Army West Point to honor teammate, the late Chris Morgan, Jr., facing Lehigh at Morgan's high school on Friday
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by JJ Klein, Army Athletic Communications
Image courtesy of GoArmyWestPoint.com
A MATCH WITH MEANING
Chris Morgan Sr. has plenty of fond memories of watching his son Chris Morgan Jr. (C.J.) compete in wrestling matches inside West Orange High School’s Tarnoff Gymnasium.
In a state with an abundance of wrestling talent, he saw his son work toward two county titles inside the gym. His pride in C.J.’s athletic accomplishments was palpable even over the phone, but his son’s dominance on the mat was not what made him most proud as a father.
“What stood out more than the victories was how he treated his opponents when the match was done.” Chris Sr. said. “He helped them up. He shook their hands and told them ‘hey, good job.’”
Come Friday evening, Chris Sr. and his wife, April, will have a new memory linked to their son inside Tarnoff Gym. Though, this time it will be without their first-born son.
C.J., a member of the Army West Point wrestling team from 2016-19, was supposed to have his senior day match against Lehigh. Tragically he passed away in a military vehicle accident past summer on June 6 while completing training at the U.S. Military Academy. He was 22 years old.
To honor C.J. and his memory, the Army wrestling team made the decision to move its senior day match against Lehigh from its home at West Point to C.J.’s home of West Orange, New Jersey.
The move was the joint idea of Army head coach Kevin Ward and C.J.’s high school head coach Stephan Zichella conceptualized the idea. With senior day already expected to be an emotional enough event on its own, Ward said he was initially unsure of what his team’s response would be when he presented the idea to his wrestlers.
“I said, ‘Hey come back to me tomorrow or sometime this week when you’ve had some time to think about it,” Ward recalled addressing the idea to his group of young men. “And they gave me an answer in five minutes.”
The answer… a resounding yes.
In the months that followed C.J.’s passing, the team implemented ways to honor their fallen brother. They have wrestled with a “CJ” patch on their singlets for much of the year. The best way to honor C.J., the team ultimately decided, would be to live life the way he did his – to the fullest.
“We spoke a lot about if you really want to honor C.J. and if we want to dedicate something to him, then love the people around you,” Ward said. “In the way you live your life, live it like he did. Make others feel the way that he made you feel.”
“They’ve been very real,” Ward said speaking of his team. “They’ve been open about the difficultly and how hard it is. They’ve really looked after each other, which I think is the most important thing. If I’m most proud of anything, it’s how they’ve looked after each other since June the sixth.”
On numerous accounts C.J.’s smile was big enough to fill up a room, his attitude was infectious and his presence was felt whenever he entered a room.
“He had a special demeanor and a really positive attitude. He was just a very positive spirit,” Ward said. “He could make you feel really good just by being around him.”
“He always was this positive, upbeat guy that never took anything super seriously,” said his teammate and former roommate Sam Williams. “Being at the Academy, where there is a lot of important things going on, it was very nice to come back at the end of the day to the room with him there. He was able to lighten the atmosphere and just make this an enjoyable experience.”
His attitude was present on the mat as well.
“He was like the ultimate hype man,” said team captain and classmate Lucas Weiland. “He was the best guy to have on the bench. You could hear him just screaming, cheering for you and whenever he got back to the bench after competing, he’d be ready to cheer for other teammates.”
Mention C.J.’s name to those who knew him and they are bound to crack a smile and share a story of how he once lifted them up, but the pain of losing him still lingers.
“There’s no question that it’s been really hard for everybody and our guys feel that they openly can admit that it’s been really hard,” Ward said. “When we start to think about how sad we are, for me personally and I know some guys on the team, we start thinking to how we know Chris would want us to be in that situation, which is strong and positive.”
As the team has competed throughout what would have been C.J.’s senior season, his presence has stayed with them and his attitude has inspired them in everything they do.
“I, personally, and I think some other guys on the team, like to try to keep Chris around,” Weiland said. “I have the view that he’s still with us and that he’s going to be with us for the rest of our lives.”
