The ledger of accomplishments reads like a roll call of brilliance.
• 139 career victories, easily a school record and one away from a county record.
• Three District 16 championships and three Region 4 titles.
• Fifth place in the NJSIAA state championships in 2009.
• Second place in the NJSIAA state championships in 2010.
Kevin Innis’ wrestling career at St. Peter’s Prep ended with a disappointing loss last Sunday to Zach Greenwald of Paulsboro in the 215-pound title bout at the NJSIAA state championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Innis lost in a 3-1 decision to a guy who he had defeated four times previously, including once earlier this season. It was Greenwald’s lone previous setback of the year.
“The four or five times I wrestled him before, they were all close matches,” Innis said. “They were all within one or two points. It came down to who was going to make the first mistake. He ended coming out on top. Give credit to him. He won.”
Innis knows now what the loss meant. He had the chance to become Prep’s first-ever state champion and the first wrestler from Hudson County since Kearny’s David Cordoba in 1999 to become a state champ. He would have been only the third Hudson County wrestler to win a state title, joining Cordoba and North Bergen’s John Bott, who won the 171-pound title in 1983.
“It would have been great for the school, for the program, for everyone,” Innis said. “Sure, it’s disappointing. Some people say, ‘Hey, you made it to the state finals,’ but when you get there, you want the whole thing. It would have been great.”
“It’s tough to see the same kid again,” St. Peter’s head coach Anthony Verdi said. “Greenwald had the right game plan for Kevin. He didn’t do the things he did the other times they wrestled. Kevin knows what he did wrong and it wasn’t his best performance. Sometimes, it happens.”
Innis said that he didn’t want to watch the tapes of the state finals right away, but finally did Wednesday night.
“I wanted to get away from it for a while, take a few days off,” Innis said.
But now, after a few days, Innis has had a chance to reflect on what is the best career of any St. Peter’s Prep wrestler ever.
“Without a doubt, he’s the best we’ve ever had,” Verdi said. “He’s the best I’ve ever coached.”
“I had a great time doing it,” Innis said. “The coaches made it a lot of fun. It made me look forward to come to practice every single day. It was a great run, a fine ride. I’m pretty happy about my career and what I was able to do. I definitely left it all on the mat. I’m happy to get the opportunity that I was able to have, from the school, from the wrestling program, from my parents.”
For finishing second in the entire state, a year after finishing fifth, Innis has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week. It occurs in the same scholastic sports season that his younger sister, Andrea, earned Co-Athlete of the Week honors with her Secaucus High teammate Shannon Waters.
Innis said that he was blessed to come from such an athletic family. His two older brothers, Brian and Chris, were standout athletes at St. Mary’s of Rutherford. Chris went on to be a pitcher at St. Peter’s College, while Brian is now an assistant wrestling coach at Prep.
“Brian and I beat up on each other a lot in practice,” said Kevin, the third of four Innis athletes. “It was a lot of fun.”
Added Innis, “I think having other athletes in the family really worked out well for me. I think my parents knew the deal and knew what I had to do. It made my life easier, with my mother knowing what foods she had to buy when I was dieting and made the right foods for me. That was one less distraction to have. My two brothers started out in wrestling [in the Secaucus Recreation program] and I got dragged to practices with them. I just started to enjoy it. It clicked and I stuck with it. They went their way and did their own thing and I did mine.”
Innis quickly became a standout in wrestling and football (he was the Hudson Reporter Defensive Player of the Year last fall playing linebacker for the Marauders). His wrestling prowess is attributed to his incredible quickness for his 215-pound frame.
“Having that athletic ability, especially at that weight class, is a major plus,” Verdi said. “He uses his athletic ability to his advantage. He’s such a tremendous worker as well. He’s working for three hours with us, then goes to a gym to get another workout. He’s not the strongest kid, but I don’t know if there’s another kid who is a pure wrestler like he is. He’s not getting away with having just brute strength. It’s very different in high school wrestling.”
Verdi, who competed in both football and wrestling at Prep, knows how participating in one sport can help the other.
“I think they go hand-in-hand,” Verdi said. “I hope he’s an example that you can do both and be successful in both.”
“I did a lot of speed training for football and that definitely helped in both football and wrestling,” Innis said. “I also had a good strength program. It definitely helped.”
Innis is debating whether he will compete in the High School Wrestling National Championships in a few weeks. After that, he will continue to focus on wrestling, because he’s headed to Boston University on a full wrestling scholarship.
Growing up, Innis said that he would constantly go to the NJSIAA state championships in Atlantic City and dreamed that one day he could compete there.
“My father and I went all the time,” Innis said. “I would go down and watch it and wonder. Then, the first time I went down and saw the size of everything, I figured I would be lucky to get out of there with a place medal. But it was really a lot of fun. I got to go out on the mat for the finals and experience the excitement. I never thought that could be me out there. But it happened.”
And he carved out a career that places him ahead of some great Prep wrestlers like Konrad Dudziak, Greg and Dave Ilaria, Sean O’Grady and Doug, Dan and Rick Gronda. They were all sensational Prep wrestlers, but Innis leaves as the best.
“Without a doubt, he has a special place in my heart,” Verdi said. “He’s been the face of Prep wrestling and has been a great role model in how he carried himself. As good of a wrestler as he is, he’s an even better person. He’s a great kid. He’s definitely going to be missed. I miss him already. He’s what we want all of our kids to be.”
“To be considered in that category is a great honor,” Innis said. “I know the history of the program. I am humbled by it all. Our program has come a long way. No question, there will be others who will come along and someone will win in Atlantic City. I know it.”
No one came closer than Kevin Innis. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.