St. John Vianney wrestling team is looking better than ever
January 10, 2025 at 7:00 a.m.
In the Spiderman movie, when Uncle Ben told Peter Parker “With great power comes great responsibility,” he might as well have been coach Chris Notte speaking with his St. John Vianney, Holmdel, wrestling team.
The Lancers are the reigning NJSIAA Non-Public B and Shore Conference tournament champs and look better than last year’s team that finished 14-1. The Lancers still have three-time state champion Anthony Knox. They have welcomed last year’s 285-pound state champ Rocco Dellagatta (a St. Joe’s, Montvale transfer), and return state place winners Matthew Gould, Patrick O’Keefe, Jake Zaltsman and state qualifiers Dezmond Lenaghan and Cole Stangle.
That is truly “great power” and Notte has addressed it with his squad.
“I told them, ‘The higher level of ability our team has comes with responsibility,” he said. “The more expectations come, the more haters come, the more people who want to beat you come. You guys have targets on your back. It’s always harder to repeat than it is to acquire one.’”
SJV's Anthony Knox, a three-time defending state champion headed for Cornell, launches a foe during the Catholic Duals tournament at CBA. Knox is the top-ranked 126-pound wrestler in the nation. Photo courtesy of Pat Smith SJV cannot repeat as Non-Public B champs as it has been moved to Non-Public A. To reach the pinnacle the Lancers must get through Delbarton, Morristown, the defending A champion currently ranked No. 1 in the state.
The fourth-ranked Lancers (6-1) fell to Delbarton, 47-17, in the Catholic School Duals tournament Jan. 4. In that same event they beat No. 7 Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft; No. 8 Don Bosco, Ramsey, and No. 18 Seton Hall Prep, West Orange. On Jan. 8 they took down No. 5 Southern, Manahawkin.
Notte knows Delbarton is the gold standard that everyone is chasing. He was happy to wrestle them this early in the season.
“We’re lucky we had Delbarton now,” the coach said. “We lost but that provided us with a blueprint of what we have to work on against those guys. We’ve got two full months to get ready.”
There is a lot to look forward to before then, including a possible Delbarton rematch at the Jack Welch dual meet tournament, a rematch with CBA, a bout with No. 10 Rumson-Fair Haven and the Shore Conference championship.
Leading the charge is Cornell University-bound Knox, the nation’s top-ranked 126-pounder who is looking to become the fifth four-time state champion in state history. At FloWrestling’s “Who’s Number One” tournament in Johnstown, Pa., Sep. 30, Knox was named the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week by U.S. Airforce Special Warfare.
“He’s better than ever,” Notte said. “We can talk about his freshman, sophomore, junior campaigns and how good he was, but he’s doing things he wasn’t doing back then. He has diversified his offense. He has added more offensive attacks and set-ups.
“With his strength training in the off-season he’s so fast,” he continued. “His fast twitch fiber (muscle) ability at this level is literally second to none. He’s so gifted. He travels a lot; he works out with Cornell and is training with college men pretty frequently.”
Notte praised Knox for his leadership, as the Freehold resident often includes his talented teammates on trips to his club or invites them to his home where he has a mat set up in his basement.
“Whether they’re just regional qualifiers, state place-winners, it’s always a group thing,” Notte said. “Knox is always in their corner cheering them on, giving them advice.”
And the coach loves that Knox’s enthusiasm is shared by his teammates.
Rocco Dellagatta, a transfer from St. Joe's, Montvale, takes down his opponent at the Catholic Duals tournament. Dellagatta is the defending state champion at 285 pounds. Photo courtesy of Pat Smith “If your buddy is a three-time state champ, you’re gonna pal around with this guy,” Notte said, adding with a laugh, “It’s like ‘Let me set up a tent in your backyard, see what you’re doing, what you’re eating, what time you’re waking up. Let me get a bite of your sandwich.’”
It’s paying off. O’Keefe placed at Delaware’s heralded Beast of the East tournament for the first time since his freshman year (taking third), and Zaltsman placed for the second straight season. Knox said all his returning state qualifiers “are bigger and stronger and doing more training-wise. They got better at things they were doing and started doing things they were not doing. You could see it in Jake and Patrick’s wrestling at Beast of the East.”
Notte is also high on junior Abe Adu-Amoako, a first-year varsity wrestler who came over from the football team.
“He never wrestled before, but he never stops, year round,” Notte said. “He loves to train and watch film. He asks questions. He wants to get better each day.”
Overall, it is a cast of wrestlers prepared to do good things, but it will not be easy with Delbarton and St. Joe’s both in Non-Public A. In looking for inspiration to defeat the Green Wave, Notte pointed to the 1980 Russian hockey team upset by America in the Olympics and the 18-0 Patriots upset by the Giants in the Super Bowl.
“The common denominator for those teams was toughness,” he said. “I’d just like to see a little more toughness emerge with us. You gotta be tough to face adversity. That is the intangible.”
Another intangible is dealing with the pressure of being one of the state’s best, but the coach has no worries there.
“We love being in this situation, we have a team full of personalities,” Notte said. “I would not say there’s pressure on us. We have fun with it. We have fun with our wins, and we learn from our losses.”
