Eagles Varsity Wrestling Back on the Mat

High School Wrestling in the region has seen a large resurgence in the past couple of years, and South Hunterdon is part of that trend.

Eagles wrestling went dark in 2001, until it was revived by Coach Leigh Hall in 2022. Sports journalist Mike Weilamann documented the comeback and history of Wrestling at South in his 2022 article.

This year, that saga continued as the Eagles graduated from having just a Junior Varsity offering, and entered Varsity wrestling arena for the first time in almost a quarter century.

South Hunterdon Eagles 2024/25 Varsity Wrestling Team. Photo courtesy of South Hunterdon Regional School District.

Local journalists have noticed South's return the mat, and with excitement rising as South has managed to even ring up some wins. The Trentonian covered the recent loss to Hamilton in a positive fashion, gushing:

"A 58-15 loss to Hamilton West on Wednesday night not withstanding, you really have to like what’s going on with South Hunterdon High School wrestling these days.

The biggest plus, of course, is the fact the Eagles are wrestling at all. This is their first year on the varsity level after a 24-year absence dating back to the end of the 2001 season when they shut the program down. While there’s a sense of realism knowing this is going to take some time, there’s also a lot of enthusiasm as the program reestablishes itself and looks forward to what’s ahead".

The Bucks County Herald describes the adjustments in shifting from JV to Varsity. "After three years on the JV mat, Hall decided it was time to go varsity this season. The deck was reshuffled and the Eagles gained a slot in the Skyland Conference Mountain Division. That meant going up against bigger schools such as Bound Brook, Belvidere and Manville. It was tough grappling too as junior Deegan Manfready was the only winner vs. the Crusaders while senior Noah Legg and sophomore Milo Dopp notched the only pins for South Hunterdon Jan. 3 vs. the County Seaters".

To celebrate, earlier this month South Hunterdon Athletics posted a short video celebrating the progress and the athletes leading the program, shown below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEA_b7HJOd8

As of this writing the Eagles have continued to gain momentum, nudging their way up to 4 tournaments in the "win" column.