Princeton Packet Wrestler of the Year

Rotella set standard for future Knights

By: Bob Nuse
   Jeff Rotella not only re-wrote the record book for the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North wrestling program, but he figures to have his name in it for quite a while.
   "He’s been a cornerstone of our team since he came in as a freshman," WW-P North coach Bill Mealy said. "He’s done a real nice job every year. He now has a lot of the records and he’ll have most of them for quite a while."
   Rotella holds 12 school records, including the season records for best overall record, most pins, most takedowns and most total points. For his career, he has the records for best record and career pins.
   This season was the best of the four for Rotella, who finished with a 30-5 overall record. He won the 135-pound title at the Bear Invitational, was third at the Mercer County Tournament, second at the District 20 tournament, and fourth at the Region 5 tournament.
   "I accomplished a lot of what I wanted to," said Rotella, a senior who finished his career at North with a 90-30 record. "I would have liked to have done a little better this year and advanced farther into the state tournament. But, looking back, I realize that I got back a lot of what I put in. What I accomplished is enough for me."
   What he accomplished is enough to make him the best wrestler to come through the WW-P North program in its seven years of existence.
   Jeff Rotella is the Princeton Packet Wrestler of the Year.
   "He took a real liking to the sport right away," Mealy said. "He went to a lot of camps and wrestled in tournaments. If he had a weakness, he would try to work on it and correct it right away. He’s a very coachable kid and he is always making adjustments.
   "I know he was disappointed to not win the district title, but he did come back to beat the kid at regions, which was satisfying."
   Rotella got started with the WW-P recreation program and was a three-year wrestler in middle school. By the time he got to North, he was already an experienced wrestler. Rotella went 18-11 that first year and would steadily improve each year. He won 19 matches as a sophomore, 23 as a junior and this year reached 30 wins.
   "I noticed it not only on paper, but in the way that I was wrestling each year, that I was improving," said Rotella, who was the MCT champion at 135 as a junior. "I was going to clubs in the off-season and it showed in my wrestling. I was able to notice my work paying off.
   "My freshman year I was 125 and I have been 135 the past couple of years, so I really haven’t changed that much. I think there is a jump in the competition as you go up weights."
   Rotella wrestled at virtually the same weight his entire career. He’s helped the Knights improve as a program, this year finishing with nine wins. He’s happy that while he was involved with the program, the team showed progress each year.
   "This year was one of the better years for the team that I have been on it," said Rotella, who hopes to continue wrestling in college. "We could have done better in terms of win-loss and our attitude. But as a team, we all had fun and worked well together, which is really what matters in my opinion. So the season was a success in my mind.
   "It makes me happy to know that people are coming out for wrestling, a sport that I love so much. I see a lot of good middle school people coming up and I hope it continues to grow at the high school. I’ve been a captain since sophomore year and I liked that because it gave me a chance to help mentor the younger guys and show them not only how to do things right in wrestling, but to also help them be more of a team."
   For his own benefit, it helped Rotella to have good wrestlers around him in the lineup. He was able to practice each day with quality performers, which made him a better wrestler.
   "It helped him to have Ted Hirt, Matt Kalinowski and the McGuigan brothers (Tim and Dan)," Mealy said. "They all helped each other. It’s very rare when you see a guy do real well and not have one or two other good wrestlers nearby."
   Added Rotella: "The core of our lineup was right around my weight and a few above. That was good because I got to practice with those people all the time. Ted Hirt was my drill partner all year long for the most part. And it was good to work up with the McGuigan brothers and Joel Kaye."
   In the end, all that practice helped cap off a career that started with modest beginnings.
   "I think I got into it because of professional wrestling," Rotella said. "I used to watch that a lot and I got a flyer one day in school that said ‘come wrestle.’ I figured it would be something like that and it turned out to be something completely different. But I liked it anyway.
   "After the first or second year I started going to camps in the off-season because I found it was something I really enjoyed and wanted to get better at. I’ve been going to camps in the fall and the summer. And the past two years I’ve been going two nights a week to clubs. I travel about 40 minutes to get to each one, but it’s worth it."
   And even though Rotella didn’t get the district title he wanted, he did come back to beat the champion in the regions a week later. For Rotella, the season turned out just fine.
   "This season in general was a real success for me in my mind," he said. "I’ve advanced farther than I have in the past. I took fourth at regions, I had a good record, and it was good to go through the season with a lot of success."
   And he put his name in the WW-P North record book in a lot of places. It figures to stay there for a long time.