Numbers climbing in youth feeder system
By: Rudy Brandl
It’s been a long time since Manville High crowned a Somerset County, District 18 or Region 5 wrestling champion. The Mustangs also haven’t qualified for the Central Jersey Group 1 team playoffs since 2000.
With participation numbers booming on the youth levels, that trend could change in the very near future.
After all, that’s how a high school program builds into a powerhouse.
It doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t take a group of freshmen who have never wrestled and mold them into a championship team. Very few athletes who excel in this sport are newcomers. Almost everyone who succeeds in wrestling on the varsity level these days has been doing it since grade school.
There are those rare exceptions, the standout athletes who learn how to win with brute strength and a few basic moves. But that’s not the best recipe for success on the high school mat. Wrestlers who win championships are taking the sport seriously all year. They don’t just show up in November and start drilling and cutting weight. They’ve been working out since they handed in their singlets the previous season. They never stop.
Lack of numbers has been a big part of Manville High’s problem in recent years. This season, the Mustangs finished with only nine wrestlers in the program. Since there are 14 weight classes, the team fell way short of a full lineup.
This year’s Recreation team boasted a roster of 38 wrestlers. And the Alexander Batcho Intermediate School program, which just completed its second year, had 17 grapplers.
"Things are happening, numbers are building," Manville High head coach Brett Stibitz said. "Good things are going to happen in Manville wrestling. We’ll be back."
If most of these young athletes stick with wrestling, it won’t be long before the high school team has competition for starting positions.
Competition makes everyone better. Instead of walking into a starting position as the school’s 130-pounder, let’s say, you have to beat one or two kids to earn mat time and a varsity letter. That 130-pounder is definitely going to be tougher and more battled-tested than the one who simply gets the position because he’s the only kid on the team at that weight.
Obviously, when there are only nine wrestlers on a team, there won’t be any competition for positions. Even if multiple wrestlers weighed the same, a coach would spread them out to cover more weights and get more matches.
Only two of this year’s nine varsity wrestlers are graduating, leaving MHS with seven eligible to return. That number should start to climb next year with an influx of eighth-graders who participated on the ABIS team this winter. ABIS coaches George Putvinski and Eddie Ferraro guided their Broncos to a 2-8 season.
The feeder program to ABIS and MHS is the Recreation team, a group of wrestlers in grades K-5 coached by Tom Caswell. Manville recently picked up 11 medals in the league tournament. Some of these boys are taking the sport very seriously and enjoying success. If they keep working and remain interested in the sport, these youngsters will put Manville High wrestling back on the state map.
About 20 years ago, guys like Frank Passe Sr. and Bobby Willard were developing a group of young wrestlers into future stars. Paul Kolody was the head coach of the Mustangs back then and Passe joined him as a volunteer assistant. Their sons, Doug Kolody and Frank Passe Jr. became the cornerstones of great Manville teams of the mid-90s.
Manville won three straight Central Jersey Group 1 titles from 1992-94. Aaron Sohl (1996) and John Perone (1998) captured District 18 and Region 5 titles. No MHS wrestler has won a district crown since Drew Corsilli and Kurt Tenisci prevailed in 2000. Corsilli made it to the region finals that year but was upset and finished second. If the Mustangs don’t crown a Region 5 champ next year, the drought at that event will hit a decade.
Putting a bunch of youngsters on the mat won’t necessarily produce a state champion, but it certainly will help restore one of Manville’s great athletic traditions.
If the rise in wrestling participation at the youth levels is any indication, then it won’t be long before those high school gym bleachers are rocking again on Wednesday nights in the wintertime.

