Bound Brook Wrestling

The spring has arrived and with it the dedication and desires the members of the Bound Brook wrestling program come into view. Unlike most programs, Bound Brook does not hibernate during the off-season (although many BBHS wrestlers do). Those who choose to participate are exposed two different types of wrestling called freestyle and greco roman. These are the styles of wrestling contested in the Olympics. Most astute wrestling observers note that developement in these styles is vital to becoming a champion at the highest level. Those words are true at Bound Brook, as all the current college wrestlers have competed at the Cadet/Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota. This is the largest wrestling tournament in the world and every major college wrestling coach attends the tournament in July. BBHS has had three place winners in the last four years. Chris Knapp (6th), Aleksey Sharapov (8th) and Andrey Sharapov (6th) all attained All-American status. Only Blair Academy has more All-Americans than BBHS in the last five years. This season, although many of the high school wrestlers have been too timid to expose themselves to the Olympic style, a few BBHS wrestlers have had success in these two styles. Freshman Andrew Flanagan recently won the freestyle and greco roman state titles. He pinned his way through freestyle states and at the greco states he beat the second ranked wrestler in the country, Gregg Romano of Blair. By winning these tournaments he is automatically named to Team New Jersey and has the right to participate at the National Tournament in July. Flanagan also earned a spot last year, but was injured at training camp and did not compete. He is a strong favorite to earn All-American honors this July. BBHS had another double placer as sophomore David Shubick placed third in both styles. In freestyle, David beat Chirs Kelly of Delaware Valley, who was a District finalist. David has earned a right for a wrestle-off for a position on Team New Jersey. His placement is impressive because despite having only two years experience, he is beating life long wrestlers and playing baseball for BBHS as the same time! David exemplifies commitment to excellence that coaches love. Other future BBHS wrestlers who placed were Nicholas Murray who placed 3rd in freestyle and 2nd in greco. Gabe Gleason who placed second in freestyle. Gabriel lost to Brandon Rolnick who is the grandson of former Governor Livingston wrestling coach and athletic director Mike Sorrentino. The more things change, the more they stay the same! Another important tournament upcoming is the Northeast Region at the end of May at East Stroudsburg University.