5 people to know at the Rider wrestling program
Updated: Mar. 29, 2019, 9:22 a.m. | Published: Feb. 06, 2015, 6:19 p.m.
By Maria Guardado | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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Rider's B.J. Clagon wrestles Dave Habat, of Edinboro, during their 145-pound match. Rider wrestling has ranked higher than Rutgers for much of the season. Rider's wrestling coach, Gary Taylor, is No. 2 in the nation on the all-time wins list, behind only the Minnesota coach. Taylor has been at Rider for more than 30 years. Lawrenceville, NJ. 1/24/15 (Saed Hindash | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
While it still might not be the highest-profile wrestling program in New Jersey, Rider (10-6, 3-1 EWL), per usual, has quietly been enjoying another strong season down in Lawrenceville. The Broncs, who were ranked as high as 10th this season by InterMat, have already knocked off a Big Ten program and feature a roster filled with talented wrestlers who are poised to make deep postseason runs next month.
Below are five people to know at the Rider wrestling program:
1. Head coach Gary Taylor
With 413 career victories, Taylor holds the second-highest win total among active coaches in Division I wrestling and has been synonymous with Rider for 37 seasons. Over the course of his tenure, Taylor has overseen the transformation of Rider from a virtual unknown to a nationally decorated program with an extraordinary penchant for producing All-American wrestlers. Read more about how he managed to bring national recognition to Lawrenceville here.
2. John Hangey
As Rider's associate head coach, Hangey serves as Taylor's primary deputy and recruitment coordinator. Hangey wrestled for Taylor as an undergraduate at Rider and became the school's fifth All-American after placing fourth at nationals in 1993. A former head coach at Bucknell, Hangey returned to Lawrenceville in 2000 to help train the newest generation of Broncs. Hangey and Taylor are assisted by part-time coach Jason Nase, who also earned All-American honors for Rider in 1997, and Nic Bedelyon, a two-time All-American at Kent State in Ohio.
3. B.J. Clagon
A four-time high school national champion and a two-time New Jersey state champ out of Toms River South, Clagon (19-7 overall) was being highly recruited by a number of Big Ten schools, including Rutgers, but he decided to wrestle at Rider because he felt that he would have the best chance to thrive in a smaller setting.
Taylor called Clagon the "most natural wrestler" the school has ever had, and the redshirt freshman has already exhibited his immense potential this season in tight losses to Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis and Edinboro's Dave Habat, two of the nation's top-ranked 149-pound wrestlers.
The rookie is currently ranked No. 19 in his weight class by InterMat.
"I want to accomplish everything," Clagon said. "I want to win nationals four times. I think every wrestler that goes through Division I, Division II, Division III, JUCO, wherever they at, that's their dream, to achieve big things."
4. Chad Walsh
Currently ranked 19th in the country at 157 pounds by InterMat, Walsh has strung together a strong campaign for the Broncs thus far, compiling a 23-6 record with four pins. Prior to beginning his college career, the redshirt freshman was a four-time New Jersey state place winner for Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill.
Though Walsh received offers from places such as Indiana, Cal Poly and Rutgers, he ultimately selected Rider, partly because of its proximity to his hometown.
5. Robert Deutsch
One of four current Broncs who qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2014, Deutsch won two matches at nationals as the 11th seed in the 125-pound division last year. The redshirt junior, who transferred from Old Dominion, has moved up a weight class and now wrestles at 133, where he has posted a 19-6 record this season.
During his senior campaign at Eastern Regional High School, the Cherry Hill native went 42-0 and captured his second New Jersey state championship.
Maria Guardado may be reached at mguardado@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @mi_guardado. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Rider's wrestlers rise to the top
Gallery: Rider's wrestlers rise to the top