown serious interest, given his ties with Phillipsburg, where he resides with his wife, the former Jessica Rohm, whose father was longtime 'Liners football coach Phil Rohm, one of the most popular figures in that school's sports history.

But Cantagallo-Rohm confirmed this week that he was staying put at Central, where his teams have gone 125-30 overall, capturing three sectional championships to go with two Group 5 runner-up finishes. He's also coached 10 state medal winners in his seven seasons in charge.

"I love coaching, but I take pride in putting on the HC," Cantagallo-Rohm said in a text message exchange. "It goes far beyond wins and losses. My heart is at Central. I've invested a lot into the program over the last seven years. And the part that made my decision the easiest is that I have the opportunity to coach great kids."

Thompson, 66, the program's winningest coach with a mark of 268-54-1 in 15 seasons across three stints (1980-88, 1991-95 and 2003-06), made it known that he was interested in returning to a job that he never left under his own volition. He guided the 'Liners to 15 sectional titles, the most under any P'burg coach, and eight state championships (five in Group 3, three in Group 4), as well as six runner-up finishes. 

Brad Gentzle (Facebook)

Overall, Thompson's teams at Mountain High School (West Orange), Phillipsburg, Hackettstown, Voorhees, Franklin, Bangor (Pa.) and Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) have gone 471-231-4.

Since Jan Dutt stepped down following the 1979-80 season, there have now been seven head coaches at P'burg and only two -- Jason Magditch (four seasons from 2006-10 and a Nazareth (Pa.) alum) and now Gentzle -- were not former Stateliners wrestlers.

Gentzle, a seventh and eighth grade Social Studies teacher at Pohatcong School in the Phillipsburg district, has never been a head coach, but he will certainly be a popular hire with current wrestlers and their parents. That and being able to keep continuity within the program no doubt made him an appealing choice. 

Gentzle, also known as just "Gentz," has done solid work with the P'burg lower weights over the years, including three-time state placewinner Brandon Paetzell, an All-American at Lehigh University in 2020.