Duca excels in college and gives back to SBHS

By: Sal Vumbacas
   When a person can play a sport and juggle school at the same time, they are what a student-athlete should be. And when a person can juggle school and athletics, while still having time to give back to their community, they are what Jad Duca is.
   Now wrestling for nationally ranked Ithaca College, the South Brunswick High graduate is ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III rankings at 157 pounds with a 6-2 record.
   Along with training up to five hours a day, Duca goes to school full time. In his spare time, he returns to SBHS to help former coach Joe Dougherty develop up-and-coming wrestlers.
   "I stay in touch with him always," Dougherty said. "I always knew Jad was a wrestler. He slept, ate and breathed wrestling. Even in middle school, I saw something in the kid’s eye that told me he would keep wrestling and wrestling. You don’t see that too often.
   "The reason they’re successful is they have a kid like Jad on the team. I’m sure he’s a leader. He never shied away from competition ever. He never feared taking a beating. He knew the way to get better was by wrestling better kids. Even when he was young and took some beatings, that other kid knew he was in a match."
   In fact, those beatings started early, and in a way that you might not expect.
   Every athlete has a story behind how they got started, and Duca is no different. His national ranking would indicate he was a natural in the sport. But truth be told, he got into wrestling because he used to get beat up by his sister and cousin as a little kid.
   So, he decided to do something about it.
   After hours of training, Duca went from the one who got beat up to the one administering the beating. At Crossroads Middle School, took on high school wrestlers. Years later, as a sophomore at Ithaca, he beat an All America wrestler en route to the nationals.
   It makes one wonder just how tough his cousin and sister were.
   Duca is the real deal, according to Ithaca coach Marty Nicholas.
   "Jad is a top-four guy in the country, definitely," Nicholas said.
   After placing in two tournaments as a freshman at Ithaca, Duca exploded as a sophomore by winning 33 matches and gaining a wild-card selection into the NCAA Championships. He red-shirted the 2003-04 season, and came back strong last year with his second wild card entry into the nationals. This season, he is 6-2, putting him at 69-31 for his career.
   Although his ranking is an accomplishment, Duca is more concerned with surpassing expectations and winning a national title in March. Not for himself, but for Nicholas, Dougherty, his teammates and his family.
   The humble Duca is grateful for everyone who helped him get this far. He does not utter more than two sentences without mentioning how much his family, friends and coaches mean to him. He’s the kind of athlete everyone should cheer for, as he realizes he is not bigger than his sport.
   Duca still remembers how parents of his Viking teammates used to take turns driving everyone to matches and practice.
   And while he reflects on the past, his focus is on the future. It has not been an easy season thus far, as Duca suffered a sprained ankle, and he is also suffering from Parkin Syndrome, which causes occasional pain in his legs.
   While the injuries have curtailed his training from five to three hours, he is certain he will be ready for nationals.
   "There is still a lot of time until nationals, but I’m going to be training as hard as I ever have," Duca said. "My goal is to do what I have wanted to do since I have came to Ithaca — win nationals."
   Once Duca graduates, he hopes to join the South Brunswick Police Department.
   It would be a job that’s almost tailor made for him, as it allows Duca to protect the citizens of the town that helped make him. And now he wants to help make them feel safe.
   Sportswriter Ken Weingartner contributed to this story.