When coach Jason Luciani took over the Butler wrestling program five years ago, he wanted to bring the same culture and work ethic he preached to the school’s football team to the wrestling mat.
Luciani, Butler’s head football coach since 2013, has built a successful program at the Group 1 school in which the Bulldogs have averaged nearly eight wins per season, including a state sectional title in 2018.
The same success can be said for the wrestling program.
Since Luciani took over the program in 2016, Butler is 69-16 and has reached three NJSIAA Tournament semifinal rounds and a sectional final in 2017.
The Bulldogs have been a model of consistency over the years and this year appears to be no different despite having to overcome some graduation losses.
“The entire community and school body is proud of our program and what it has become,” Luciani said. “Everyone is supportive and that makes a big difference. We’ve put together a pretty aggressive and competitive schedule this season in an effort to prepare us for another late-season run.”
Butler opened the 2019-20 season on Saturday at the competitive Battle of the Bay Tournament in Bayonne and finished a team fourth out of 14 teams. Senior Julian Amadio claimed the 132-pound weight class and Brett Redner, Justin Chrostowski, Lucas Steenstra and Jake Luciani had runner-up finishes. Seven Bulldogs reached the semifinal rounds of their respective weight class. Mendham captured the overall team title, followed by Long Branch and Middletown North. Pequannock and Kinnelon finished a respective fifth and sixth place
Brett was impressive his freshman year and had a lot of success,” Luciani said. “He’s going to win a lot of matches this year.”The Bulldogs’ strength is the middle of their lineup, where three wrestlers combined for 76 wins. Steenstra follows at 138 and posted a 20-10 mark as a sophomore and Chrostowski closes at 145 pounds after posting a 27-7 mark and a fifth-place finish in the Region Tournament. Junior Garrett Koppenal (152), Luciani (170) and Catalano (195) are all returning starters. Luciani, a four-year starter, was 20-13 last season.
“There’s a handful of wrestlers that compete all year round, but we also have a lot of multi-sport athletes,” Jason Luciani said. “We have some holes to fill, but we have wrestlers ready to step up.”
Story by Nick Gantaifis – Record Sports Department
