While a state appellate court decides whether to hear an NJSIAA appeal of a lower court decision reinstating St. John Vianney wrestler Anthony Knox in the state tournament, New Jersey athletic directors staunchly backed the association in its attempt to disqualify the three-time state champ.

Anthony Knox, a three-time New Jersey state wrestling champion, has been charged with assault days after courts cleared him to wrestle, changing the fate of his future on the mat.The St. John Vianney senior,

Anthony Knox Jr. has won three straight state titles, but was disqualified after a fight broke out in Collingswood last month.

St. John Vianney’s Anthony Knox, no longer wrestling with the possibility of disqualification hanging over his head, breezed through his first bout in the NJSIAA/IBEW Local 102 State Championships at Boardwalk Hall.

In wrestling a reversal is worth two points. But it’s impossible to measure the impact of the reversal that Anthony Knox, Jr. experienced during an unprecedented week that saw him disqualified by the NJSIAA for the rest of the season following his role in a February 22 brawl at the District Championships at Collingswood High School.