Upper Township Wrestling Team Gears Up for 35th Season

UPPER TOWNSHIP – Upper Twp. Wrestling head coach Frank Sannino is very excited to get the Green Hornet wrestlers back on the mat, not only will this season be special due to it being the 35th anniversary of the Upper Township Wrestling Association, but coach Bill Bailey who started Upper Wrestling in 1981 is planning a return to the mat as an assistant coach. “Having coach Bailey back in the room will be very special, not only was he my first wrestling coach back when I wrestled for Upper, but he coached half of our coaching staff back in the 80’s. Upper Wrestling is a very tight family and having Bill back in the room will be huge.” said coach Sannino.
The Upper Hornets are coming off of an extremely successful season, in which they had nearly 90 wrestlers, the largest team in their history, with 22 of those wrestlers qualifying for the regional level of the Mid Atlantic Wrestling Association (MAWA) Eastern National Championships held is Salisbury, Md. The Hornets graduated five 8th graders last season which included Nick Sannino, Aidan Nelson, Jade Phelps, Steve Novakowski, and Tom Roman, but will return most of the starters from last years very successful varsity squad, led by team captain Joe Garcia.
The Hornets season will officially begin Nov. 14, but will offer free no obligation “try it out” practices Nov. 1, 3 and 10 from 6-7:15 p.m. for any boys or girls interested in the sport of wrestling. Upper Wrestling will have in person sign ups on the following dates, Oct. 22 at the Upper Township Rec Center from 5-7 p.m., Oct. 25 during Trunk or Treat at Amanda’s Field in Petersburg from 6-8 p.m., and Nov 5 at Caldwell Park during all UTFA football games from 3-7 p.m.  For more information about wrestling sign-ups and upcoming events, go to www.upperwrestling.com or email uppertwphornets@gmail.com