In the collegiate wrestling world, the engine that has powered the Rider Broncs to 427 wins is also one of the greatest of all time.
Rider head coach Gary Taylor, now in his 38th season at Rider, picked up career win number 427 Thursday night when the Broncs defeated Hofstra.
The 427 wins ties the legendary Bobby Douglas for fourth on the all-time career list of Division I NCAA coaching victories. "To be mentioned in the same sentence with Bobby Douglas is nothing short of an honor," said Taylor. "He's a legendary coach who I looked up to. He's a great man and a great coach. I feel very honored and humbled."
Douglas won an NCAA Title coaching at Arizona State and also coached the U.S. Olympic team and Iowa State.
"I would say that is pretty overwhelming," said associate head coach John Hangey. "I've learned so much from Coach Taylor and the fact that he's done it at a small school that does not have all the resources or a large enrollment, speaks to the man that he is. He does it right, never cuts corners, he always believes in what he does and the kids perform for him. That's why he's fourth in the nation in wins."
Thursday night, the Broncs won eight of 10 bouts against long-time rival Hofstra.
For Rider (10-9) sophomore Chad Walsh (Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic), senior Zach Valcarce (Willas, NJ/Lower Cape May), senior Paul Kirchner (Somerville, NJ/Somerville), sophomore B.J. Clagon (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South), senior Robert Deutsch (Cherry Hill, NJ/Eastern Regional), senior Conor Brennan (Brick, NJ/Brick Twp.), freshman Michale Fagg-Daves (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) and junior Ryan Wolfe (New Castle, Del./Caravel) all won.
Walsh, ranked 14th by the NCAA Coaches Panel, won by fall.
In his final home match, Kirchner defeated Jamel Hudson, a 2015 NCAA qualifier who is currently ranked 26th by the NCAA Coaches Panel. "Paul beat a good wrestler and did it with composure," Taylor said. "He did an outstanding job."
Brennan, ranked 18th by the NCAA Coaches Panel, won his final home match to improve to 22-3 on the season, 12-2 in dual meets.
Wolfe, ranked 24th by the NCAA Coaches Panel, won a major decision. Clagon, ranked 20th by the NCAA Coaches Panel, won to give Rider a 15-0 lead. Valcarce won to start the match.
For Hofstra (5-10) Frank Affronti, ranked 31st by the NCAA Coaches Panel, won at 174. Heavyweight Mike Hughes won to improve to 31-7.
The victory was the third in a row for Rider over Hofstra but Hofstra has won 13 of the last 17 meetings with Rider.
The Broncs will compete at Princeton February 18 and at Maryland February 20 to close out the dual meet season. "Princeton is very tough," Taylor said. "It is going to be quite a battle. We're going to work hard, train hard and get ready for them. I will think about Maryland once we wrestle Princeton."
The all-time NCAA Division I coaches win list is
1. Dale Thomas of Oregon State (616)
2. Harold Nichols of Iowa State (492)
3. J Robinson of Minnesota (439)
4. Gary Taylor of Rider (427)
4. Bobby Douglas of Iowa State/Arizona State (427)
Among active coaches, Taylor is still second only to Robinson in victories on the Division I level
Results:
125 Zach Valcarce-R dec. Bryan Damon-H 9-6 3-0
133 Robert Deutsch-R wins by forfeit 9-0
141 Paul Kirchner-R dec. Jamel Hudson-H 3-0 12-0
149 B.J. Clagon-R dec. Kyle Krasavage-H 6-0 15-0
157 Chad Walsh-R won by fall Jahlani Callender-H 7:00 21-0
165 Conor Brennan-R dec. Cory Goshkagarian-H 10-4 24-0
174 Frank Affronti-H dec. Curt Delia-R 7-5 24-3
184 Michale Fagg-Daves-R dec. Cory Damiana-H 4-3 27-3
197 Ryan Wolfe-R major dec. Omar Haddad-H 15-6 31-3
285 Mike Hughes-H major dec. Greg Velasco-R 14-4 31-7
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