Josh Oliver ’05
Career Record: 85-16, 2x State Medalist, State Finalist
Tournament Championships: Reno , Las Vegas 100, Armando Soto, 2x Manheim
College: West Virginia
2005 – 130 lbs.: District Runner-Up, Regional Runner-Up, State Fourth (42-10)
2004 – 112 lbs.: District Third, Regional Third, State Finalist (41-6)
2003 – 112 lbs.: (2-0)
Josh Oliver went from two-year junior varsity wrestler to the state finals and one of the lynchpins of the 2004 and 2005 Easton teams that won a state title and went to two straight state finals. Dynamic on his feet, Oliver and his brother Jordan joined the Weavers, Cuvos, and Ciasullis as sets of Easton brothers to make state finals.
Oliver spent his freshman and sophomore seasons stuck behind classmates and fellow all-time Easton greats Alex Krom and Seth Ciasulli at 103 pounds, and was casually referred to as “the best JV wrestler in America” by those who knew the program.
He earned his first varsity victory with a spot start at 112 pounds, pinning George Hahn (Pleasant Valley) in the second period. As a junior, Oliver finally cracked the lineup at 112 and showed the wrestling world what they were missing. At the Las Vegas 100, Oliver got his season rolling with a 15 second pin then took down four-time Nevada state champion Randel Aleman four times in a 9-7 win over the tournament’s top seed. A tech fall in semis set him up for an all-Pennsylvania final with future two-time state champ and NCAA All American Zack Kemmerer (Upper Perkiomen). Despite giving up a takedown, Oliver reversed Kemmerer in the second period then rode him out for the third to force overtime. After a scoreless OT, Oliver rode out Kemmerer in OTRO to claim his first tournament title and was the only Easton champion. He used that momentum to have one of the great Reno tournaments in Easton history. After opening with a pair of tech falls, he faced future Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo (Maryvale, AZ) in his pre-quarters match. Again, Oliver showed prowess on his feet, taking down the Olympic champion four times in a back-and-forth 9-8 win. In quarters, he handled four-time Colorado state champion Jake Ellis (Ponderosa) 8-2, then majored California bronze medalist Brett Land (Bakersfield) to make his second tournament final in as many weeks. In the finals, Oliver met three-time California state champion Brian Moreno (Foothill), who was ranked as high as #8 in the country. Undaunted, Oliver put on a clinic, racking up 14 points in a major decision over the tournament’s top seed and announcing himself as a national force to be reckoned with. Oliver was one of three Easton champions at Reno as they placed third while missing two key starters. Back in Pennsylvania, Oliver closed his excellent December with his third straigh tournament title. He blanked two-time state champion Matt Dunn (Reynolds) in the semis, then scored an overtime takedown to beat returning state bronze medalist Morgan Baublitz (Cumberland Valley). That capped a 14-0 start to his season with six wins over state champions. In their first dual of the year, Oliver had the marquee match up against cross-town rival Wilson, where he’d meet eventual state runner-up Russ Souders. Unlike his tournament swing, Oliver could not get to his offense, and gave up a pair of takedowns in a 6-4 loss to the Wilson star, the first of Oliver’s career. The following weekend, Easton wrestled a tough Nazareth team at 25th Street Gym where Oliver would meet archrival Tim Darling for the first time. The freshman phenom had put himself on the map at Beast of the East just like Oliver had on the west coast. In round one, Oliver took Darling down three times and did not yield an offensive point in a 6-4 for the Red Rover. At the NHSCA Final Four, Oliver kicked off Easton’s romp over Apple Valley (MN) with a second period pin and did the same in the afternoon session win over St. Paris Graham (OH). That evening, Oliver again had the opening bout, facing National Prep champ and NCAA qualifier Ross Gitomer (Blair Academy), who Oliver blanked 4-0 as Easton got out to a 10-0 lead before falling to the nation’s top ranked Bucaneers. His schedule got no easier as Easton traveled to Upper Perkiomen with a rematch looming with Zack Kemmerer. Random draw placed 112 as the last match of the evening. When Marcus Millen gave up a stunning defensive fall at 215, it set up Oliver-Kemmerer as the deciding bout, with Easton up