The Changing Face of HS Wrestling

There were few high school sports teams that could create more furor than the Highland wrestling squad. Like Camden's basketball teams featuring Dajuan Wagner or Paulsboro's football squads with Kevin Harvey, the Highland Tartans were a must-see event every time they hit the mat.

From its inception in 1968 to 2000, Highland put together a 575-55-6 mark without a single losing season. That success helped create the mystique. Times have changed for one of New Jersey's most storied wrestling programs. On Jan. 19, Highland wrestled sister school Timber Creek. It was the first-ever meeting between the two Black Horse Pike School District programs. Less than 75 spectators filled the stands and when Highland took its warm-up lap. A painful silence was evident. The Tartans dropped a 36-30 decision as they limped toward a second consecutive losing season.

The program is battling a number problems. "We have 14 guys in the room, and that's on a good day," Highland coach D.J. Gore said. "The kids have been great. They've really been working hard, but there's just not enough of them."

The first-year coach is bothered by the situation because he was a big part of the Tartans success in the early 1990s. Gore, along with his assistant coaches Brian Lewis and Joe LaMalfa, anchored Highland's 22-0 state Group 4 championship in 1994. The Tartans placed third in the state that year. Highland's lack of numbers forced the team to forfeit two bouts against Timber Creek at 215 and heavyweight. During the Tartan glory days, a forfeit was unfathomable.

Timber Creek is one source of the problem for Highland. When the first-year school opened in September, many of Highland's wrestlers fell into the redistricting and transferred to Timber Creek. Like many of his former coaches, Gore is active on the sidelines. However, his messages are filled with encouragement instead of displeasure. Gore's patience and work ethic are perfect for the long road ahead for Highland, so is his attitude about turning things around. "We'll get there," Gore said.

At Issue

This season, Lindenwold's Christine Cairoli and Gateway's Katie Ryan are testing the waters of the male-dominated wrestling rooms. Area figures raise concerns, however, with teenage girls wrestling teenage boys in a competitive match.

"Girls wrestling boys just isn't right," said John Sanders, who has coached at Eastern High School for 37 years. "It puts everyone in an awkward position," Sanders said. "Look at it from the young man's perspective. What if that young man loses the match? He will never hear the end of it. I don't have a problem if there is a girl's team for wrestling," Sanders said. "Wrestling is a great sport and if they want to try it, I'm all for that. It's going to be an Olympic sport this year, so there's definitely interest."

"There's no reason why girls can't wrestle," Cairoli answered back. "It's just like anything else in life, if you want to do something, go out and do it."

During her freshman year at Overbrook, Cairoli, a 112-pounder, got into a heated discussion with a friend who was on the wrestling team. "He said a girl could never survive one wrestling practice, and that got me upset," the sophomore said. "I told him that cheerleading practices were just as tough as wrestling. He just laughed." Cairoli, the captain of the varsity cheerleading squad for the football team, found herself in the wrestling room in November.

Unlike Cairoli, Ryan has been involved in the sport thanks to her family. Her father, Pete, is a longtime coach in the Gateway program and her brother, P.J., also a standout at Gateway, is currently wrestling for Gloucester County College, the top-ranked junior college Division III team in the nation. Ryan, a junior, was the Gators' manager for the last four years before she put on the headgear to compete. She saw her first varsity action at 103 pounds in the Clayton Tournament and went 0-2.

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

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