Jr. Bulldogs Addison and Horan Medal at Youth States Wrestling

Two of Fair Haven's young wrestlers took home medals recently at the USA Wrestling-NJ Kids State Championship.

Nick Addison, a fifth grader at  in , took fourth place in the 9-10 year old, 95 lb. weight class and Liam Horan,a fourth grader at Knollwood School, took eighth place in the 9-10 year old, 85 lb weight class on March 18, 2012 at Union High School.

"Liam and Nick are two of the hardest working kids in the room.  It is great to see that their hard work has paid off for them in the form of a state medal," said Tom Skove, one of the Jr. Bulldog coaches and a 2-time Region 6 champion and state medal winner from Long Branch High School. "But they are just the tip of the iceberg.  The Jr. Bulldogs are loaded with talent and we expect to see many others achieve this type of success in the next couple of years."

Addison pinned his first opponent, from Rutherford, in 55 seconds, before losing to the number one seed from River Dell, NJ in the second round. Addison then won three consecutive matches against wrestlers (including two 2011 state medalists) from Montgomery, Toms River and Shawnee before losing to a Pascack Hills wrestler in the third place match to take fourth Place. Addison had two pins in his four wins on the day.

Liam Horan had a bye in the first round by virtue of his first place finish at the Toms River Qualifying Tournament.  Horan then won his match in the second round, 9-2, over a Livingston, NJ wrestler, before losing to the eventual third place finisher (a state medalist in 2010, 2011 and 2012) from Cresskill, NJ, in the quarterfinals.  Horan went on to win a nail-biter, 5-3, against a 2010 state medalist from Rockleigh, NJ to earn his place on the podium.  Horan then lost two very close matches in the medal round (both to 2011 and 2012 state medalists) from Victory Wrestling Club and Cranford to take eighth place.

Both Addison and Horan trained extremely hard, attending practice four days a week with the Jr. Bulldogs and at local advanced wrestling clubs in order to prepare for the State Tournament.  

USA Wrestling-NJ is an organization dedicated to growing the sport of wrestling in New Jersey.  They held eight state qualifying tournaments between January 15 and March 4th.  Those who finish in the top 3 at each qualifying tournament, qualify for the Kids' Scholastic State Championships.  Horan attended the qualifier at Toms River High School East on January 15th and placed first. Addison attended the Qualifier at Howell High School on February 26 and placed second.

The Rumson-Fair Haven Jr. Bulldogs Wrestling Club continues to build on its success.  In 2010-11, the Jr. Bulldogs had four wrestlers medal in the Jersey Shore Junior Wrestling League (JSJWL) B Division Championships and had one wrestler qualify and medal in the USA Wrestling-NJ Kids State Championships. In 2011-12, the Jr. Bulldogs, had five wrestlers medal in the JSJWL B Division Championships and had three wrestlers qualify, two who medaled, in the USA Wrestling-NJ Kids State Championships.

The RFH Junior Bulldog Wrestling Club is open to children from first through the eighth grade.  For information visit the club's Web site.