January 26, 2016 Volume-VIII Issue-2
The first thing fans, players, coaches & parents want to know after the big game is always,
�Is this going to be on
?�
Shore Sports Network has established itself as a leader in scholastic sports coverage in Monmouth and Ocean counties, providing more video highlight clips, in-depth reporting, feature stories and regular updates than ANY OTHER OUTLET in the area.
Shore Sports Network Website Features
n Get Video Highlights of all the important games that Shore Conference fans will be talking about. n Catch up on the action you might have missed n Watch video clips of everything from the action early in the event to the big finish as well as video interviews with various athletes. n www.shoresportsnetwork.com is the most visited sports site in the Shore Conference during the scholastic year n Follow us on Twitter (over 16,000 followers) & Facebook, we keep fans posted on the latest scores and news n Established leading portal for local high school coverage.
SteveMEYER Shore Sports Network Director High School Division s t ev e. m e y er @t own s qu a re m edi a. co m 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0
KevinWILLIAMS S h o r e S p o r t s N e t w o r k Director k ev i n . w i l l i am s @ t ow n s qu a re m ed i a. c om
Senior C ontent Providers BobBadders // badders@allshoremedia.com MattManley // Mmanley21@gmail.com
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Shore Sports Network to help present Shore Conference Basketball Tournament
B y Kevin Williams - Shore Sports Network Director
As
the exclusive media partner of the Shore Conference of High Schools, Shore Sports Network will help present the 2016 Shore Conference Basketball Tournament February 16-27, 2016. The boys and girls tournaments will be seeded on February 14 and are open to teams with a .500 or better record. The schedule for this year’s tournament is listed below: Tuesday, Feb. 16
Thursday, Feb. 18
Saturday, Feb 20
Sunday, Feb 21
Monday, Feb 22
Tuesday, Feb 23
Play-in round at higher seeds
Round of 16 at higher seeds
Girls Quarterfinals at Brookdale C.C.
Boys Quarterfinals at Brookdale C.C.
Girls Semifinals at Pine Belt Arena, TR
Boys Semifinals at Pine Belt Arena, TR
highlight of the basketball season.
The Shore Sports Network Journal will print a special championship game issue which will serve as the official game-day program for the Boys & Girls Championship games on February 27 at Monmouth University. The FREE issue will include rosters for the four finalists, game previews and more and will be available as fans enter Monmouth University.
In addition the Boys and Girls semifinals will be broadcast live on the Shore Sports Network’s 1160 & Shoresportsnetwork.com will be your one-stop shop for complete coverage 1310AM as well as streamed live on shoresportsnetwork.com. Those of this year’s tournament beginning with Matt Manley’s SCT preview in mid- broadcasts will be handled by Matt Harmon, Kevin Williams and Ed Sarluca. February. The website will include updated brackets, schedules, scores and highlights, game stories, videos and a history of what many consider the Saturday, Feb 27
Girls & Boys Finals at Monmouth University
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the US Army continues the Honor of presenting the Basketball Teams of the Week During the boys basketball season, Shore Sports Network will
be selecting an Army Strong Team of the Week, sponsored by the U.S. Army. The feature team will be selected based on performance from the prior week of action.
Week Three
Toms River North Week One
Ranney School
The first honor of the season goes to Ranney, which is off to a school record 70 start behind a starting lineup that includes four freshmen. Along with Manasquan, the Panthers are one of just two remaining unbeaten teams in the conference. The players and first-year head coach Tahj Holden accepted the award at a pep rally on Thursday.
Last week, Ranney won the Albert E. Martin Buc Holiday Classic championship at Red Bank Regional High School, Holden’s alma mater. The Panthers defeated Middletown North, Sayreville and host Red Bank – all by a double-figure margin.
During the tournament, freshman Bryan Antoine averaged 29.3 points per game to earn tournament Most Valuable Player honors and classmate Scottie Lewis was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 19 points over the three games.
Ranney also began this week with wins on back-to-back nights over Point Pleasant Beach and Asbury Park on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those two teams have combined to win at least a share of the last eight Class B Central championships and combined for six straight NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I championships from 2009 to 2014.
The seven straight wins to open the year has already eclipsed Ranney’s total from all of last season, when the Panthers went 5-16 overall and 2-12 in Shore Conference Class B Central division play.
