St. Augustine Prep grapplers trace wrestling roots back to 2006 youth state championships

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher Back in 2006, Jarred Hodges beat Jim Brady in the New Jersey Open Wrestling Championships in the 65-pound bantam weight class. Jarred’s father, Dave Hodges, has the podium photo tacked up to the wall of his Egg Harbor Township home. Today, Jarred, a senior at St. Augustine Prep, weighs 152 pounds. Brady, a junior at St. Augustine, goes about 220 pounds. Some things might have changed in the nine years since that championship event, but for a group of high school wrestlers, the past decade has been a remarkable journey. Prep juniors Jose Tabora and Nick Clark also finished in the top eight in that state championship in 2006, and now all four boys are chasing individual state championships as Hermits teammates. “Jarred beat me 3-1 when we wrestled in what that picture shows. He used to beat me up pretty good, but I’ve definitely out-grown him,” said Brady, a Mullica resident. There are two things that haven’t changed since 2006 — the boys’ enthusiasm for the sport, and their determination to be the best they can be. “We’re an interesting group. We’re pretty goofy,” Jarred said. “In our warmups before our matches we have little dance battles between me and Jose. It’s just a great time. We all have the same sense of humor. It’s just a great experience.” Jose Tabora, an Egg Harbor Township resident along with Hodges, took home the District 32 title at 182 pounds. He finished sixth in that youth state championship tournament back in 2006. (Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan) “It was definitely fun because we started wrestling about the same age, around 5 years old. I knew Jarred as much as I knew wrestling,” Tabora said. “When he went to the Prep, since I was a year behind, it was weird not having him in the room. So when I came to the Prep we started practicing again and it felt good getting back to the old ways.” Dave Hodges said the tight-knit bond that wrestling parents share has really provided a family atmosphere during the boys’ high school careers. “They’ve all become brothers at the Prep. As much as Grace Tabora loves football (Jose is the starting quarterback), she says there’s nothing like the family of wrestling,” Dave said. “You’re in these gyms all winter with the same 12 parents or so. It’s great seeing them. The Prep brings kids from all over and they end up as teammates. It’s just a cool experience.” Tabora and Hodges knew Brady from years of going against him, and they have become close friends with Clark, a Washington Township resident, during their years at the Prep. The addition of Clark, whose brother Jack won an individual state championship last year, has sort of rounded out the fearsome foursome. “It’s been really cool. Jarred, Jose and Brady were all friends growing up. I wasn’t friends with any of them, so getting to know them has been really nice. They are three of my closest friends,” Clark said. Clark said he had no idea he had even wrestled against the other three until Dave Hodges showed him the podium picture. “I just knew them as competitors and rivals, not as friends until I came to the Prep. I had never even seen that picture. I didn’t know until Mr. Hodges told me about it,” Clark said. “I knew all of them from wrestling, I just never knew we were all in the same weight class.” That picture has become a reminder of the journey these four boys have been on for the past 10 years. “I have the 2006 state championship plaque up in my room, it has the photo of us all in the same weight class. Every time I look at it I laugh a little bit,” Jarred said. “It’s funny looking back on it, looking back at the podium and I had my crazy hair. We had the same faces, just smaller bodies. It’s just cool knowing the same circle of people have been wrestling together their whole lives,” Tabora said. “It’s crazy because we all went against each other and now we are all together fighting opponents.” So, who is the best wrestler of the bunch? Clark dodged that question as deftly as he dodges an attempted takedown by an opponent. “It’s hard to say,” Clark said. “I’d rather not answer that question. That’s a tough one.” The boys have about one more week to stake their claim to that title. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]