Ramapo wrestling makes history by reaching state tourney by Kevin Czerwinski special to The Record
When Brian Gibbs took over as coach of the Ramapo wrestling team four years ago, he was inheriting a team on the verge of total collapse.
The Green Raiders had won only one dual match in the two years prior to his arrival and the squad had dwindled down to eight wrestlers. Gibbs’ initial goal was easily identifiable though reaching it wouldn’t be easy – turn the program around and return it to the level it was at when he wrestled there from 2005-09.
The second goal, though equally desirable, seemed at times to be unattainable. Ramapo has had a wrestling team for more than 80 years, but had never qualified for the state tournament. Not in the 1980s when the Green Raiders were a consistently strong squad, nor in 2009, when they went 22-4 during Gibbs’ senior year.
This week, however, the Green Raiders completed their long journey back to respectability by doing something that their predecessors hadn’t – qualifying for the NJSIAA state team tournament. Eight-seeded Ramapo will make its first postseason appearance Monday when it takes on top-seeded Sparta in the opening round of the North 1, Group 3 tournament.
“It’s incredible that we never got there,” Gibbs said. “I knew it when I was in high school and that was always our goal. Even during my junior year when we were good, we finished seventh [in the power points] and they only took the top six. With a school like Ramapo that is good at everything and expects to win everything, it’s crazy that it took this long.”
Gibbs has 19 wrestlers, but five seniors have formed the team’s backbone. The seniors suffered through the lean years but believed in Gibbs and the notion that reaching the states was possible. Captains Sean O’Connor (145 pounds), John Guerriero (195) and John O’Connor (182, no relation) along with Jeff Foster (170) and Arben Veliu (220) led Ramapo to a 10-10 record heading into Friday night’s match against Northern Highlands.
“It was tough when we were freshmen and sophomores,” Sean O’Connor said. “We weren’t good at all. But the seniors we had were good leaders and they taught us how to lead. We got a bunch of kids together and got a full lineup. But coach is the guy that kept us with it and kept us going.
“This is really special, it feels like a big accomplishment to be a part of this team and to be a captain. Eighty years. You would have figured we would have made it at least 10 times during that time because this school always has great athletes.”
Gibbs set reaching the states as a goal almost immediately after taking over the program. The aforementioned seniors were freshmen at the time and Sean O’Connor said that he and his teammates have spoken often about reaching the postseason, particularly this year when it became apparent that it was possible.
While toppling Sparta would prove to be a daunting task, the Green Raiders aren’t adopting a “we’re just happy to be here” attitude.
“If we have a full lineup and everyone makes weight and stays healthy, I think we have a chance at an upset,” Sean O’Connor said. “It would be hard, obviously, but we have a chance.”
Whether the Green Raiders can upset Sparta remains to be seen. The benefit, however, of the team’s success this year has already begun to pay dividends. Gibbs pointed to the strong group of rec wrestlers who consistently attend matches and will someday serve as the team’s foundation. He added that the stands are full now when his team wrestles and he credits his seniors.
“We started with 25 kids this year and lost six throughout the year,” Gibbs said. “It’s a hard sport. Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes, Oakland, these are not blue-collar towns and this is a blue-collar sport. The kids who stuck it out are tough kids.”
They’ve also helped Ramapo break what has been one of the longest postseason droughts in Bergen County history.