Brothers set for MCT wrestling
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The Matt and Jon Redmond that Christopher Manente sees at wrestling practice every day are a lot different than the Matt and Jon Redmond the rest of the school sees all day long.
”They’re both really interesting guys,” said Manente, the first-year West Windsor-Plainsboro High South wrestling coach. “From what everyone tells me, they’re real quiet off the mat. But when you get them on the mat they’re pretty aggressive guys. No one who knows them outside of wrestling can imagine they’re wrestlers. They’re real aggressive when they wrestle. Jon leads the team right now with seven wins. And Matt is also just a sophomore and doing well for us.”
The Redmond brothers are two of the bright spots during what has been a tough season for the youthful Pirates. The team fell to 0-15 with a loss to South Brunswick on Wednesday. But with a roster full of young wrestlers, including the Redmonds, there is hope down the line.
”We have 10 freshmen, 10 sophomores, two juniors and a senior in the program right now, that’s my team,” said Manente, whose team will compete in the Mercer County Tournament beginning this evening at Trenton High. “So we’re very young. If they all stick with it, in two years we’ll have 10 seniors and 10 juniors. That will be an experienced team.
”I’m new and I have a lot to learn myself. It’s hard because I’ve never lost much in my life. I’m used to winning, whether it was in the Army or in sports. I was the kind of guy who would run through a brick wall to win. These guys are like that. To have a set of brothers like that who want to win that badly is great to have on the team.”
Both Matt and Jon got their start in the sport at the same time. They were in sixth grade at Grover Middle School when they first caught the wrestling bug.
”We would wrestle around in the room and our dad told us we should try wrestling in school,” Jon said. “I think with both of us being on the team, we help each other a lot. Our whole team is pretty young. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores and our whole team has been learning a lot this year.”
Added Matt: “Our dad and grandpa both wrestled and we just wanted to try it and see how it was. It turned out that we both liked it.”
Like the rest of the Pirates, the Redmond brothers are a work in progress. They both saw limited action a year ago, but have been regulars in the South lineup this year.
”Last year I wrestled a few matches with the varsity, but it was on and off,” Matt said. “This year I’ve been wrestling more and learning from my mistakes. I try to work on as many things as I can in practice. We wrestle against each other a lot in practice, but sometimes we’re with other people.
”This has been a good learning year for us. Next year and for several years beyond that I think we’ll be an improved team.”
The Redmonds have fit nicely into the lineup at 125 and 130 for the Pirates, who appear to have a bright future.
”I think our team will be really good,” said Jon, who was fourth at 130 in a JV tournament at Hamilton last weekend. “We’ve improved a lot this year. Last year, I only wrestled in a match or two with the varsity. This year I’ve had a chance to wrestle more and I can tell I have gotten better.”
For Manente, having two brothers who are into the sport can only help as the Pirates look to take steps forward. He likes what each brings to the team in their own unique way.
”When you are around twins you pick up little cues and aspects from each of them,” Manente said. “Matt is slightly shorter and a little stockier. Jon is tall and thin all the way through. When they’re wrestling they’re very similar in style. Sometimes during a match when they’re out there I just yell ‘Redmond’ to get their attention. Jon tends to be a little calmer before a match. Matt gets real anxious.”
Manente holds no illusions of his team somehow coming together and winning an MCT title this weekend. But, he does see improvement each day, which is what he is looking for from his team.
”I know I can say that all of these guys are better wrestlers now than they were when we started in November,” Manente said. “They’ve been improving and that is great to see. I really hope they maintain that and keep wrestling.
”We have some guys with good momentum going right now. I’m looking forward to the gap we have between our last match and the start of districts. That will be a good opportunity for us to work and improve.”