Jay Antonelli ’88

Abstract

Pingry’s First Individual District Wrestling Champ

Jay Antonelli won two varsity letters in both football and lacrosse, and served as captain of the football team his senior year. Yet, his major achievements at Pingry were in wrestling, for which he won four varsity letters. As a sophomore, he was named Pingry’s “Outstanding Wrestler of the Year.” The following summer, he represented New Jersey on a U.S. Wrestling Team in Japan. During his junior year, when he served as co-captain, Pingry’s wrestling team placed 1st in the Somerset County Tournament, and he became district champion in his weight class, the first individual district wrestling championship in Pingry history. With Jay serving as captain during his senior year, the team won the Hun Invitational Tournament for the third consecutive year and placed second in the State District Tournament. Having won 93 matches during high school, Jay amassed what was, at the time, the second-highest total in Pingry wrestling history. Jay won both the Michael Jupka, Jr. ‘76 Wrestling Award and the Centennial Cup, which is awarded to each graduating class’ most outstanding athlete. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, Jay entered the Marine Corps and served as Head Coach of the Marine Corps Wrestling Team from 1997 to 2004. He coached the U.S. Greco Roman World Teams in 2003, 2005, and 2007. The 2007 team was the first in U.S. history to win a world team title. Jay was an assistant coach for the 2000 Olympic Games and Head Coach for the 2008 Olympic Games. He has twice been named USA Wrestling Greco-Roman “Coach of the Year.”