Before the season, the wrestling team hired physical education teacher Michael Markey to the head coaching position.

He hopes to promote a new culture while bringing in new philosophies. Markey’s an eager coach ready to bring the wrestling team to the top.

Markey began as an assistant coach for West Essex back in 2009 under Greg Ruggiero. This year, the two switched roles, leaving Mr. Markey in the position he has been waiting for all of his career.

“I want to be able to compete with the best wrestling teams in the state and it just so happens New Jersey is one of the best wrestling states in the nation,” Mr. Markey said.

Markey excelled in both football and wrestling in high school and continued to play both sports through college.

“I was adamant about playing football and wrestling in college and TCNJ was one of the few schools that would let do both,” Markey said.

“Rutgers was one of the schools big on me wrestling as well as Clarion, but I could not play football.”

Markey said excelling at both football and wrestling helped his career athletically and led into coaching careers in both sports.

Wrestling has become an important part of his life since becoming head coach, and he hopes that the team will begin to draw more attention.

Markey created an Instagram account for the team to highlight its wrestlers and generate fan support for the team.

“Social media is a great avenue to start interest in the program and give mini insights into who we are and what we are doing,” Markey said.

“We would love to pack the stands for every match, but people have to know about us before they come check us out.”

The wrestling team has always competed at their highest standards, but Mr. Markey hopes to bring the team to a new level. Going up against some extremely tough competition this year, Markey hopes it can turn into a season where they begin to get viewed as a top team in the state.

His wrestlers are buying into his philosophy. “Once the team gets energy, we roll and there’s no stopping us,” freshman Jack Ruane said.

Markey said many wrestlers come in with little to no experience, but that does not stop them from becoming talented. “The old saying is it’s not how you start it’s how you finish,” Markey said.

“In our program we have seen guys start with very little experience and end their career as an elite wrestler.”