Montclair Wrestling Perseveres
With A Dedicated Group In Room

MONTCLAIR- Ryan Corbosiero was a very young athlete on the rise in nearby Cedar Grove the last time Montclair High had a state champion wrestler back in 1997 when Israel Cronk finished first at 171 pounds at historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

And, also excuse the Mounties’ 39-year-old fourth-year head coach if he never heard of Mike Arace, the late Mounties coach who helped lead wrestling’s revival as a vital part of the winter sports activities at MHS back in the 1970s.

It’s a different world in many respects today for New Jersey high school wrestling as the number of schools still maintaining a viable mat program have certainly dwindled in numbers.

Outside of boxing, ultimate fighting, and perhaps Australian rugby, there is no tougher sport than wrestling. Still, lifelong enthusiasts of the mat sport such as Corbosiero, who is a former football and wrestling standout at Cedar Grove, help keep the sport going at the scholastic level.

Some of the smaller schools, including local privates such as Montclair Kimberley Academy and Newark Academy, have either dropped the sport, or have persevered with limited numbers. MKA ended wrestling in its winter sports menu after its longtime coach Neal Picillo stepped aside.

Newark Academy, which had its moments under former head coach Jay Gerish, still has a team, but with limited numbers in the room.

And, the size of the school is not always the indicator of whether or not a program has its struggles with numbers. Montclair High is a Group 5 program with a current roster at 18 which is better than some other teams, but certainly not the optimum number you would desire to have at a large public school.

Still, the current Mounties march along. Standout junior lower weights wrestler Gavin Nobles has returned to the lineup after missing nearly a month after absorbing a hip injury in the early-season Goles Tournament at Warren Hills back in late December. He was still recovering when the Essex County Tournament was recently held (Jan. 21-22) at the Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange, where the Mounties did have nine of its wrestlers compete, led by senior co-captain Kaiden Usher at 157 who won his first match with an 8-1 decision over West Essex’s Feder Lustado before losing in a technical fall (18-2) to Cedar Grove’s football star quarterback Pierce Asfalg in the quarterfinals.

The Mounties’ other co-captain, junior Mason Mackay, was pinned by Milan Connoly in 5:40 at 138 pounds.

Nobles (120 or 126) and Usher, who both finished third in the District 10 Tournament last season, should be available for the 2026 Districts set for Saturday, Feb. 28, which are then followed by Region 3 at West Orange on March 6-7.

The NJSIAA state individual finals in Atlantic City are set for March 12-14.

While it’s been 29 years since a Mountie stood atop the podium as a first-place finisher in AC, that dream is always there for every wrestler, although Corbosiero would be happy at this point to see a member of his current MHS mat squad first compete for a District 10 title and then look to place in the Regions.

“We have a great group of dedicated kids who come into the room ready to work hard every day,” said Corbosiero, who has been an elementary school physical education teacher in Montclair for the past 11 years. “We certainly hope to have a few of our wrestlers make some noise in the Districts.

“Mason Mackay is one of the hardest working kids on the team and I believe that work ethic can take him to another level. Caden Usher is a top senior leader and outstanding wrestler for us, and Gavin Nobles could definitely make some noise in the tournaments.”

Among the other Mounties who competed, but were also eliminated in the first round of the recent ECT, were young, up-and-comping grapplers in freshman Henry Osborn at 126, sophomore Elon Schneider at 132, junior Tyler Martin at 144, sophomore Jordan Rodriguez at 150, sophomore Jon Gaspri at 175, freshman Christian Delarosa at 190 and sophomore Kwamaine Terry at 215.

Terry is the only current Mountie football player on the MHS mat squad. Traditionally, and certainly at small schools such as Cedar Grove, having members of the fall season’s gridiron squad transition to wrestling in the winter was a typical occurrence.

“We certainly had a number of football players at Cedar Grove who also wrestled, and that’s something we’ll continue to strive to have here at Montclair,” said Corbosiero, who was a line coach for the Mounties football squad last fall. “There are some terrific athletes at Montclair High and we’ll continue to encourage kids to give wrestling a shot, because it is such a great, highly-competitive and very rewarding sport to be a part of.”

An added plus in that department might be the addition this season of former Mountie all-state football linebacker Willie Matthews, who coached that sport last fall, but now adds his enthusiasm and fiery spirit in the room for the MHS wrestling squad.

“Willie never wrestled, but his presence and ability to motivate kids is terrific to have in our room,” said Corbosiero. “I’m fortunate to have very good coaches alongside me.”

Former West Orange wrestler James Benjamin and ex-Cedar Grove wrestler Jack Schultz help round out the Mounties’ wrestling coaching staff.

And, the Mounties (4-10, 2-2 in the Super Essex Conference-Colonial Division) continue their work in the room and in upcoming duals, quads and tournaments.

Plus, as a ninth seed just behind 8-Clifton, there is still an outside shot of qualifying in Group 5 for the NJSIAA team tournament which begins on Monday, Feb. 16.

“We’re just going to continue to wrestle hard, look to improve and always compete to the best of our ability,” said Corbosiero. “We’re encouraged by the progress of a number of kids on our team.

“I love teaching and coaching at Montclair and I look forward to some great days ahead with this wrestling program while hopefully adding many more new kids to the team as we continue to move forward.”

NOTES- Corbosiero was an assistant coach for eight seasons under his own former Panthers head mat mentor Derrick Goduto at Cedar Grove and also served as head coach at Passaic for four years….Goduto was an nj.com  and Region 2 Coach of the Year in 2017 and a 3-time District 13 Coach of the Year during a superb run guiding Cedar Grove wrestling that included three Group 1 sectional state titles…Goduto went on to be a successful assistant coach for The College of New Jersey…Corbosiero was a nose guard and offensive guard in helping to lead both sides of the line for legendary coach Ed Sadloch and the Cedar Grove football team and wrestled for coach Bob Brady with the Panthers…Montclair has an upcoming quad with Kittatinny and Nutley at Rutherford on Saturday morning, Feb. 7. Then, the Mounties are Secaucus, 5 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 11, before hosting the annual Katon Washington Cup ‘Super Quad’ with six teams expected to come out to the MHS gym on Saturday, Feb. 14, to help honor the memory of Washington, a late, great former Mountie wrestler….Two of the Mountie female wrestlers, sophomores Olivia Monderoy and Annastasia Zerenin, emerged as finalists in the recent ECT girls event at Codey Arena…Corbosiero is currently teaching at the Charles Bullock elementary school in Montclair.