Ranney is currently ranked No. 6 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10. The Panthers will host Doane Academy, Cross Christian Academy and Foundation Academy Friday and Saturday in the four-team Panther Classic tournament before hosting Mater Dei Prep – the No. 2 team in the SSN Top 10 – in a key Class B Central battle on Tuesday night.
A 20-win 2014-15 season that included a trip to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals and the No. 1 seed in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV playoffs came to a screeching halt for Toms River North in the South Jersey Group IV quarterfinals against a formidable, eighth-seeded Rancocas Valley.
The Mariners have returned this year with a deeper, more athletic, up-tempo team that is off to an 11-1 start to the 2015-16 campaign. If there was any doubt that Toms River North has grown from its postseason exits from a year ago, the Mariners put it to rest by beating Rancocas Valley, 82-67, this past Saturday at a Martin Luther King Jr. showcase in Pemberton. After beating the Red Devils to cap an unbeaten week, the Mariners are the third Shore Sports Network Army Strong Team of the Week in 2016. In that Saturday win, five Toms River North players scored in double-figures, led by 20-point games from both senior Hunter Petrick and junior Mike Nyisztor. Senior Pat Marinaccio also scored 18 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in the win, while junior Jaden Rhoden added 14 points and junior Darrion Carrington netted 10 in the potent Mariners offensive attack.
The 15-point win over the Red Devils capped another unbeaten week for Toms River North, which included wins over Brick Memorial and a Brick team that is off to its best start to a season in quite some time. To date, Toms River North’s only loss is to still-unbeaten Manasquan in the WOBM Christmas Classic final – a game the Mariners led by nine points in the third quarter.
Week Two
Rumson-Fair Haven Prior to its 67-42 win over Raritan on Jan. 14, the Rumson-Fair Haven boys basketball team accepted the second Shore Sports Network Army Team of the Week Award of 2016, sponsored by the U.S Army.
From Jan. 2 to Jan. 9, the Bulldogs went 4-0, with wins over Freehold Township, Shore Regional and Holmdel to open the week and a resounding, 17-point win over Gill St. Bernard’s Saturday at the Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase at Long Branch High School. Gill St. Bernard’s entered Saturday ranked No. 7 in the state according to NJ.com before the Bulldogs beat the Knights, 66-49. After scoring 34 points last season to set the showcase record, Brendan Barry again won Most Valuable Player honors by scoring 29 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals. Rumson began the season 0-2 and fell to 1-3 in its last game before the New Year, but has won six straight since and now sits at 7-3 after Thursday’s win.
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CBA Earns No. 1 Seed for the Shore Conference Wrestling Tournament
B y Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer
Christian Brothers
Academy has never won the Shore Conference Tournament. There’s as good a chance as ever that changes in 2016.
In what figures to be one of the most competitive tournaments in the tournament’s 40-year history, the SCT seeding committee selected the Colts as the top seed for the SCT by a 5-1 vote during the seeding meeting on Sunday at Red Bank Regional High School.
The seeding committee is comprised of one head coach from each of the Shore Conference’s six divisions and is as follows: Matt Sirchio (Middletown North, Class A North), Rob Nucci (Raritan, Class A Central), Tom Pfister (Lacey, Class A South), Dan George (Long Branch, Class B North), Chris DeTalvo (Keansburg, Class B Central), Pat Brady (Point Boro, Class B South). Red Bank athletic director Del Dal Pra is the tournament director.
CBA, which is ranked No. 2 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10 and No. 13 in the NJ.com New Jersey Top 20, has not entered the SCT in six of the last seven seasons. The Colts have favored the Jack Welch Duals as better preparation for the postseason, and for many years the Jack Welch Duals and the SCT final four fall on the same day. This year the Jack Welch Duals were this past weekend, although CBA did not attend the event (which was shortened to one day) because of the snowstorm that began Friday night. CBA head coach Russ Witt told Shore Sports Network early in the season the Colts would enter the Shore Conference Tournament. Southern Regional, the No. 1 team in the SSN Top 10 and No. 12 in New Jersey, opted out of the tournament for the fifth straight season. Point Beach opted out for the second straight season.
Because the storm forced the majority of schools to close Monday, the tournament
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committee decided to change the tournament from a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday format to a Thursday-Saturday format. The first three rounds will be wrestled Thursday evening at the sites of the top four seeds. The preliminary matches pitting teams seeded 13 through 20 will be at 4 p.m. with the pre-quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m. The quarterfinals are scheduled for 7 p.m.
