With four times as many athletes this year as last year, it's safe to say that Summit High School's wrestling team, set to begin its second season, is Summit's fastest growing team.
"Last year, we had eight kids," said head coach Eric Wachtel. "We just got better, the kids had fun, we did a lot of recruiting and that's how we're up to 35."
Wachtel has clearly defined goals this season. He expects his wrestlers to "gain some knowledge, learn more about the sport. Expect some wins at the varsity level. The goal is to win the JV County tournament."
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With the team's first competition – a quad meet with Vernon, Westwood and Pascack Hills – only a week away, Wachtel set up an interteam match, "Maroon and Gold Night," on Dec. 11 in order to familiarize his novice wrestlers with the pressures of competition.
"A lot of these guys, it's their first time wrestling with a referee (present), so I'd rather get their anxiety over with now, so when we go to a match it's no big deal," he said.
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In the late '80s and early '90s, Summit High School was a wrestling powerhouse, and many parents, students and school administrators are excited to take the first steps toward returning Summit to its wrestling roots. Assistant coach Jason Evers wrestled for SHS as a student.
"Our hope is to get it back to where we can be a good, solid team again," he said.
Evers acknowledges such team building will take time, but he is excited to be a part of it.
"The kids are real enthused and everyone's working real hard. That's good, because wrestling's a hard sport, and if you don't like it you're not going to last too long," he said.
Wachtel, who wrestled at Marlboro High School under Summit Athletic Director Michael Sandor in 1993, said he was honored to be tapped by his former coach to help revitalize the program.
"I wrestled for Mr. Sandor," he said, "and I think the world of him. I wouldn't be the father, the parent, the employee (I am today) without that man."
Summit parents are being swept up in the enthusiasm as well. Jim Abbott, whose son Nick is a freshman who has wrestled since fifth grade, is well known for being "vocal" at meets.
"We're big supporters," he said of himself and his wife, Jennifer. Nick Abbott and fellow freshman A.J. Iarussi wrestled in the state tournament last season as eigth-graders.
The Abbotts were also instrumental in bringing wrestling back to Summit High School. Before last season, wrestling in Summit stopped in eighth grade, so a group of parents including Jim Abbott and Dave Grewcock formed the Summit Wrestling Club, Inc. The high school program is funded solely by SWCI, not the school district.
The Club is a nonprofit organization that is currently accepting tax deductible donations at PO Box 296, Summit, NJ 07902-0296. The SWCI is also holding a fundraiser dinner at the Elks' Club on January 15. Tickets are $20 per person, and interested parties should contact Sandy Acitelli at acitelli@verizon.net.