The Morgans are still trying to figure out what to do with the things in his room. Still dealing with his loss, his family has also found things to keep C.J.’s memory alive.
Amongst the years of memories in his room is a birthday card addressed to C.J. from one of his friends. The message is simple. It’s no more than three to four sentences describing his friend’s gratitude for C.J. for his loyalty and friendship through good times and bad. Reading the note makes Chris Sr.’s voice crack and the tears in his eyes even more palpable than that of his pride when speaking of his son’s wrestling memories. It’s yet another item affirming the positive impact his son had on those around him.
“I can go on about what an incredible kid he was and I’m a biased dad, but it’s things like that,” Chris Sr. said of the card. “He was a great friend to them all.”
The Black Knights moving their senior match down to West Orange is not the first gesture the wrestling community has made in honor of C.J. Recently, the Essex County wrestling championship, the same one that C.J. claimed twice in a West Orange singlet, opted to permanently name the most valuable wrestler award in name his honor.
When Chris Sr. and his wife were approached with the idea of Army moving its senior day match day down to West Orange High School, it was yet another gesture towards honoring their son that has taken them aback since June 6.
“We had to let it sink in because I thought that it was a wonderful idea, but at the same time it was something that we had never even thought of,” he said.
The more they thought about it, the more they realized that this was the perfect way to honor their son.
“There’s no greater or better place or way to honor him than by doing it in his back yard where he was a very accomplished wrestler,” Chris Sr. said. “I don’t know if it eases the pain, but it’s another layer of comfort from a different source in a way that you never imagined.”
So, come Friday evening, the Army West Point wrestling team will head down to West Orange High School to compete in its match against Lehigh and they’ll do so in front of the Morgans and C.J.’s extended West Orange family.
Emotions in Tarnoff Gymnasium will be high. Tears will undoubtedly be shed.
But to go along with the sadness, will be the positive memories of C.J., the thoughts of all the times he went out of his way to lift others up. And undoubtedly those in attendance at West Orange High School, even if it’s for a brief moment, will crack a smile.
Like he always made them do.
CLICK FOR ARMY WEST POINT ARTICLE WITH ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
A MATCH WITH MEANING
Chris Morgan Sr. has plenty of fond memories of watching his son Chris Morgan Jr. (C.J.) compete in wrestling matches inside West Orange High School’s Tarnoff Gymnasium.
In a state with an abundance of wrestling talent, he saw his son work toward two county titles inside the gym. His pride in C.J.’s athletic accomplishments was palpable even over the phone, but his son’s dominance on the mat was not what made him most proud as a father.
“What stood out more than the victories was how he treated his opponents when the match was done.” Chris Sr. said. “He helped them up. He shook their hands and told them ‘hey, good job.’”
Come Friday evening, Chris Sr. and his wife, April, will have a new memory linked to their son inside Tarnoff Gym. Though, this time it will be without their first-born son.
C.J., a member of the Army West Point wrestling team from 2016-19, was supposed to have his senior day match against Lehigh. Tragically he passed away in a military vehicle accident past summer on June 6 while completing training at the U.S. Military Academy. He was 22 years old.
To honor C.J. and his memory, the Army wrestling team made the decision to move its senior day match against Lehigh from its home at West Point to C.J.’s home of West Orange, New Jersey.
The move was the joint idea of Army head coach Kevin Ward and C.J.’s high school head coach Stephan Zichella conceptualized the idea. With senior day already expected to be an emotional enough event on its own, Ward said he was initially unsure of what his team’s response would be when he presented the idea to his wrestlers.
“I said, ‘Hey come back to me tomorrow or sometime this week when you’ve had some time to think about it,” Ward recalled addressing the idea to his group of young men. “And they gave me an answer in five minutes.”
The answer… a resounding yes.
In the months that followed C.J.’s passing, the team implemented ways to honor their fallen brother. They have wrestled with a “CJ” patch on their singlets for much of the year. The best way to honor C.J., the team ultimately decided, would be to live life the way he did his – to the fullest.