The final four will take place on Saturday at Red Bank Regional High School with the semifinals at 3 p.m. and the championship match at 5:30 p.m.
New for this season and a hot-button issue is the NJSIAA’s decision to enforce a National Federation of High Schools rule that states a wrestler must weigh in at the same weight for a multi-day dual-meet tournament. For example, a wrestler that weighs in at 132 pounds on the first day of the tournament (Thursday) would only be eligible for 132 and 138 for the entirety of the tournament. In seeding the field, the committee used winning percentage, head-to-head results,
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quality wins, strength of schedule and power points. The criteria used is not based on a formula like the individual postseason tournaments, however, and is listed in no particular order. The seeding of teams one through five were done without issue, but the seeding became more difficult starting at the No. 6 seed. Ultimately Middletown North was voted the six seed over Raritan and Brick Memorial by a 3-2-1 vote. Raritan was voted the No. 7 seed over Brick Memorial, 4-2.
Four results made seeding teams nine through 12 difficult. Point Boro, Jackson Liberty, Ocean and Colts Neck were all considered for those seeds. Brady, the B South representative, voted for Jackson Liberty ahead of his own team because the Lions defeated the Panthers 30-29 on Jan. 13. Point Boro holds a 31-30 victory over Ocean on criteria. Ocean defeated Colts Neck 45-18. Colts Neck beat Jackson Liberty 36-26. Members of the committee felt that Point Boro’s win over Ocean was enough to jump the Panthers over Jackson Liberty, despite the Lions’ head-tohead win, so Point Boro was voted the No. 9 seed by a 3-2-1 margin. Liberty was slotted 10th and Ocean 11th because of its head-to-head victory over Colts Neck, which came in at No. 12.
Teams 13 through 20 were slotted with an attempt to avoid any rematches in the preliminary round. There will, however, be three rematches in the pre-quarterfinal round with Long Branch-Colts Neck, Middletown North-Ocean and Raritan-Jackson Liberty. Long Branch defeated Colts Neck 33-27 on Jan. 5. Middletown North topped Ocean 34-26 on Jan. 9. Raritan beat Jackson Liberty 39-25 on Jan. 9. & Photo by:
Bob Badders
www.shoresportsnetwork.com
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Top-Ranked Southern Survives Late Scare from No. 7 Brick Memorial to Take Control of Class A South By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer
to-eye on things and coach Brennan has basically taken him under his wing and brought him up through the ranks. He has definitely come on strong and is one of the top guys in the program now.”
In a battle of powerhouse
programs, it was the depth and balance of Southern that got the best of Brick Memorial.
Ghione, the state runner-up at 113 pounds last season, followed with a 49-second pin over freshman Nick Pepe to make it 12-0. Sophomore Matt Barnett got Southern (6-1, 5-0) on the board with a 12-4 major decision in which he recorded three takedowns and a reversal in the third period. At 132, Bennett twisted Justin Intile up with a spladle to record a fall in 1:10 and pull Southern to within 12-10.
The Rams, ranked No. 1 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10, won eight bouts and survived a late scare to fend off the seventh-ranked Mustangs 37-27 in a Shore Conference Class A South match on Friday evening.
Leading by four heading into the final bout at 106 pounds where sophomore Owen Kretschmer was heavily favored, the Rams escaped with a hard-fought win when Kretschmer broke out of a cradle from Liam Rivera and eventually recorded a pin of his own. The victory pushed Southern’s division record to 5-0, and with wins over Jackson Memorial and Brick Memorial already in the bank, the Rams are on track to claim their eighth division title and second in the last three seasons.
“It’s very important to us,” said senior Joe Toci about winning a division title. “It’s a very well-respected division, obviously, so any time we can be in the hunt it’s a great opportunity. It’s been a goal of ours.”
Kretschmer, Toci (182) and Gianni Bennett (132) each won by fall, junior Nick Suriano (195) recorded a technical fall and sophomore Matt Barnett (126) and senior Pat Mooney (152) won by major decision to fuel Southern’s fifth straight victory. “We’re winning on balance, there’s no doubt about it,” said Southern head coach John Stout. “That’s how we’re going to pay our bills.”
“We have a big senior group and a close group, and we understand there’s not that one guy,” Toci said. “We all have to contribute on a daily basis if we want to win these matches.”
