By JIM MACLEAN
Mark Swertfager can’t even remember the first time he stepped into the wrestling room at John Jay.
He was too young, but he sure has spent a lot of hours in the room at John Jay Middle School since that first time. He has been in the room just about his entire life, watching his father Bill Swertfager restart the John Jay wrestling program starting back in 1998 with a youth program and a varsity team in 2002. Mark wrestled for his dad four years on varsity helping John Jay win two Section 1 team championships in those four years. Now, he is back taking over as the head coach of the John Jay varsity wrestling team.
“I’ve been in this room longer than I can remember, just following my dad around,” admitted Swertfager. “I started youth wrestling when I was six, and now I get to be in charge. I’m still pinching myself, the emotions I feel being back in this room with the coaches and wrestlers. I can’t wait to get started.”
He was a three-sport athlete at John Jay playing varsity football, wrestling and baseball. After graduating, Swertfager went on to play collegiate baseball at Marist College, but wrestling has always been a big part of his life.
“Baseball is my first love, but everything I do in life draws me back to wrestling, the work you need to put in, the dedication, the character that it builds, all the life skills that you develop from wrestling. I want to give that back to the kids and the community of John Jay wrestling.”
Swertfager takes over a team with some senior veterans and a lot of youngsters ready to build the program back up. Will Carter, last year’s varsity head coach, is back to help him build the program along with assistant coach Chris Cook.
Leading the way for the Wolves will be seniors Jojo Kern, Austin Omin and Jake Llanos. Kern missed all of last season with an injury, while Llanos placed at sectionals last year for the Wolves.
“Team’s looking good, we’ve got about 40 guys and we’re excited where we are and where we want to be as a program. Six out of the eight guys that made it to sectionals are back, we’ve got some good senior leaders and a tough freshman class of 14 kids that we hope to see grow this year.”
Swertfager knows that this is just the first step to build a program. He has seen what it takes to create a program that year in and year out competes and wins and builds a community that lasts for decades with new kids coming and going each year. He has been around high school sports his entire life, watching his dad and the wrestling program at John Jay and his mom, Diane Swertfager, building a volleyball program at Hen Hud that has won several Section 1 and New York state championships.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and I learned from the best, my dad and my mom, I grew up in that sports environment. Wrestling can be a brutal sport, and you need your brothers and family working together. You want to build a community, everyone in it together, and that’s what we want to do here at John Jay.”
John Jay was set to start the season on the roa d at Edgemont on Wednesday, and the Wolves will then compete in the Horace Greeley Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 7. The Wolves home opening match is Tuesday, Dec. 10, against Somers.