🏆 ONE GOAL. ONE FINAL SEASON. AN NJ STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.
Gavin Young has one goal for his senior wrestling season: Become a New Jersey State Champion.
🤼 The Old Bridge wrestler was practically born into the sport. His father coached at South River, his family has a history of wrestling success, and Gavin started competing through the Old Bridge Mat Rats as a young kid.
But his high school career hasn't gone exactly as planned.
🚑 Freshman Year: A serious concussion just days before regions ended his postseason.
🔥 Sophomore Year: Gavin returned, placed at regions, and accomplished his childhood dream of wrestling at the NJ State Championships in Atlantic City.
🥇 Junior Year: After winning his first district championship, Gavin suffered a devastating loss in the regional quarterfinals. The disappointment carried into the wrestlebacks, and he admits he wasn't mentally prepared to keep competing.
🎯 Senior Year: He's determined to make sure that doesn't happen again.
In this episode of New Jersey Mat Chat, Gavin opens up about the setbacks, lessons, and motivation driving his final high school season.
---
💬 “There's only one thing on my mind. It's just being a state champ.”
Gavin knows what it's like to have a season end before he's ready.
He knows what it's like to lose when everything is on the line.
And he knows that the only person who can change the outcome is himself.
Now he's entering his final season at Old Bridge with something to prove.
One more season. One more opportunity. One very clear goal. 🏆
---
🎙️ Guest: Gavin Young
🏫 School: Old Bridge High School
🤼 Series: New Jersey Mat Chat
🎬 Episode: 89
🔔 SUBSCRIBE to New Jersey Mat Chat for interviews with the wrestlers, coaches, and legends shaping New Jersey wrestling.
💬 COMMENT BELOW: What's harder in wrestling — preparing to win or bouncing back after a devastating loss?
Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'
Now available now on Amazon Prime:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0HHCGGT6S (https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0HHCGGT6S)
00:00 The Godfather of MMA
01:06 Meet Gavin Young of Old Bridge
04:43 The Concussion That Ended His Freshman Season
05:15 Bouncing Back and Reaching Atlantic City
06:49 Managing Weight and Ignoring Opponents
08:51 Learning From a Devastating Regional Loss
11:06 One Goal: Become a State Champion
12:33 Why Gavin Added Football
14:27 Taking Responsibility on the Wrestling Mat
15:20 Training at Ryze and Old Bridge
16:26 Coach Post and the Old Bridge Wrestling Culture
17:53 College, Careers and Coaching Ambitions
19:04 How Nutrition Changed His Wrestling
20:05 College Decisions and Future Plans
20:40 Greatest NJ High School Wrestler Ever?
22:09 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro
18 Oct 2026
088: Dan O'Cone
🤼 What does it take to build a championship wrestling program — and help change the sport itself?
Legendary Brick Memorial and Point Pleasant Beach coach Dan O'Cone joins New Jersey Mat Chat's Coach's Corner to discuss his coaching career, the powerhouse Shore Conference, and his role in developing NJ wrestling's prestige-point seeding system.
🏆 From winning back-to-back Group 4 championships at Brick Memorial to helping make tournament seeding fairer, O'Cone has seen New Jersey wrestling from nearly every angle.
🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:
🏆 Building championship teams at Brick Memorial
🤼 Learning from legendary Trenton State coach Dave Icenhower
🔥 The rivalries that made the Shore Conference a powerhouse
📊 How prestige points changed NJ wrestling seeding
🐐 The Damion Hahn problem that exposed flaws in the old system
⚖️ District realignment: fairness vs. tradition
🏟️ The forgotten controversy of Super Regions
🤝 Why coaches must respect wrestling officials
👧 Coaching his daughter Cecilia and growing girls wrestling
💪 Why the future of NJ wrestling is brighter than ever
💬 Do you think NJ wrestling's current district and seeding systems are fair, or should we bring back the old rivalries?
🔔 Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat for conversations with the wrestlers, coaches, and legends who built New Jersey wrestling.
Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'
Now available now on Amazon Prime:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0HHCGGT6S (https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0HHCGGT6S)
00:00 The Godfather of MMA
01:06 Meet Coach Dan O'Cone
18:32 Shore Conference Rivalries & Coaching Philosophy
33:41 Debating Prestige Points and Tournament Seeding
34:58 District Realignment: Fairness vs. Tradition
37:17 What's Best for Wrestlers vs. Fans?
38:05 Could NJ Bring Back Traditional Districts?
41:18 The Wrestlers Who Missed Atlantic City
41:47 The Super Regions Controversy
45:12 A Lesson in Respecting Officials
47:42 Why Coaches Shouldn't Blame Referees
49:23 The Future of Wrestling and the Growth of Girls Wrestling
51:32 Coaching His Daughter and Staying in the Sport
53:23 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro
14 Oct 2026
087: Top 50 New Jersey High School Wrestlers of All Time
🏆 WHO ARE NEW JERSEY'S 50 GREATEST HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLERS OF ALL TIME?
After releasing our Top 50 rankings, Pete and Doug sit down to explain how the list was created, why certain wrestlers made the cut, and what it takes to compare greatness across generations.
🤼 From the legends of the 1970s and 1980s to modern-day champions, ranking NJ wrestling history is anything but simple.
🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:
📊 How our panel developed the Top 50 rankings
🏆 State titles vs. strength of competition
⏳ Comparing wrestlers across different eras
🥇 Why Damion Hahn earned the #1 spot
🔥 The toughest decisions and biggest omissions
🤼 Why one head-to-head result doesn't tell the whole story
📚 Preserving NJ wrestling history for future generations
👀 Current wrestlers who could eventually crack the list
💬 Do you agree with our rankings? Who belongs in the Top 50, and who would you put at #1?
This list is about more than rankings. It's about recognizing the wrestlers who built New Jersey's incredible wrestling tradition.
🔔 Subscribe to New Jersey Mat Chat for interviews, wrestling history, and conversations with NJ's greatest athletes and coaches.
Watch 'The Godfather of MMA'
Now available now on Amazon Prime:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0HHCGGT6S (https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0HHCGGT6S)
00:00 The Godfather of MMA
01:06 Why We Created NJ's Top 50
02:43 How the Rankings Were Calculated
04:09 Comparing Wrestling Legends Across Generations
06:58 National Tournaments and Different Eras
07:55 Keeping Wrestling History Alive
08:51 Why One Match Doesn't Determine Greatness
09:23 Learning From the Wrestling Community
12:49 How Wrestling Rules Have Changed
13:16 Current Wrestlers Who Could Make the List
14:16 The Oldest Wrestler on the List
15:33 Why Damion Hahn Is #1
17:19 The Original NJ Wrestling Superstars
18:00 Honorable Mentions and Near Misses
19:40 Jimmy Conroy, Mike Gray and Strength of Competition
21:58 Three-Time vs. Four-Time State Champions
22:56 The Hardest Part of Making the Rankings
23:43 Why We Wish We'd Ranked 100
26:50 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro
Who has been a guest on New Jersey Mat Chat
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Nevin Mattessich
Christian Ramirez
Jaden Simpson
Mike Lamb
Michael Lamb
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
6,625
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 31 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
19
Social presence
0
YouTube
74
Engagement
32
Contact New Jersey Mat Chat
Guest appearances
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