As soon as RCSJ-Gloucester wrestling coach Dan Antonelli signed freshman 197-pound Curtis Thomas to a letter of intent last summer, the veteran skipper knew he had a top-flight talent competing in his upper weight classes.
Just look at Thomas' history, and it was easy to see why Antonelli welcomed him to the roster.
Curtis attended both Schalick and Delsea Regional High Schools. In his one year at Delsea, he qualified for the NJSIAA State Championship Tournament. Thomas helped the Crusaders' wrestling program to a record of 15-12 last season. He turned in an impressive 20-4 individual record with 15 pins during his senior year.
A business administration major, Thomas enjoyed an impressive four-year varsity career both at Schalick and Delsea.
"We knew we had a solid guy on our hands – he shows a lot of talent, hard work and tenacity," said Antonelli recently. "We're excited to have him on the team."
And the former scholastic standout has lived up to expectations.
He is off to a commendable 13-3 overall start, performing well recently in the Bob Quade Cyclone Open at Centenary University in placing third overall at 197 pounds. The Quade Tournament was the first Open of his collegiate career.
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He now has his eyes set on this weekend's Long Island Open at Nassau County Community College, another solid test during the Open season that he hopes will prepare him for the upcoming Conference, Districts and National tournaments.
"The Open tournaments are a lot different than our earlier dual meet matches – it's all individual plus there's a lot of tough wrestlers," he said. "Hopefully I can stay focused and keep improving every day."
He's received plenty of help in the weight room and in practice, especially from 174-pound teammate Tyler Baer (Pitman), who is currently himself unbeaten in the current season.
"Yes – T. Baer has been helping me out and pushing me hard and making me get better every day," Thomas smiled.
"I'm wrestling pretty good, but I can wrestle a lot better of course," said the freshman standout. "Right now I'm working hard in the weight room and the classroom. I still have time to get better every day."
Thomas looks forward to the NWCA Multi-Division National Duals at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY on January 10-11. Thomas and his talented teammates will have an opportunity to see how they fare against national competition.
"We're all excited about this opportunity," he commented. "It's a great chance to see where we stand as a team and get us ready for our own tournaments coming up in February," said Thomas, who also hopes to perform well in the Garden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) and District tournaments to qualify for the NJCAA Nationals.
Thomas has enjoyed his reunion with Coach Antonelli, a former Clayton High coach who was quite familiar with Thomas during his high school career. Together, the coach and wrestler are two of the most recognizable names in recent South Jersey wrestling circles.
"It's going well with Coach Antonelli," Thomas said. "We have goals to win GSACs—our conference -- and place 10 at nationals. We can do it. We have a lot of good guys on the team. We have great wrestlers at almost every weight class."