This year’s version of Brick Memorial isn’t the juggernaut it was last season when it won A South, the Shore Conference Tournament, the NJSIAA Group V title, finished No. 1 in the Shore and No. 2 in New Jersey and had four individual state finalists. The Mustangs (6-5, 4-2) are still plenty dangerous, however.
Sophomore Matt Wardlaw (113) and junior Gianni Ghione (120) won by fall to open the match and give Brick Memorial a 12-0 lead. Junior heavyweight Nick Rivera also won by fall, and senior Anthony Mitchell defeated Peyton Blauvelt 4-1 in a matchup between top-five 170-pounders (as ranked by theshoreconference.com).
Mustangs senior Luke Vescovi used an escape and a takedown in the second period to beat Mike Racanelli 3-2 and push Brick Southern senior Gianni Bennett locked in a spladle to pin Justin Intile at 132 pounds. Memorial’s lead to 15-10, but the Rams would go on to win the next two bouts to take the lead for good. Senior Teddy Caporino held “Those kids are tough, and it’s all about matchups,” Stout said. “Numbers don’t always tell the truth. I knew the match would go off a late charge by Chris Richardson to win 8-6 at 145 pounds, and senior something like this but I didn’t think they could score enough points on us Pat Mooney used six takedowns and a pair of turns against Casey Wines to record an 18-6 major decision and put Southern up 17-15. to beat us. They can hang. They’re good enough to beat anybody.” “They’re a great program and have been a great program since before I was born,” Toci said. “It’s great to come in here and win as a team.”
Wardlaw opened the match by locking in a cradle and pinning Dylan Cardell in 3:34 to give Brick Memorial a 6-0 lead. Wardlaw, who got down to 113 pounds for the first time this season in Wednesday’s match against Jackson Memorial, improved to 12-6 on the season. Wardlaw has already eclipsed his win total from last season when he finished 10-15. He caught fire last season to win an improbable District 24 title at 106 pounds and is now among the most improved wrestlers in the Shore this season.
“Matt Wardlaw’s improvement is a direct correlation to coach (Tim) Brennan,” said Brick Memorial head coach Mike Denver. “They see eye-
Seon Bowker’s 11-5 decision over Ean Mueller made it 20-15 before Mitchell clipped Blauvelt at 170. Known for his judo, Mitchell launched Blauvelt with a throw for a four-point move in the first period. That was all he needed to take the bout and improve to 15-3 on the season.
Toci picked up his teammate by pinning Dakota Wade in 1:59 at 182 pounds to put Southern up 26-18, and Suriano’s dominating 15-0 technical fall in 4:27 over Ron Hopping put the Rams up 31-18 with three bouts left. Senior Chris Hayes brought Brick Memorial closer with a 9-4 decision over Joe Miele at 220 pounds and Nick Rivera, the state runner-up at heavyweight last season, pinned Dan Lynch in 1:39 to cut Southern’s lead to 31-27 heading into the final bout.
Brick Memorial’s starting 106-pounder, sophomore Joe Rotundo, remains out with an injury suffered Jan. 9 against St. Peter’s Prep. That left sophomore Liam Rivera with the task of trying to shock Kretschmer and give Brick Memorial the win. He almost did it, too, when he locked in a cradle early in the second period and was a second away from blowing the roof off the building. Kretschmer was able to roll out of the hold and into a pinning hold of his own. He eventually finished off the Rams’ victory with a win by fall in 4:42.
“Our 106-pounder almost getting stuck made it a little more interesting than it needed to be,” Stout said. “But in the end a (win) is a win.”
by: Southern sophomore Owen Kretschmer won by fall in the final bout to clinch a 37-27 victory over Brick Memorial.
Bob Badders
www.shoresportsnetwork.com
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By Matt Manley – Managing Editor
he list of players who join the 1,000−point club is always a sidebar to a high school basketball season. All was quiet on the milestone front for the first full month of the 2015-16 campaign, perhaps in part because Rumson-Fair Haven senior Brendan Barry and Christian Brothers Academy senior Pat Andree both took care of that checkpoint as juniors last year.
would need only to average 20.3 points per game in 16 games to reach 2,000. That is six points lower than his current season average.
Like Andree, Barry set his school’s scoring record on a three-pointer from the right wing, with Barry’s shot beating the halftime buzzer Friday against Shore Conference Class A Central division rival Manasquan. The Bulldogs went on to make Barry’s night even more special by handing the Warriors their first loss of the season and extending their winning streak to nine.
