Alumni Blog
Coach Ward Inducted Into S.J. Wrestling Hall of Fame
Posted November 12th, 2015
Our very own Bill Ward joined seven other wrestling greats in the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame, with a banquet held on Nov. 7 at Masso’s Crystal Manor in Glassboro. As reported in the Courier Post:
“A 1985 graduate of St. Augustine, Ward was a District 31 champion (1983) and two-time District 32 champion (1984-85). During his senior season, he took runner-up honors at Region 8 at 149 pounds. He won his preliminary match 19-5 over Andy Iliff of Newton, then won by fall over Steve Crane of South Brunswick in 5:41 of the pre-quarters before defeating Mark Sacco of South Plainfield 6-4 in the quarterfinals. His 13-8 victory over Jon Fredrick of Gateway in the semifinals pitted him against defending state champion Enzo Cattulo of Summit. Ward lost by decision and finished as the silver medalist, boasting an impressive career record of 106-9. Ward went on to Drexel University, where he won the Bloomsburg Invitational, Trenton State Open, Franklin & Marshall Open and was a two-time East Coast Conference finalist before being sidelined with a career-ending injury his senior year. After graduating from Drexel in 1990, he has served for 24 years as a coach at both the youth and high school levels. At Buena, Ward helped the Chiefs earn four sectional titles as well as four state runner-up finishes. St. Augustine has won two sectional titles under his direction. During his combined career at Buena and St. Augustine, he has coached numerous individual district and region champions, and in 2014 coached his first state champion at St. Augustine, Jack Clark. Ward cites the highlight of his career as defeating a two-time Ohio state champion in a dual meet between his alma mater and perennial powerhouse St. Edward’s. He claims his most memorial moments in wrestling came while watching his son, Bill Jr. win four District 32 championships, four Region 8 titles and third-place honors in the state tournament.”
We’re proud of you, Coach Ward!
