By GIUSEPPE UNGARO Managing Editor There was no magic dust. Drew Muzslay beat Bryan Stout fair and square. He won the much-anticipated bout with little trouble, never in jeopardy of losing. Muzslay, one of the best wrestlers in Ocean City High School history and the current Oakcrest coach, clearly remembers the build-up prior to matching up with the Southern Regional star. “I never read the newspaper clippings, that’s not who I was,” reminisced Muzslay, who graduated in 1991. “I just knew Pat (Lynch) and I had a good thing going. I was going to go out and take it to him. Heading into Southern, my Dad said something and my teammates said ‘hey Drew, this guy is good.’ Not knowing any better – and not because I wasn’t taking it seriously; it was me being dumb – I was thinking, I’m good. You better tell him about me. That’s what I was thinking to myself. I was all fired up.” Muzlay won by decision, beating Stout, who eventually captured a state championship for the Rams. After a wrestling career at Duke University, Muzslay returned to New Jersey to teach. In 1998 he found himself in the halls of Southern. He soon heard the whispers and rumors about his win years earlier. Finally a student asked Muzslay about the match. 
Oakcrest High School wrestling coach Drew Muzslay was himself an outstanding wrestler during his days at Ocean City, once beating 2-time state champion Bryan Stout of Southern Regional. (Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan) “On the second day, the kids asked, ‘is it true?'” Muzslay explained. “I said, ‘what do you mean?'” “They said, ‘magic dust. When you wrested Bryan Stout you hit him with magic dust (in the eyes).’ I said, ‘Are you kidding me. There was no magic dust. It was straight legit.'” There was no reason to doubt Muzslay. The win wasn’t an anomaly. The Red Raiders standout paid his dues up and down the East Coast. Along with Lynch he was part of one of the best duos in Cape-Atlantic League history. Lynch, who went on to win 99 straight matches and two state championships, is one of the most celebrated wresters in state history. Muzslay was a three-time district winner and made it to states twice. He amassed 94 wins in his career, which included a season cut short by injury prior to the districts. The long-time friends will be forever linked. Lynch is a part of the Oakcrest staff. The two also share a classroom and teach science together. Muzslay still remembers his first impression of Lynch before they even walked the halls of Ocean City High School. Lynch’s parents had asked the Muzslay family if Drew could train with Pat when they were in juniors. “It was a little intimidating at first,” Muzslay said. “I knew he was the best wrestler in the area. Even at 11 or 12, I thought that guy was a monster. That guy was good, really good.” Muzslay gets emotional thinking about his childhood and the people who shaped him on and off the wrestling mat to become the man he is today. He credits his own parents, the Lynch family, and former Ocean City coach Bill Nickels for being such strong influences on him as a person, wrestler, coach and teacher. “I have two brothers, one older and one younger, who were athletes; they were swimmers,” Muzslay said. “My parents never missed anything.” He added: “I had an almost storybook childhood and not everyone has that. But nothing was handed to me. I worked out with Lynch. Everything had to be earned. It was kind of magical looking back at it. At the time it was a grind.” The grind stared in juniors as Lynch and Muzslay traveled to tournaments nearly every weekend. They ran the soft sands of the Ocean City beaches, taking turns running 100-yard sprints with the other one on their shoulders, getting into the best shape they could, even before wearing a Red Raiders singlet. Muzslay had many standout moments from his career, but he remembers one particular team win. A teammate purposely false-started twice to lose by technical fall instead of a pin to help beat Vineland by one point. It was the team’s first win over the Fighting Clan. “I remember celebrating like we won the Super Bowl instead of beating Vineland High School,” Muzslay said. “We grabbed coach Nickels and put him up on our shoulders. In the old high school we were running toward our locker room, but we made a right-hand turn before we got there and turned into the pool to throw him in. We got this guy, but he was smart, and grabbed me by the jacket and all three of us went into the pool together. “It was one of the better moments. There are a ton of great moments, but that was one of my favorite high school dual meet moments. It was a team effort and Pat and I got the job done.” Contact Giuseppe Ungaro: gungaro@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDgisepu
My glory days: Drew Muzslay, Ocean City High School 1991