The last week saw and weeks to come will see a long list of Shore Conference boys basketball players hit the 1,000-point mark, but Andree and Barry still stole the show despite already hitting the big number last year. The two AllShore performers from a year ago each became the all-time leading scorer in his school’s history just three days apart.
Barry finished up Friday with 1,426 career points after a 23-point outing, passing the mark of 1,417 set by Palvin Williams in 1973. Williams travelled from his home in the Dominican Republic to watch Barry break his record and congratulated him during the ceremony at half court, which took place during halftime.
Andree moved into the top spot among all players in the storied history of the CBA program in a win over Howell on Jan. 19. He scored 26 points and broke the record with a three-pointer from the right wing, which was the third straight three-point attempt Andree knocked down and it gave CBA the lead for good.
Andree and Barry were already linked prior to this week for their showdown in last year’s Shore Conference Tournament championship game, a show that Barry stole in the second half to lead Rumson to one of the most resounding wins in the history of the tournament. As the story goes, according to Rumson coach Chris Champeau, Barry nearly decided to attend CBA prior to his freshman year and should he have made that decision, it’s possible that two records would still be intact, at least for the moment.
With that three-pointer, Andree passed 1975 graduate Bob Roma for first place on the all-time Colts scoring list and he now occupies the top spot with 1,675 points. Not only has Andree – a starter from his first game in the program as a freshman – set the scoring record at the most accomplished program in the Shore Conference since 1980, but he also has a chance to become its first 2,000-point scorer as well. Should CBA play the maximum number of games in both the Shore Conference and NJSIAA South Jersey NonPublic A tournaments – as the Colts did last season – Andree
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2,000 x 2?
While Andree has the best shot to reach the 2,000-point mark of any Shore Conference player in a long time, he is not the only player in the area with a realistic chance to hit the
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The Newest Club Members
milestone. Southern senior Peyton Wejnert is still 436 points shy of 2,000, but at the breakneck pace at which he is scoring, racking up the points won’t be impossible.
Assuming Southern qualifies for both the Shore Conference and NJSIAA S o u t h
Jersey Group IV tournaments, the Rams are guaranteed 13 games the rest of the season (assuming the weather does not eliminate any). If Southern does not win a playoff game, Wejnert would have to average a tick more than 33 points per game in those games, which is only three points above his season average to date. If the Rams can win just one game in each tournament, the necessary average drops to 29.1 points per game.
Two seniors joined Andree, Barry and Wejnert in the 1,000-pint club in the last two weeks: Jordan Torney of Manchester and Red Bank’s Sadiq Palmer.
Torney slammed home his 1,000th point with a breakaway dunk in a rout of Jackson Liberty on Jan. 15, the first of a banner calendar week for the senior swingman and his team. Torney went on to win the team MVP at the Martin Luther King Showcase in Pemberton on Jan. 16 with a 29-point outing against Clayton, then helped lead Manchester to a win over Lakewood the following Tuesday. That win snapped the Piners’ 45-game winning streak against Class B South competition and was the first time Manchester had defeated Lakewood in six years. Palmer’s 1,000th point was not quite as emphatic, but there was plenty of drama leading up to the achievement. The potential milestone basket was waved off because of an offensive foul, which was the fifth foul on Palmer during Red Bank’s
Should Southern have a breakthrough postseason in any way, shape or form, it could very well mean 2,000 points for Wejnert, who spent his first two high school seasons at Point Pleasant Borough.
Red Banks’s Sadiq Palmer
Manchester’s Jordan Torney
See
MileStones
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Milestones
C o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 11
win at Colts Neck on Jan. 14. Palmer ended that game stuck on 999 points and after waiting after waiting until Jan. 19 to play again, he went scoreless during the first half against Red Bank Catholic.
Palmer finally hit the 1,000-point plateau with a free throw in the third quarter to become Red Bank’s first 1,000-point scorer since Stephen Frost in 2010. He finished with 12 points in the loss and capped a big week by committing to play football at the University of Massachusetts.
Torney and Palmer are likely just the beginning of a wave of 1,000-point scorers as a host of Shore Conference players are currently within striking distance. Donovan Catholic senior Riley Collins is just 14 points shy of the milestone heading into the week, with 986 points between his time at both Central Regional and with the Griffins. Another Manchester senior is also closing in on 1,000 and should join Torney within the next several Hawks games. Shavar Reynolds is 32 points away from pushing his way into the Hawks’ 1,000-point club along with his classmate.
