One of the most prized high school coaching jobs in the state now belongs to Taylor Cummings, the 2007 ACC Champion at 125 pounds who graduated in December 2009. Cummings will step in to replace Jerry Winterton as head coach of the 20-time state champion wrestling program at nearby Cary High School.

“I’m just absolutely thrilled to be at Cary,” Cummings said. “Any time you hear of prestigious North Carolina wrestling, you hear Cary, Riverside and you hear Parkland. But for the most part, it’s strictly Cary. So I’m definitely honored that they considered me, and ultimately, that they chose me.”

Cummings admitted he will feel some pressure as he assumes control of a program with a history as rich as Cary’s, but said he has already been made to feel welcome.

“Just looking at Cary’s record, it is impressive and a little daunting to think they have 20 state titles to their name right now,” Cummings said. “It’s a double edged sword in that it’s a little hard to take over. But in the same light, I have already had multiple parents emailing me saying they are going to support me 100 percent.”

Cary’s athletic director and principal had no shortage of choices for the predecessor to Winterton, the veteran coach with a laundry list of accolades, including 166 tournament victories, a national record, and 19 state championships.

“There were several really good applicants, so it was a hard decision as far as looking at all of them,” Winterton said. “But we were all on the same page to hire Taylor.”

A number of qualities about Cummings made him attractive to Winterton and the others involved with the decision, including Cary’s principal and athletic director. Cummings was brought up in a family full of wrestling coaches, and his upbringing in that environment played a large role in his selection as Winterton’s replacement.

“My brother graduated from State in 2007 and he is the coach at Ravenscroft,” Cummings said. “My dad was my high school coach. My two other uncles are coaches at high schools as well. My grandfather was also a coach. Everyone I just mentioned, they have all been teachers as well. It’s really a lifestyle that I have grown up knowing, and one I really want for myself as well.”

Fresh off his own collegiate wrestling days, Cummings will bring a unique combination of a thorough knowledge of wrestling and an infusion of youthful enthusiasm.

“He is young, he is enthusiastic and he is in here for the long haul,” Winterton said. “That enthusiasm is really going to help the guys, having that youth in there. It’s time for a young guy to get in there and challenge the guys to step it up and go to the next level. I think he’s perfect for that.”

And in a day and age where the economy has made teaching positions hard to come by, Cummings was the beneficiary of a hole in Cary’s social studies department, one that his degree in history will allow him to fill.

“With the way the economy is now, we don’t have very many teaching positions,” Winterton said. “We were fortunate that he was a history teacher and there was an opening in that area.”

But more than anything, Winterton said it was a conversation he had with his long time friend and former Wolfpack coach Bob Guzzo that made him certain Cummings was the right man to attempt to fill Winterton’s shoes.

“Guzzo knows his uncle and his brother and he raved about Taylor, he just absolutely raved about him,” Winterton said. “The recommendation I got from Guzzo was just off the wall. In my mind, it was huge.”

The hire of Cummings further strengthens what is already a strong connection between the wrestling programs at Cary and N.C. State. Winterton’s friendship with Guzzo, who won 13 ACC Championships and coached 24 All-Americans in 30 years with the Pack, dates all the way back to Winterton’s college days.

“I wrestled for Bob Guzzo in junior college,” Winterton said. “I wrestled for him and that’s the reason I am down here now. That is what got me down to Cary was Bob Guzzo. He had me down at State as an assistant coach. It starts with him.”

In recent years, wrestlers like 2007 ACC Heavyweight Champion Jainor Palma have continued the tradition of athletes competing for Cary, then N.C. State. Jainor’s younger brother Eloheim, another Cary graduate, just finished his freshman year at N.C. State with the school record for the most wins by a freshman heavyweight.

“We have always sent a lot of wrestlers to State,” Winterton said. “And coach Carter Jordan and Guzzo have always been outstanding with them. There is a big connection there.”

Cummings said he plans to take full advantage of the bond between the program he is leaving and the one he is joining.

“Obviously I plan on using every connection between N.C. State wrestling and Cary,” Cummings said. “And hopefully State will use me too. I will also use a couple of my friends. Joe Caramanica [my former teammate and the 2007 ACC Champion 149-pounder] said he wants to stop by and help out as well.”

In addition to the resources he developed during his time with the Pack, Cummings also has several family members he can turn to if and when he needs input or feedback on how to coach or educate.

“What I plan on doing is using every single resource I have available,” Cummings said. “I will use my brother. I will use my dad. My dad is bringing his team down in three weeks and he wants to set up something. I have all the resources in the world right now, so I think I will be very prepared.”

Cummings will also have the chance to learn from the man he will replace. Winterton, who won more than 640 matches in 26 seasons with the Imps, said he will be every bit as available to Cummings as his replacement wants him to be.

“It’s his team now,” Winterton said. “I am going to do what he wants me to do. If he wants me involved to whatever level, that’s the level I’m going to be involved in.”

Jordan, who coached Cummings throughout his career with the Wolfpack, said he has no doubt his former wrestler has the tools to thrive in one of the best positions any young wrestling coach could ask to be in.

“I think all of us were very excited because we know Taylor can do the job,” Jordan said. “I think he understands how fortunate he is to be in the position he is in. He will do a real good job there because he is a hard worker and a bright young man and he has coaching in his blood. To be able to step into a program that has the foundation and the unbelievable history and the great support from the community that Cary does is a wonderful thing. A lot of young coaches have to go build all of that and that takes 15 or 20 years.”