Piscataway's Udott working to meet potential
PISCATAWAY – Piscataway High 182-pounder Eti-Ini Udott gets to drill every day with assistant coach Mike Jakubik in the Chiefs' drill room. What Jakubik sees is a potential he's confident will show in earnest very soon, hopefully, starting today in a Greater Middlesex County Tournament quarterfinal.
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The next opportunity for the Nigerian-born Udott to show his ability will be against Middlesex' Kevin Ambicki. If the third-seeded Udott wins, then the story could really become intriguing since South Plainfield's No. 2 seed Christian Gonzalez figures to see him in the semifinals.
Gonzalez and Udott last met in a Jan. 7 dual meet with Udott building a 9-3 lead in the third period before being disqualified for flagrant misconduct. He automatically missed matches against Edison and Highland Park, and returned where he was beaten 4-2 by Old Bridge's Mike Gargano. Gargano is the No. 1 seed and if Udott (15-2) is to win a county title, he'll have to avenge his only losses of the year.
"I was really mad because it was my first loss, but I shouldn't have been in that position in the first place,'' said Udott, whose family moved from North Plainfield to Piscataway after his freshman year. "It inspired me because I worked harder."
Gargano beat Udott 1-0 in last year's 182-pound county semifinal before Gargano beat South Plainfield's top-seeded Collin Lynch 1-0 for the title. Udott went on to place third, pinning Ambicki in the consolation semifinal, then topping Edison's Kevin Karvaski 2-1 in triple overtime for third.
"I'm looking to win, get my revenge,'' said Udott.
The soft-spoken Udott said his disqualification was something to learn from, and though Jakubik doesn't blame the disqualification on the loss to Gargano, Jakubik thinks Udott wasn't as good as he could have been.
"He's got a lot of gifts that haven't been used and hopefully he can really tap into them,,'' said Jakubik.
Last season, he finished 32-5, winning a District 19 title before being beaten 5-3 by Delaware Valley's Kody Eichlin in the Region V consolation final. He did beat Gargano 10-9 in the regions, but lost two times to Eichlin – 4-1 in the quarterfinals, then for third. He was 22-11 as a sophomore 170-pounder, placing third at District 19.
"He has so many skills,'' said Jakubik, who assists Chiefs' coach Bill Pavlak. "We have to get him to go use it. He's so fast with his fakes. He knows what he can do.''
Jakubik mused that Udott could use to add some meanness to his game, something Udott promises he can be in the right circumstance.
Udott was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and when the family won a visa lottery to come to the United States in 2003, they moved to North Plainfield. He was six. He played soccer and began wrestling in the sixth grade. When the family moved to Piscataway, he chose football and become a fullback.
His sister Jessica, is a sophomore at Rutgers University where she is majoring in education. His youngest sister will start high school at Piscataway next year. His parents Augustine and Iby were in the gymnasium last night to see him pin Woodbridge's Sidney Pierre to move into the quarters.
"He can be flashy, I know he can be flashy, he's got it in him, he doesn't necessarily have to be flashy, but just know how to use the athletism he has,'' said Jakubik.