Wayne Hills’ Rua is finally a champion by Sean Farrell of The Record
If someone asked Anthony Rua about wrestling at his first practice, he would start talking about WWE.
He didn’t know much of anything about the sport when he began a few years ago. He had no wrestling experience and never played a team sport. He joined the Patriots only by chance.
His story is what makes his journey to Saturday most remarkable. Rua took the road less traveled to becoming a Passaic County champion.
“He’s just a perfect example of what hard work does,” Wayne Hills coach Brian Basile said. “This is a kid who comes from knowing nothing to being a county champion and a top-quality kid. He’s got one speed. He goes 100 percent. All in. All the time.”
The 138-pound senior wrestler upset top-seeded Chris Grecco of Pompton Lakes with a 9-5 decision in the Passaic County finals on Saturday at West Milford High School.
The tears of joy came out soon after the final buzzer sounded. Never before had Rua won a wrestling tournament in high school. But this meant so much more than just the best win of his athletic career.
“It’s the greatest moment of my life,” Rua said. “This is amazing.”
It’s a moment that his coach might not have seen coming not too long ago.
“He’s a kid we picked up just running the track,” Basile said. “He saw the team that way. He didn’t know anyone on the team. He didn’t play sports. He hopped in. He was running by himself one day and, by fate, we ran into him.”
When Rua showed up to a preseason workout, he started to use some of the moves he had seen on television watching WWE.
In his freshman season, he went 2-7 on Wayne Hills’ JV team.
“As an accomplished wrestler that I’ve coached, he was probably the rawest,” said Basile, in his sixth year leading the Patriots.
But even in the beginning, the potential was always evident. Whenever Basile would ask if Rua wanted to take a break in practice, the wrestler would shake his head.
“Kids can burn out,” Basile said. “It’s a grind. The season is really hard, but not for him. If the season went all year round, he’d still be the kid begging for matches.”
As time went on, Rua fell in love with wrestling. He became determined to find new ways to evolve and get better on the mat. The Wayne Hills coaches looked at each other in surprise when Rua decided to break out a new move in Saturday’s championship match.
“It’s my mind-set,” Rua said. “I’ve only wrestled for a few years, but I’ve come in and worked harder than anyone. I went all over the country, to North Carolina. I didn’t do well. I lost. But I got the good experience for it to pay off.”
As a sophomore, Rua took fourth in the Passaic County tournament. Last year, he lost in the 132-pound finals to Clifton’s James Murdoch. Every time, he would perform well, only to fall just short.
“I’ve been to the finals countless times in tournaments and I kept losing,” Rua said Saturday.
The Patriots wrestler, who improved to 22-1 with three decisions, made sure that this year was different.
He unbuckled his chin strap after the clock hit zero. He raised his hands to the sky during an emotional walk off the mat. Then he gave a bear hug to everyone in sight on the Wayne Hills sideline.
Finally, he could call himself a champion.
“I woke up and said that today is the day,” said Rua, who will wrestle for TCNJ. “It ends here. No more just getting to finals. No more silver. I’m tired of that. It’s time to get my first gold medal. And I got it. I’m so happy. This is the most amazing moment.”