just 26-25. After a scoreless first period, Oliver escaped in the second and Kemmerer took bottom to start the third. Using a suffocating leg ride, Oliver held Kemmerer down for two minutes to ride out an individual and dual victory for Easton. In the final weekend of the regular season, Easton met Northampton with a Lehigh Valley Conference championship on the line. Oliver matched up with returning state medalist Steve Mytych as one of the premier toss-ups of the dual between the #3 and #5 teams in the country. Both wrestlers traded escapes in regulation and despite a flurry of action, where scorless on their feet in overtime. Mytych had choice in OTRO and went underneath Oliver, who threw legs in and held Mytych down to survive the 30 second sudden death period. However, Easton lost the dual 31-30. The following weekend at D11 Duals, Oliver met Tim Darling (Nazareth) in semifinals for round two of their career series. This time it was Darling who got scores from neutral in a 7-6 win to even their series at 1, though Easton cruised 39-12 in the dual. That set up the epic rematch with Northampton, where if Easton was going to turn the tables, they would need Oliver to repeat his win over Mytych. The bout fell second in the evening. After a Juju Drummond overtime thriller to start the dual, Mytych and Oliver again wrestled to a 1-1 regulation. Cautiously, neither wrestler put much on the line in the sudden death minute on their feet. This time, Oliver had choice and went underneath Mytych for rideout, got to his feet, and escaped quickly for a 2-1 OTRO win to hold serve in the team score from the previous week. Easton flipped the result, winning 29-25 and advancing to their fourth straigh state duals. At state duals, Oliver opened with one of the nation’s top 112 pounders, fellow junior Brad Pataky (Clearfield) in quarters. Pataky handled Oliver 7-2 giving him the biggest loss of his young career. Oliver rebounded for wins in the semis and finals as Easton rolled to their fourth straight state title. In the D11 tournament, Oliver-Darling-Mytych was the premier trio in any weight class. Throw in returning state medalist Jeremy Cresswell (Blue Mountain) and it was maybe the most loaded weight class of any district in the state. Oliver earned the top seed, with Darling as the four on his half. A pair of pins rolled Oliver into the semis, while Darling went fall/major to set up round three. In the semifinal, Oliver and Darling traded reversals and rideouts in regulation, then went scoreless on their feet in OT. Darling scored first and went underneath Oliver, and was able to escape to make his first D11 final and relegate Oliver to the consolation bracket. On the back side, Oliver teched Kyle John (Southern Lehigh) and throttled Cresswell, 13-4, for third place. Everybody came back to the party the following weekend for Regionals, with the addition of D2 champ and future NCAA All American Justin Accordino (Coughlin). Oliver beat John in his opening match, then took Accordino down four times in a statement 9-4 win. That pitted him against Darling in another semi. Slowly, the freshman was figuring out Oliver on their feet, and he took him down twice in a 5-3 win to send Oliver into the consolations for the second straight week. But in two do-or-die matches, Oliver handled future D11 champ Willy Horwath (Liberty) 11-6 then beat Cresswell for the second straight week to end the returning medalist’s season and punch his first ticket to Hershey. At states, Pataky was the favorite, with Oliver, Darling, and Mytych all strongly in the mix to unseat him. Oliver opened his state tournament with a 10-3 win over Kyle Fluke (State College), then clinched a medal by teching Scott Morgan (Norwin) in the second period. That set up round five in the state semifinals with Tim Darling (with Mytych and Pataky meeting on the other side). After a scoreless first period, the wrestlers traded escapes to start the second and third. With a minute remaining, Oliver converted on his go-to wrap arm single to take a 3-1 lead, and rode Darling out to advance to the state final. Oliver was one of three Red Rovers to make the state final, tying a school record. In the finals, Brad Pataky took him down three times in a 6-3 loss for Oliver, a disappointing end to a fabulous first varsity season. Darling and Mytych finished third and fourth, the last time every D11 qualifier in a weight finished in the top four.
