By Young Se Choi ’18, Staff Writer

Around this time last year, the future of the Newark Academy wrestling team was a bit blurry. The team certainly didn’t have a perfect record, and eventually had to move down to a lower conference by the end of the year. In addition, no one quite knew what to expect with the departure of their head coach, Jay Gerish, who had led the squad for years. Another major loss was graduating senior Steve Bonsall. Apart from his many victories and excellent individual record, he offered the team a great sense of leadership and enthusiasm, which was clearly evident in his animated morning meeting announcements. It’s safe to say that there was a whole lot of change occurring in the program in preparation for this season.

However, this year’s Newark Academy wrestling squad has defied the odds of last season and is already off to a blazing start for the start of the new 2017 season. In the first week of January, the team came out victorious in convincing fashion against high schools Weequahic, Shabazz, and Glen Ridge. Led by senior captains Will Schwartz and Jason Katz, their current record places their wrestling team in 2nd place in their conference. If they continue their strong form, they will surely be strong contenders for the conference championship. I had the chance to talk to Alex Dion, a junior and third year wrestler for Newark Academy. When I asked him about the team’s success so far,  he responded, “I think the captains are great because they push us to work harder during practices and the new coach fits well into the team too. It’s been a great start despite what others may think.”

But what has been another key aspect to the team’s success? One answer to that question is the emergence of freshman Seth Levine. At 98 pounds, Seth is wrestling in the 106-pound weight class and is still coming up with crucial victories for the team. When I talked to him about the team’s success as a whole and how he’s fitting in he said, “I’ve been wrestling for a while and I’ve played on different teams. But for me, this one is special because there’s a great sense of camaraderie here and everyone’s been working hard during practices in general.”

Freshmen are important facets to a sports team; they provide the future of the program. Certainly with the case of Seth Levine, he has shown the massive potential for the future of Newark Academy wrestling. And he isn’t slowing down either: “I’m happy about my start to the season and hope to continue it.”

What’s most particularly surprising about this wrestling team, however, is the fact that NA has never really been known for its wrestling. Tennis and swimming and sometimes even soccer have always dominated the headlines of New Jersey high school sports websites. However, with the emergence of a strong roster and potential contenders for the conference championship, journalists this year will have a lot of positives to write about this season.