Katonah's John Jay carves out place in school history
Katonah's John Jay carves out place in school history
By KATIE BECKMANN
FOR THE JOURNAL NEWS
KATONAH - The John Jay wrestling team has carved out a place in school history.
The Indians (19-5) beat visiting Beacon 60-18 on Jan. 31 to clinch the first league championship in school history.
"It's major," said John Jay coach Bill Swertfager, who is a Katonah resident. "There are no wrestling banners in the school, and we wanted to correct that."
There was also a festive atmosphere at the gymnasium as the Indians gave away T-shirts to the first 300 to attend. Swertfager estimates a crowd of more than 400 was on hand.
"It was by far the biggest dual meet, standing-room only crowd I have ever seen before for a high school match," Swertfager said.
There was also a performance by the student a cappella group "Rolling Tones" as well as the John Jay dance team. Parents of senior members of the team were also recognized.
"This event was one of the most special moments I have ever had in my 30-plus years since I stepped foot on the mat my freshman year in high school at Greeley," Swertfager said.
John Jay fans had plenty to celebrate both against Beacon and this entire season. The Indians have dominated almost every team they've wrestled against. The two closest matches for them came against a very strong Somers team, whom they beat 34-30 and 39-25, respectively.
John Jay has been led by senior captains Kyle Friedman and Greg Scott and freshmen Henry Stauber and Billy Watterson. Besides those four wrestlers, Swertfager noted the improvement of two of his senior captains: Nick Schede and Matt Phillips.
"This was the first time Nick ever started, and at the beginning of the season we weren't even sure if he was going to start," Swertfager said. "He has way surpassed what I thought he was going to do this year. I was very pleasantly surprised. Matt had a very rocky start, but he definitely turned it on the second half of the season. He's come a long way."
Swertfager credits his team's success to the great attitude of his athletes.
"Their work ethic is tremendous," Swertfager said.
"When most coaches have to try to get their athletes to gear up, I have to gear them back. I don't want them to burn out.
"They're working out in the morning, during wrestling practice, and at night. We're going to cut practices shorter, because we want them to stay fresh. This is the time of the season when kids get injured or burned out, and hopefully they'll listen and stay healthy."