Marple Newtown Wrestling Team Looking to Make Some History

NEWTOWN SQUARE–One of first conversations he had with his team was about a different approach. The new coach brought a new change in style, a little higher energy and new tempo. He emphasized running out there between breaks, to keep the pace up and keep pushing.

So there is no wonder Marple Newtown, in Tabar’s first year, is 14-0 this
season and atop the Central League with Upper Darby. The Tigers have a lineup with three wrestlers with one defeat, one wrestler who has lost twice, and another that’s lost four times. The Tigers are registering pins and technical falls, and they’re doing it with a completely different style Tabar has introduced that they’ve adjusted to well.

“I wanted the guys to wrestle more on their feet,” said Tabar, who previously coached at Shippensburg University, where he produced one national champion and 25 Division II All-Americans.

He continued, “I thought that was a weakness on the team in the past. One of the keys to our success has been conditioning. We want to keep the tempo up, and a lot of times when you take a guy down in the third period, he loses his will to fight. It’s psychological–you take a guy down two or three times, it gives a guy a lot of confidence. The kids were open-minded about the new things and they saw that it’s worked. They’ve bought in and continue to do well.”

Marple Newtown will be competing in the District 1 Duals, beginning Thursday night at West Chester Rustin, with the Tigers taking on the winner of the Glen Mills-Hatboro-Horsham match (Glen Mills defeated Upper Darby in a non-league match by a point last week). The Tigers are the No. 4 seed, behind Owen J. Roberts, Norristown and Spring-Ford.

Sophomore Jason Rinaldi, the Tigers’ 103-pounder, senior 113-pounder Aaron Moldoff and junior 126-pounder Ryan Flynn each have one loss this season. Senior 170-pounder Chris Kurkian has lost four times, but he’s knocked off a Delaware state runner-up, and senior 220-pounder Ken Smith has two losses. They make up the backbone of the Tigers’ team.

Marple Newtown will host Upper Darby on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. for the Central League championship. It’s been since the mid-1990s that Marple Newtown last won the Central League wrestling championship.

“I want a whole team in Hershey at the state championships,” Tabar said. “We want this success to continue for a while. Imagine a classroom when you speak, every kid listens and that feels good as a coach. I really like my kids, they work really hard. We try not to pay attention to rankings and things like that. These kids want to be good and they’re willing to work toward that.We have a team full of kids that are fun to watch. Every kid we put in different situations, and they’ve all responded.”