Wrestling: Mat return! South off to 'promising start'

Leigh Hall had a wrestling vision. If South Hunterdon could rebuild it, the sport would come back to the tiny Group 1 school off Route 31 in West Amwell Township. 

After a 21-year absence, the Eagles are wrapping their first season as a junior varsity program. 

South Hunterdon, which dropped the sport following the 2000-01 season, has 19 boys on the current roster (three seniors), including five with previous experience. Hall is pleased with the group and their progress thus far. His team has competed in four dual meets and is gearing up for its fourth and final tournament this weekend at Somerville.

South returned to the mats for the 1st time in 21 years.

"The kids have all bought into the vision of where we eventually would like to get to as a program," Hall said. "All the kids have really enjoyed the season. Nobody was certain what this may look like when we started out, but this has been a promising start."

Hall, 55, one of wrestling's good guys and legendary men's league softball player, is no stranger to the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area. The former Delaware Valley standout, a District 16 champion and Region 4 runner-up at heavyweight as a senior in 1985, has made the rounds in Hunterdon County as an assistant coach with stints at Hunterdon Central (16 seasons from 2005-2021), Delaware Valley (1997-2004) and Voorhees (1989-97). 

Now in his 32nd year overall, Hall, a first-time head coach, has another veteran with him on the bench in assistant coach Bill Bevich, who previously served in the same capacity at East Brunswick. Hall said that former Hunterdon Central star and assistant coach Pat Strizki, a three-time state placewinner and runner-up at 119 pounds in 2007 who ranks second on the Red Devils' wins list (141-18 from 2003-07), has shown interest in helping out as well. His father, Brian Strizki, is a 1976 South graduate and former wrestler for the Eagles.

South will be a JV program for at least one more season.

"I have been so fortunate to coach many great kids over the years," Hall said. "Many have been reaching out to me wanting to help me with the South program anyway they can."

South Hunterdon, which originally formed the wrestling program in 1974 under longtime coach Barry Runkle, struggled to keep up in the old District 17 and with a county that featured four New Jersey powers in its heyday. 

Individually, Brian Mundhenk is the only Eagle to reach the state tournament (preliminaries at 158 pounds in 1980). Joel Horner (heavyweight in 1992), Doug Sheetz (103 in 1995) and Paul Simone (215 in 1996), all runners-up, were the school's only Hunterdon-Warren Tournament (no Sussex then) finalists.

Hall is looking forward to South's progression next season and beyond. It's a fine beginning and a great sign for the sport since programs that fold tend to stay that way. Sussex Tech, which also never had a state medalist, began wrestling in 1969 and has not resurfaced since disbanding after the 2003-04 campaign.

"We will definitely be JV again next season," Hall said. "I'm looking to build our duals up to around 15 and wrestle in as many tournaments as possible. Our goal is to continue to show progress in numbers and community interest in hopes of soon wrestling as a varsity unit.

"The school administration and community have been so supportive of re-establishing the wrestling program. It's going to take a little time, but we are going to get this done."