'And it goes on': Somerville wrestling earns program's 750th win

SOMERVILLE – A spectator had a question for two men before Wednesday’s Somerville wrestling match: “Do you guys know which way the gym is?”

Yeah, right. It would be akin to asking them if they knew that Somerville’s school colors are orange and black and that wrestling matches start in neutral.

Of course, it was a joke.

The two men were Dave Kinney, a two-time state champion in the late 1950s and later a Somerville coach, and his teammate Victor Valentino. The person asking the question, Rodney Van Ness, is another Somerville legend from the 1990s and not far behind was another alum, Mike Suk, a former ultra-successful Somerville coach.

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Somerville is just one of those schools with storied athletic programs. A trophy case outside the main gym displays a picture of the 1940 wrestling team, not far from a football picture from 1915 and a track trophy from 1922.

The wrestling roots run deep with several big moments and hand raises through the decades.

Wednesday, the current generation of Pioneers defeated Belvidere 60-12 for the program’s 750th career win on Alumni Night. It was like the black-and-white pictures and names on the school’s athletic Hall of Fame plaques came alive to stand up and cheer, breathing life as every past Somerville wrestler had a hand in the milestone.

The Pioneers’ overall program mark is 750-413-5 dating back to 1935, according to the school’s records.

“We’re certainly trying to keep the legacy of Somerville wrestling going,” head coach Matt Bloom said. “I talk to Dave Kinney almost every week and Dave Kinney was …”

Bloom pointed to the gym wall with the list of state champions, and continued, “ ‘58, ‘59, he wrestled. He’s still very close to the program. So you see these guys, pretty much from every decade coming back, really caring and supporting the program which is one of the great things about sports. You have little kids on a mat that can barely walk all the way to guys in their 80s that still come out here and support us. That’s what so cool about wrestling.”

Now, the team’s four seniors are setting the pace. Jason Daleo (132), Ryan Closterman (157) and Anthony Mayers (165) each scored pins Wednesday, while Fabian Acuna (175) earned a 15-10 decision.

Also earning wins against Belvidere were Luke Metrovsky (106), Valarie Maldonado (120), Aidyn Herrera (126), Brady Closterman (144), Tanner Williamson (150) and Estaban Fernandez (285), while Mathias Gonzalez (138) won by forfeit.

This year’s Pioneers (2-0) have 21 first- or second-year wrestlers in the program. Bloom noted, “Our four seniors are kind of leading us through this and the young guys have done a good job trying to match their effort and their pace. So it’s been good.”

Ryan Closterman is the latest wrestler to etch his name in the program’s lore. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler of last year’s Somerset County Tournament for his win at 157 and went 27-6. This season, he’s continued his ascent and reached the finals of the difficult Sam Cali Invitational on Dec. 28.

“There is a great spirit in the room,” Closterman said. “We all motivate each other to work hard.”

Are the current wrestlers aware of the program’s history?

“Yeah, we’re aware,” Closterman said. “We’re aware. We look forward to these big matches, getting these wins. … I do find myself looking at the trophy cases. I’m always staring at the names. I want my name to be on there this season. So that’s one of my goals. I use it as motivation.”

The program’s next generation of stars include the fledging girls program. Senior Valarie Maldonado is a three-time state placewinner and junior Emme Hoarle finished fifth in the state last season.

After Wednesday’s win, all the past and current wrestlers posed for a picture holding a banner that had 750 wins on it.

“As you can see tonight here at the alumni match, the history runs deep,” said Rodney Van Ness, who took third in the state in 1992 and had over 100 wins at Rutgers. “The tradition and the history of wrestling here at Somerville is just incredible and it was great to be a part of and I’m still a part of it. I come back to all these alumni events and continue to support the program.”

For the lineage, one has to return to Fred Christ’s coaching tenure from 1950 through 1973. He had a 141-49 dual meet record and the Pioneers were the No. 1 team in the state in 1959. Another impressive stat – 31 of his former wrestlers became coaches.

In turn for Kinney, seeing some of his former wrestlers come back “is the reward.” Kinney, who wrestled at Purdue, coached the Pioneers from 1972 to 1985 and two seasons in the mid-1990s.

“That’s a high for me,” said Kinney, noting that Somerville wrestling has been a passion of his for 70 years. “You have different choices in your life and to give back is a big one. That makes me so happy when I see people here tonight and other times giving back to the program – that’s the best. It makes it all worth it.”

Kinney and Valentino both had sons who wrestled for Somerville. Others had brothers and cousins, uncles as well, who put on a Somerville singlet. The DNA has a long reach.

“And it goes on,” Van Ness said. “It’s not going anywhere, anytime soon.”

Somerset County Tournament team champions (1976 first season)

• 1977, 1982, 1995 (coach Dave Kinney)

• 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 (Mike Suk)

• 1999 (Mike Corbett)

Somerville’s state champions (16)

• John Teicher, 1940 (125)

• Lawrence Mackey, 1941 (175)

• Frank Perantoni, 1941 (HWT)

• Lowell Curtis, 1951 (155)

• Bill Shearer, 1952 (148)

• Alan Bell, 1952 (168)

• Sam Crosby, 1954 (157)

• Gus Rutledge, 1955 (136)

• Dave Kinney, 1958 (148), 1959 (148)

• George Reid, 1960 (148)

• Wayne Hicks, 1961 (106), 1962 (115)

• Frank Arcidiacono 1961 (115)

• Dave Alter, 1961 (178)

• Jimmy Kirchner, 2008 (125)

Somerville’s 100-win wrestlers

• Evan Drill (134)

• Jimmy Kirchner (126)

• Nick Wahba (116)

• Paul Kirchner (113)

• Kyle Ferris (110)

• Allen Van Ness (109)

• Joe Aldrich (106)

• Micah Blair (104)

• Brock Laggini (102)

• Dan Soffer (100)

• Kyle Sutphen (100)

Three-time SCT champions (8)

• Jimmy Kirchner (4x)

• Brian Bauer

• Phil DiBetta

• Evan Drill

• Kyle Ferris

• Kyle Sutphen

• Dave Valentino

• Evan Williams

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ wrestling: Somerville earns program's 750th win