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STANDOUT WRESTLER RYAN ZIMMERMAN HAS ALREADY CEMENTED HIS LEGACY AT LONG BRANCH
By Mike Ready
LONG BRANCH – Over the years, Long Branch High School’s storied wrestling program has produced some of New Jersey’s all-time great wrestlers with many of them moving on to gain national recognition at the collegiate level.
Throughout the years these student-athletes have helped Long Branch build a reputation as a wrestling juggernaut while capturing three group and six sectional titles and 13 district team championships.
Individually, nine Long Branch wrestlers have been crowned state champions, seven have placed second, and another seven wrestlers took third in state competition.
It’s been 10 years, however, since Long Branch wrestlers Scott Festejo took home the gold medal, Doug Cornell placed second, and current Rumson-Fair Haven assistant coach and Cornell alum Billy George claimed third place in the states.
That 2010 team by the way was one of Long Branch’s all-time great teams winning the group and sectional titles, as well as the district and Shore Conference Tournament championships.
Two years ago, heavyweight Kevin Cerruti placed seventh and Peter Wersinger placed eighth at 195 pounds, but that’s been it for medals in the last decade.
Starting with the districts, 3000 wrestlers begin competition for medals in the state tournament – first place through eighth place get medals. Then there’s the regions to get through before finally reaching the states, where 32 wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes (448 total wrestlers) will compete for medals.
So, just advancing to the states is an unbelievable accomplishment, while medaling is a phenomenal feat.
Senior Ryan Zimmerman has qualified for the states three straight years, ever since he first stepped on the mats at Long Branch as freshman, but has yet to reach the podium. He’ll be one of the favorites at 138 pounds in Atlantic City the first weekend of March.
“Ryan has a great body of work this year,” said long-time Long Branch head coach Danny George. “He’s put himself in a great position to really get to the podium which where he wants to be. This is one of the toughest tournaments in the country. At the end of the day though, he has to be mentally and physically prepared for the districts and regions just to qualify. You got to take those baby steps and just chew off one match at a time just to get there. It’s important to feel great at the end of the season and that’s not easy all the time. You need to be in the right place at the right time come March.”
Zimmerman is currently ranked No. 1 in the Shore and No. 2 in the state in the 138-pound weight class and is undefeated so far this season, posting a spotless 23-0 record. He’s a four-year varsity wrestler and entered the 2019-20 season with a career record of 106-22, and is a three-time state qualifier.
“Ryan has been a four-year starter, two-year captain and really embodies everything the program is about,” said George. “He’s extremely hard working and dedicated in season and out of season to being the best person as well as wrestler he can be.
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“He has unique style but he’s just as competitive and tough and hard working as the great wrestlers that have come through the program are,” said George of Zimmerman. “What makes Ryan work and tick and what makes the program and team better are the same characteristics that we’ve had in our great wrestlers throughout the years and that’s awesome to see.”
A year ago when Zimmerman went 35-5 with 22 pins, he was the District 23 and the Region 6 champion at 126 pounds before reaching the second round of wrestlebacks in Atlantic City.
As a sophomore wrestling at 113 pounds, he finished with a 38-7 record while placing second in both the district and region tournaments.
He burst on the scene as a freshman when he won 33 matches against 10 defeats while sounding the warning bell that he was someone to be reckoned with for the next three years. During his freshman campaign he was the runner-up in District 23 and took fourth in Region 6.
Earlier this season, Zimmerman proved he’d be a tough out in Atlantic City with a statement win at the Mustang Classic when he took down Paulsboro’s Jacob Eli-Perez to win the 138-pound title. Eli-Perez was second at the state tournament at 138 pounds last season and will be one of his main competitors for the gold in the states.
Zimmerman locked Eli-Perez in a cradle and won by a fall at the 1:50 mark of the first period for the epic win.
“That was a tremendous match for Ryan,” said George. “He’s done everything asked of him from his parents to his coaches to his club coaches and it’s great to have him get something special to show that all his work is paying off — it was a rubber stamp. It gave him confidence, showed him he belonged and that if he wrestles at his absolute best, that’s what he’s capable of.”
Zimmerman just recently signed a National Letter of Intent to wrestle for American University, which is a D1 program competing in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. The program has produced 16 NCAA All-Americans and one national champion.
“That was a special day for not only Ryan, but for us,” said George. “He worked extremely hard to earn that scholarship and we know he’ll represent Long Branch to the highest degree not only as a wrestler but as a person.
“He’s a leader and an excellent student,” George added. “He’s always working with the younger kids always trying to get them to do the right thing whether it’s academically, practice or in the halls – he’s a good role model and a great face of the program.”
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