Greg Austin
Apex South Instructor​
Greg Austin assists at Apex South with the novice/learner classes, rec, middle school, and high school classes. Greg is a local South Jersey wrestling icon, and an iductee into the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame.
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A 1999 graduate of Ocean City (NJ) High School, Austin captured three District 32 titles, one Region 8 title, and earned two trips to the NJSIAA State Tournament. In 1998, wrestling at 125 pounds, Austin won a 10-3 decision over Bill Heverly of Camden Catholic, before dropping a 3-0 decision to Jason Mercado of Pitman. This loss put Austin in the wrestlebacks, where he won by forfeit over Josh Tresslar of Belvidere.
The ensuing match resulted in a narrow 4-2 loss to Gary Mickolay of Lenape Valley, but earned Austin 7th place honors. Up two weight classes the following year (135), Austin reeled off a pre-quarterfinal technical fall over Ray Weed of Absegami, 18-2 (4:32), and then followed with a quarterfinal 11-3 major decision over Ken Rodriguez of Bound Brook. In the semifinals, a 7-4 victory over Dave Miller of Lenape earned Austin a berth in the finals. Austin lost a heart-breaking 11-7 match to Chris Bitetto of Hackensack to come away as the silver medalist and closing his career with a record of 105-14.
Austin continued his education and wrestling career at Rutgers University. Once again, Austin demonstrated prowess on the mat, placing all four varsity years in the prestigious E.I.W.A. Tournament, but it was his two fourth place finishes in ’02 and ’03 that qualified him for the Division I NCAA Tournament at 149 pounds. Though Austin did not place in the tournament, he finished his collegiate career with an impressive record of 106-44. Austin cites winning a Region 8 Championship and finishing as the state’s silver medalist in ’99 as highlights of his wrestling career. He is also very proud of his two trips to the Division I NCAA Tournament. Many of Austin’s memorable moments in the sport come from what he has learned from competing at the Division I level, and he recalls how two losses at the hands of NCAA Champions, Michael Lightner of Oklahoma and Jared Lawrence of Minnesota have helped him in his perspective of how to succeed in life through perseverance.
Austin is employed by the State of New Jersey and he lives in Upper Township, NJ with his wife, Kristen, and their two children.