After an offseason growth spurt, Oliver started his senior season at 130 pounds. He opened the year by winning the Armando Soto Tournament in Tampa, Florida, where he knocked off four-time Florida state champ Sean Joyce (Brandon) with a 10-4 drubbing in the finals. In a return trip to Reno, Oliver rolled to semifinals with a pin and two dominant decisions. There, he met national #1 Billy Murphy (Hughson) where he fell 9-3 to the three-time California state champion. On the back side, Oliver beat New Mexico state champ Dominic Valencia (Rio Rancho) and four-time Alaska state champion Eli Hutchinson (Skyview) to finish third. He was one of seven Easton medalists as the Red Rovers took back the team title. The following weekend, Oliver was named Outstanding Wrestler at Manheim as he won his second title, capped by a dramatic 9-8 OTRO victory over two-time state champion Matt Dunn (Reynolds). At the Easton Wrestling Invitational, Oliver took down future NCAA All American and Delaware state champ Chris Diaz (Caesar Rodney) in a 9-4 rout to cap Easton snapping Caesar Rodney’s decade long winning streak. Oliver pinned his way to the Phillipsburg match, which returned to The Pit after years at Lafayette College. Oliver met up with New Jersey medalist Brandon Stillo, who scored a late takedown and rode Oliver out for a 5-4 upset. The following weekend, Oliver had a strong showing at the NHSCA Final Four, first by pinning Dominic Valencia (Rio Rancho) in his second win over the Rams star that year, then pinning Virginia state champ PJ Clamp (Great Bridge) in Easton’s upset win over national #2 Great Bridge. Oliver just missed out on a 3-0 day when star freshman Mario Mason (Blair Academy) hit a duck under in the final thirty seconds to take a 5-4 win over Oliver. While Oliver was cruising through his season, Tim Darling had evolved into one of the best 130 pounders in the country. They renewed their rivalry at Nazareth the following weekend. While the first five matches were nailbiters, Darling threw Oliver to his back early and never looked back in this iteration of the rivalry, thoroughly dominating the Easton star 11-0 and announcing himself as the man to beat at 130 pounds. Oliver recovered to win four straight before Easton’s rematch with Nazareth in the D11 Dual finals. This time, Oliver avoided the catastrophe of their regular season match, but gave up the match’s only takedown in a 3-0 loss. At State Duals, Oliver scored a fall in Easton’s semifinal win over Upper Perkiomen to send Easton to their fifth straight state final. Nazareth was upset on the other side of the bracket by Connellsville, creating a rematch for the 2005 state title. Easton led 25-16 after 125, with five bouts left featuring four state medalists for the Red Rovers. Oliver was up first against Steve Bell, who Connellsville bumped up to 130 away from Seth Ciasulli. Oliver took Bell down in the first period for a 2-1 lead. Bell reversed Oliver in the second to go up 3-2, then took neutral in the third period. Oliver scored again from his feet in the third to go up 4-3, and tried to ride out the match for a win over the eventual state champion and two-time NCAA All American. While trying to leg ride, Oliver was getting high in the final fifteen seconds as Bell wildly tried to shake him off. With three seconds left, Bell was able to drop Oliver off and reverse him. Rather than just the reversal, Oliver relaxed for a second and Bell drove his shoulders to the mat for a pin with :01 showing on the clock, a nine point swing in seconds. The momentum was clear as the Connellsville side went wild, and they swept the final four bouts for a shocking 34-25 win to snap Easton’s state title streak. Oliver bounced back as the two seed in the D11 tournament. He pinned his opening round opponent, then scored 30 points between quarters and semis to set up his third match of the year with Darling. But Darling put on a clinic on the mat, turning Oliver twice in an 8-0 major decision. The following week at Regionals, Oliver opened with a 9-7 decision over Shane Hutchinson (Liberty) then beat D2 champ and future state medalist Josh Roosa (Crestwood) 8-6. A major in semis pitted him against Darling for the ninth time in their careers. Oliver noticeably slowed the pace in this round, keeping Darling at bay on their feet for most of the first period. But an escape and a takedown in the secon period by Darling put him in control of the match, and he forced Oliver to settle as a runner-up for the second straight weekend. Consensus was that Darling, Oliver, and Nate Nauroth (Quakertown) were the top contenders at 130. But an upset in the Southeast Regional meant Nauroth and Oliver were squaring off in the first round of the state tournament. Tied 1-1 late, Nauroth converted a single for the only offensive score of the bout, and he knocked Oliver into the consolations in what was a disastrous 3-5 opening round for the Red Rovers. But showing pride, Oliver went on a tear through the back side. He rebounded that session to stay alive with an 8-3 decision. Then in the medal match, he beat returning state medalist Matt Nelson (Shaler) by escaping in OTRO to earn his second state medal and keep his season alive. He handled Bryan Bucher (Northern York) and Tom Barger (Clearfield) to march all the way to the bronze medal match from an opening round loss. There, he faced WPIAL champ Tyler Oravec (Kiski Area). But things went south quickly, as Oravec took Oliver down twice in the first period and rolled to a 7-1 win, leaving Oliver with a fourth place medal to end his career. Oliver was deducted a team point for throwing his headgear, which came into play when Connellsville and Council Rock South both used falls in the finals to scoot past Easton by a single point in the closest team race in state tournament history.
Following Easton, Oliver went to West Virginia on a wrestling scholarship.
History of Easton Wrestling 