Jim Savage, like Galasso, came to Judge incidentally. He was a coach at North Catholic from 1997 until its closing two years ago, and estimates he had a near-.750 win percentage there. But at Judge he inherited a team that had never really challenged in the league, much less won a PCL title, since the school reinstated its wrestling program in 2004.
"Wrestling in general at Father Judge never really had much success prior to us coming over," Savage said. "They had some individuals do half-decent, but as a team, they didn't experience that much success."
In the 2009-10 season, Judge lost a league dual meet to La Salle - which has won the last three league and District 12 championships - by 80-0. But last year, in Savage's first season, the team went 7-1 in the league and advanced to the PCL semifinals, before falling to Monsignor Bonner in a decisive final bout.
Last year's team had star heavyweight Jeremy Reith, who became Judge's first PIAA tournament qualifier and medalist - he placed fourth - in school history.
"When we came in, we tried to change the culture, make it important to the kids, make it important to the community," Savage said.
This year's squad features Galasso, who as a freshman at Malvern placed fourth at National Preps at 125 pounds. This season, PA Power ranks him No. 5 in the state at 132 with a 16-0 record, including 11 pins.
Judge claims two others ranked in the state: Anthony Siwek is No. 10 at 106 pounds, and Tim Maguire is No. 20 at 195.
The team is 5-1 this season, 1-0 in the league, and has a date with La Salle on Jan. 21.
"La Salle is circled on the team calendar. I would love to beat them, but if we don't beat them, I won't be disappointed," Galasso said. "I just want to give them a run for their money, then progress over the year and hopefully beat them by next year, maybe the year after - my senior year. But I definitely want to beat them before I leave."
