When it comes to winning percentage, it’s tough to top Bill Pavlak’s record at South Plainfield High School: 160-22-3.

During two stints he first went 110-14-3 (.887), and then, after four years of pulling the Piscataway program back to respectability, he returned to the Tigers where he was 50-8 (.862) in two years.

In 14 years his teams won 10 district titles, eight Greater Middlesex Conference titles, nine GMC Division titles, six sectional titles and four group championships, including the first group championship in South Plainfield history.

His teams turned out 65 district champs, 15 region champs, 19 state place winners, four state finalists and one state champion.

Not surprisingly he has been named New Jersey Coach of the Year (2000), twice Region Coach of the Year, six times District Coach of the Year, four times GMC Coach of the Year, and seven times GMC Division Coach of the Year.

In addition to his two wrestling programs, “Pav” was an assistant football coach at St. Thomas Aquinas, and assistant football coach and wrestling coach at Woodbridge High.

Still teaching in the South Plainfield school district, he has also been a wrestling official for many years.

He wrestled all four years at St. Thomas Aquinas, then went on to be an All-American at Middlesex County College before continuing his education at Slippery Rock University. There, he placed third and fourth in the Eastern Regionals, and was team captain as a senior.

Bill got into the coaching ranks at South Plainfield, an assistant 13 years for Hall of Fame coach Mike Buggey.

A phys-ed teacher at Franklin Elementary, he has taught on the high school level 21 years and at the elementary level 18.