'Wrestling for Heroes' tradition brings two communities together on the mat
CINNAMINSON – Tommy Callahan wasn’t going to let one of his favorite, and most important, traditions fade away.
While the high school wrestling landscape has seen plenty of changes in recent years including Rancocas Valley moving to the Olympic Conference this school year, Callahan’s Red Devils and rival Cinnaminson renewed acquaintances on the mat.
And before the action, the two wrestling programs held their annual Wrestling for Heroes Night, honoring local first responders, police officers, current military and veterans as well as remembering Sean Cullen and Bryan Freeman.
“This is great for both of our communities,” Callahan said. “Honoring and celebrating the people who keep us safe and remembering those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.”
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Cullen, a 2003 Cinnaminson High grad, was a New Jersey state trooper who was struck and killed in the line of duty when responding to a car accident on I-295 in 2016. He was a 100-bout winner for the Pirates before becoming an All-American at Lycoming.
Sgt. Freeman, a 1991 Rancocas Valley grad, served in the Army during operation Iraqi Freedom when he died in 2004 after being shot by a sniper in Baghdad. He envisioned becoming a state trooper and graduated from Rowan University with a degree in law enforcement.
Members of the Cullen and Freeman families attended Wednesday’s meet, which also included the color guard and a bagpiper who led both teams with wrestlers wearing red “Wrestling for Heroes” t-shirts onto the mat.
“That’s what it’s all about,” said Cinnaminson coach Bob Murray, who handled the emcee duties for the pre-meet event. “The Cinnaminson PD is really front and center to our program. We have a lot of wrestlers who graduated and have gone on to become police officers. To them, it means a lot.”
The night’s importance wasn't lost on the wrestlers either, according to Rancocas Valley senior Jase Deiter.
“It’s a really big night for us,” said Deiter, a district champ who has been sidelined with a foot injury suffered in the Red Devils’ final playoff football game. “I’ve always been around this program, so I knew about this night and what it meant.
“We want to live up to the tradition of Rancocas Valley wrestling, representing Bryan Freeman and all of our heroes and soldiers out there.”
When Murray took over the Cinnaminson program, one of his first goals was to get record boards for the wrestling room. Cullen was the original name posted as the Pirates’ first 100-win wrestler.
“Every practice, guys will stop and look up there and see his name,” Murray said. “They know what he stood for.”
Rancocas Valley has a poster in its wrestling room, telling Freeman’s story. Deiter said the team uses that poster as “inspiration.”
“Our kids see it every day,” Callahan said. “This night just means so much and the upperclassmen do a great job of passing this tradition down to the new guys on the team. My mom was in the military and served overseas, so honoring the military is really important for my family.”
Rancocas Valley also donned its special “B. Free” singlets with red, white and blue on the back. The singlets were designed by former RV coach Tony Bowker and Callahan has kept the tradition going.
“It’s just a special night,” said Callahan, who was friends with Cullen and both worked as coaches at the Wrecking Crew club. “And these guys wrestled the best we have all year.”
The meet
Rancocas Valley won four of the final five bouts to earn a 36-31 victory over Cinnaminson.
The Red Devils have been banged up all season, but it appears things might be getting better. Renaldo King returned to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 19 and the senior delivered a 10-6 win.
RV freshman Alberto Sandino provided one of the biggest wins as his second-period fall at 215 was his first career victory in just second varsity bout.
“That’s a kid who has been wrestling for a total of 35 practices,” Callahan said. “He goes out there and gets six for us.”
Rancocas Valley 36, Cinnaminson 31
126: Ismael Maldonado, RV, d. Dylan Vallone, 5-3; 132: Bryce Earlen, RV, md. Nasir Page, 10-1; 138: Patrick Ghegan d. Francisco Notte, 4-3; 144: Renaldo King, RV, d. Eoin Toryk, 10-6; 150: Jake Barletta, RV, p. Dom Del Grippo, 0:54; 157: Eddie Frey, C, md. Theodore Rumberger, 12-2; 165: Isaiah Ruiz, C, p. Christopher Denneler, 1:01; 175: Evan Reed, C, p. Devin Czarnowski, 2:20; 190: Victor Meira, C, p. Ryan Kilpatrick, 3:44; 215: Alberto Sandino, RV, p. Jason Straub, 3:19; 285: Hunter Matthews, RV, p. Luke Smith, 3:55; 106: Dominic Marino, C, p. Brandon Brown, 0:19; 113: Yasin Carter, RV, tech fall Max Frey, 17-2; 120: James Lutes, RV, d. Thomas Lorimer, 10-5.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: 'Wrestling for Heroes' has become an important tradition for RV, Cinnaminson