“We spoke a lot about if you really want to honor C.J. and if we want to dedicate something to him, then love the people around you,” Ward said. “In the way you live your life, live it like he did. Make others feel the way that he made you feel.”
“They’ve been very real,” Ward said speaking of his team. “They’ve been open about the difficultly and how hard it is. They’ve really looked after each other, which I think is the most important thing. If I’m most proud of anything, it’s how they’ve looked after each other since June the sixth.”
On numerous accounts C.J.’s smile was big enough to fill up a room, his attitude was infectious and his presence was felt whenever he entered a room.
“He had a special demeanor and a really positive attitude. He was just a very positive spirit,” Ward said. “He could make you feel really good just by being around him.”
“He always was this positive, upbeat guy that never took anything super seriously,” said his teammate and former roommate Sam Williams. “Being at the Academy, where there is a lot of important things going on, it was very nice to come back at the end of the day to the room with him there. He was able to lighten the atmosphere and just make this an enjoyable experience.”
His attitude was present on the mat as well.
“He was like the ultimate hype man,” said team captain and classmate Lucas Weiland. “He was the best guy to have on the bench. You could hear him just screaming, cheering for you and whenever he got back to the bench after competing, he’d be ready to cheer for other teammates.”
Mention C.J.’s name to those who knew him and they are bound to crack a smile and share a story of how he once lifted them up, but the pain of losing him still lingers.
“There’s no question that it’s been really hard for everybody and our guys feel that they openly can admit that it’s been really hard,” Ward said. “When we start to think about how sad we are, for me personally and I know some guys on the team, we start thinking to how we know Chris would want us to be in that situation, which is strong and positive.”
As the team has competed throughout what would have been C.J.’s senior season, his presence has stayed with them and his attitude has inspired them in everything they do.
“I, personally, and I think some other guys on the team, like to try to keep Chris around,” Weiland said. “I have the view that he’s still with us and that he’s going to be with us for the rest of our lives.”
The Morgans are still trying to figure out what to do with the things in his room. Still dealing with his loss, his family has also found things to keep C.J.’s memory alive.
Amongst the years of memories in his room is a birthday card addressed to C.J. from one of his friends. The message is simple. It’s no more than three to four sentences describing his friend’s gratitude for C.J. for his loyalty and friendship through good times and bad. Reading the note makes Chris Sr.’s voice crack and the tears in his eyes even more palpable than that of his pride when speaking of his son’s wrestling memories. It’s yet another item affirming the positive impact his son had on those around him.
“I can go on about what an incredible kid he was and I’m a biased dad, but it’s things like that,” Chris Sr. said of the card. “He was a great friend to them all.”
The Black Knights moving their senior match down to West Orange is not the first gesture the wrestling community has made in honor of C.J. Recently, the Essex County wrestling championship, the same one that C.J. claimed twice in a West Orange singlet, opted to permanently name the most valuable wrestler award in name his honor.
When Chris Sr. and his wife were approached with the idea of Army moving its senior day match day down to West Orange High School, it was yet another gesture towards honoring their son that has taken them aback since June 6.
“We had to let it sink in because I thought that it was a wonderful idea, but at the same time it was something that we had never even thought of,” he said.
The more they thought about it, the more they realized that this was the perfect way to honor their son.
“There’s no greater or better place or way to honor him than by doing it in his back yard where he was a very accomplished wrestler,” Chris Sr. said. “I don’t know if it eases the pain, but it’s another layer of comfort from a different source in a way that you never imagined.”
So, come Friday evening, the Army West Point wrestling team will head down to West Orange High School to compete in its match against Lehigh and they’ll do so in front of the Morgans and C.J.’s extended West Orange family.
Emotions in Tarnoff Gymnasium will be high. Tears will undoubtedly be shed.
But to go along with the sadness, will be the positive memories of C.J., the thoughts of all the times he went out of his way to lift others up. And undoubtedly those in attendance at West Orange High School, even if it’s for a brief moment, will crack a smile.
Like he always made them do.
CLICK FOR ARMY WEST POINT ARTICLE WITH ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
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