Commentary By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher On March 9, 2014, I had to do the kind of interview that every sports reporter dreads. Pat D’Arcy, then a junior at Holy Spirit High School, had just lost 7-0 to Bergen Catholic’s Nick Suriano in the state championship bout at 113 pounds at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. As a sports reporter who covers Holy Spirit athletics, it was my job to get D’Arcy’s take on the championship bout. It’s never easy to interview a high school athlete who comes out on the losing side of a championship, and perhaps wrestling is the most difficult. The kids spend their entire lives working for one chance to win a state championship, and when their dream doesn’t come true it can be devastating. I didn’t know what to expect when I walked up to Pat and asked if he would take a moment to talk with me. I figured I would get a couple of short answers and have to rely on comments from coach Ralph Paolone to build my story. It was easy to see the pain and frustration in Pat’s eyes, and it was clear he was trying very hard to keep his composure when the only thing he wanted to do was to high-tail it into some locker room tucked in the bowels of the arena and not come out for an hour. But to my surprise, Pat was very gracious during the interview, and also very thoughtful and reflective on the championship bout that he had just lost. He gave Suriano credit, and took the blame better than a lot of college or professional athletes might given the circumstances. He answered all of my questions and shook my hand after the interview ended. 
Holy Spirit senior Pat D’Arcy heaped praise on head coach Ralph Paolone and assistant coach Mtume Goodrum, as well as his parents, Pat and Pam, after capturing the first state championship of his high school wrestling career on March 8 in Atlantic City. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) That’s when I knew there was something special about this kid. I knew he would be back in the championship bout again a year later at whatever weight he chose to wrestle. Those who know him would not be surprised that he faced the fire after the toughest loss of his career with dignity and class. Suriano, a junior, was back in the state championship bout again this year, this time at 120 pounds. He wouldn’t be facing D’Arcy, who had earned a trip to the finals at 126 pounds. As Suriano was searching around for a partner to warm up with, he was surprised his old nemesis — D’Arcy — agreed to help him out. “I actually warmed up with Pat. I said, ‘Pat, I need someone to warm up with.’ Usually people will say no. But he’s a tough competitor. He’s a great kid, has a great dad, a great family,” said Suriano, who went on to win the title, his third straight, while improving to 121-0 in his high school career. “He’s a good kid and he said, ‘yeah, no problem.’ And that was coming after last year (when I beat him) in the state final. He didn’t have to do that.” That’s the thing about Pat, he’s a good kid. He gets it. He understands that his high school wrestling career is simply a stepping stone to his future. He plans on continuing his wrestling career at Princeton University this coming fall, and no doubt will be a success with the Tigers. As a reporter, you are supposed to be non-biased when it comes to the players and coaches you cover and whether or not they win. But sitting on the floor of Boardwalk Hall on Sunday afternoon, March 8, I found it was hard not to be rooting for Pat D’Arcy to win his first state title. Here is a kid who goes to a school where it’s difficult to even fill out an entire wrestling roster. He had done all the right things to get the chance to win a state championship. Strict diets, intense workouts, spending years traveling the Eastern seaboard to attend high level wrestling tournaments. When he won matches he never made a show of celebrating, always showing respect to his opponent and that wrestler’s coaches. In the past two years, whenever I have seen him wrestle, I’ve never seen Pat fail to shake the opposing coach’s hand following a bout. That’s just the kind of kid Pat is. He comes from a solid family and has a great support system, and not showing class would be a sign of disrespect to all the people who have helped him get where he is today. Just like at last year’s state championships, this time Pat was up against it, big time. He was facing Anthony Cefolo of Hanover Park, a 2-time defending state champion and a nationally ranked wrestler. Coach Paolone had a game plan, and Pat followed that plan the entire match. He came out of it a 4-1 winner in double-overtime, and at long last, had the state championship he had been dreaming about his entire life. I found Pat in the same area I did a year ago, between the bleachers and near the stage at Boardwalk Hall, a few minutes after he was awarded his championship medal. Needless to say, that was an interview I couldn’t wait to conduct. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]
Spirit’s D’Arcy always handles himself with class and dignity, the mark of a true champion