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In the Spiderman movie, when Uncle Ben told Peter Parker “With great power comes great responsibility,” he might as well have been coach Chris Notte speaking with his St. John Vianney, Holmdel, wrestling team.
The Lancers are the reigning NJSIAA Non-Public B and Shore Conference tournament champs and look better than last year’s team that finished 14-1. The Lancers still have three-time state champion Anthony Knox. They have welcomed last year’s 285-pound state champ Rocco Dellagatta (a St. Joe’s, Montvale transfer), and return state place winners Matthew Gould, Patrick O’Keefe, Jake Zaltsman and state qualifiers Dezmond Lenaghan and Cole Stangle.
That is truly “great power” and Notte has addressed it with his squad.
“I told them, ‘The higher level of ability our team has comes with responsibility,” he said. “The more expectations come, the more haters come, the more people who want to beat you come. You guys have targets on your back. It’s always harder to repeat than it is to acquire one.’”
SJV's Anthony Knox, a three-time defending state champion headed for Cornell, launches a foe during the Catholic Duals tournament at CBA. Knox is the top-ranked 126-pound wrestler in the nation. Photo courtesy of Pat Smith SJV cannot repeat as Non-Public B champs as it has been moved to Non-Public A. To reach the pinnacle the Lancers must get through Delbarton, Morristown, the defending A champion currently ranked No. 1 in the state.
The fourth-ranked Lancers (6-1) fell to Delbarton, 47-17, in the Catholic School Duals tournament Jan. 4. In that same event they beat No. 7 Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft; No. 8 Don Bosco, Ramsey, and No. 18 Seton Hall Prep, West Orange. On Jan. 8 they took down No. 5 Southern, Manahawkin.
Notte knows Delbarton is the gold standard that everyone is chasing. He was happy to wrestle them this early in the season.
“We’re lucky we had Delbarton now,” the coach said. “We lost but that provided us with a blueprint of what we have to work on against those guys. We’ve got two full months to get ready.”
There is a lot to look forward to before then, including a possible Delbarton rematch at the Jack Welch dual meet tournament, a rematch with CBA, a bout with No. 10 Rumson-Fair Haven and the Shore Conference championship.
Leading the charge is Cornell University-bound Knox, the nation’s top-ranked 126-pounder who is looking to become the fifth four-time state champion in state history. At FloWrestling’s “Who’s Number One” tournament in Johnstown, Pa., Sep. 30, Knox was named the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week by U.S. Airforce Special Warfare.
“He’s better than ever,” Notte said. “We can talk about his freshman, sophomore, junior campaigns and how good he was, but he’s doing things he wasn’t doing back then. He has diversified his offense. He has added more offensive attacks and set-ups.
“With his strength training in the off-season he’s so fast,” he continued. “His fast twitch fiber (muscle) ability at this level is literally second to none. He’s so gifted. He travels a lot; he works out with Cornell and is training with college men pretty frequently.”
Notte praised Knox for his leadership, as the Freehold resident often includes his talented teammates on trips to his club or invites them to his home where he has a mat set up in his basement.
“Whether they’re just regional qualifiers, state place-winners, it’s always a group thing,” Notte said. “Knox is always in their corner cheering them on, giving them advice.”
And the coach loves that Knox’s enthusiasm is shared by his teammates.
Rocco Dellagatta, a transfer from St. Joe's, Montvale, takes down his opponent at the Catholic Duals tournament. Dellagatta is the defending state champion at 285 pounds. Photo courtesy of Pat Smith “If your buddy is a three-time state champ, you’re gonna pal around with this guy,” Notte said, adding with a laugh, “It’s like ‘Let me set up a tent in your backyard, see what you’re doing, what you’re eating, what time you’re waking up. Let me get a bite of your sandwich.’”
It’s paying off. O’Keefe placed at Delaware’s heralded Beast of the East tournament for the first time since his freshman year (taking third), and Zaltsman placed for the second straight season. Knox said all his returning state qualifiers “are bigger and stronger and doing more training-wise. They got better at things they were doing and started doing things they were not doing. You could see it in Jake and Patrick’s wrestling at Beast of the East.”
Notte is also high on junior Abe Adu-Amoako, a first-year varsity wrestler who came over from the football team.
“He never wrestled before, but he never stops, year round,” Notte said. “He loves to train and watch film. He asks questions. He wants to get better each day.”
Overall, it is a cast of wrestlers prepared to do good things, but it will not be easy with Delbarton and St. Joe’s both in Non-Public A. In looking for inspiration to defeat the Green Wave, Notte pointed to the 1980 Russian hockey team upset by America in the Olympics and the 18-0 Patriots upset by the Giants in the Super Bowl.
“The common denominator for those teams was toughness,” he said. “I’d just like to see a little more toughness emerge with us. You gotta be tough to face adversity. That is the intangible.”
Another intangible is dealing with the pressure of being one of the state’s best, but the coach has no worries there.
“We love being in this situation, we have a team full of personalities,” Notte said. “I would not say there’s pressure on us. We have fun with it. We have fun with our wins, and we learn from our losses.”