Division rival Lakewood also has a pair of seniors within striking distance of 1,000. Four-year letter-winner Amir Tyler is 140 points shy and three-year varsity player Sean Barksdale is 217 from hitting the landmark number for the Piners. With good health, Tyler is a virtual lock to get there, while a strong postseason showing by Lakewood would give Barksdale a very good chance to join his teammate. Not only is Manasquan senior Ryan Jensen closing fast on 1,000 points, but he is also within reach of 1,000 career rebounds as well. The Warriors senior is 58 points shy of 1,000 and 101 rebounds away from 1,000 boards. Classmate Jack Sheehan also has an outside shot of reaching 1,000 points if Manasquan plays deep into the postseason.
St. John Vianney is another A Central team with a senior duo closing in on 1,000 points. Both Grant Goode and Zach Howarth are well within 200 points of the milestone and the two three-year starters figure to approach that plateau by the end of the regular season. Raritan senior Joe Strand, now in his third year as a starter, is also making a run at 1,000. Both Dave Lunn and Luke Stambaugh of Pinelands are also closing in on 1,000 points as well as they wrap up four-year varsity careers.
Donovan Catholic’s Riley Collins
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Girls Going For 1,000
Two Shore Conference girls players have also joined the 1,000-point club this season. Matawan senior Tracy Brereton was the first boys or girls Shore Conference player to reach the milestone when she scored her 1,000th career point against Spotswood at the Bayshore Holiday Tournament in December. Long Branch senior Che’Kasha Andrews reached 1,000 career points on Jan. 5 against Red Bank Catholic, knocking down three free throws in the final minute.
One Shore Conference junior is fast approaching the 1,000-point milestone and that is Neptune guard Desiree Allen, who has improved markedly each year of her career. In each season, she has increased her scoring average by 10 points and is averaging 25.1 points per game this season. Allen sits at 806 career points and could very well break 1,000 before the start of the Shore Conference Tournament.
Among the list of players approaching 1,000, senior Kelly Campbell is the most prominent name. The St. John Vianney guard and DePaul University commit is 37 points from reaching the milestone and would likely have it already if she did not miss the beginning of the season due to injury. The Lancers begin their week with a rivalry game against Rumson-Fair Haven and finish up a big four-day stretch with Holmdel on Thursday and Lenape on Friday.
Photos by:
Mark Brown: b51photography.com
Bill Normile: billnormile.zenfolio.com
Toms River East senior Kaitlin Lister is 164 points away from entering the 1,000-point club and with an average of 17 points per game this season, she is on pace to hit the landmark basket during the early part of the postseason. Keansburg senior Stephanie Walters is also within striking distance of the milestone.
Ray Rich Photography: rayrichphotography.smugmug.com Rob Samuels: robertsamuels.zenfolio.com
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Grappling for Gold
2016 SCT Wrestling Preview By Bob Badders – Staff Writer
On paper it appears Brick Memorial would be CBA’s biggest obstacle to reaching the semifinals. The Mustang getting past Point Boro is no gimme, however. Even if Brick Memorial does advance to face CBA it would have to make several moves and get an upset or two to reach the semifinals. A potential mammoth matchup could take place between Ghione and CBA senior Sebastian Rivera at either 120 or 126 pounds. Ghione defeated Rivera to win the Region VI 106pound title in 2014 and Rivera returned the favor last season to win the 113-pound region crown. Both were state medalists last season and are state championship contenders this season. Rivera is also ranked top-five in the nation at 113.
Historically
there has not been much drama in the early rounds of the Shore Conference Wrestling Tournament, with any excitement usually reserved for the semifinals and championship match.
With several championship contenders among the top 12 seeds, the 2016 wrestling SCT looks to buck that trend when the tournament gets underway on Thursday.
Christian Brothers Academy was voted as the No. 1 seed by the SCT seeding committee with Howell No. 2, Wall No. 3 and Jackson Memorial No. 4. Those teams will host the preliminary, pre-quarterfinal and quarterfinal matches on Thursday. The SCT Final Four is on Saturday at Red Bank Regional High School with the semifinals at 3 p.m. and the championship match at 5:30 p.m. Below we will break down each site for Thursday’s matches and offer a look ahead to the potential matchups for Saturday
AT CBA PRELIMINARY ROUND, 4 P.M.
Brick Memorial junior Gianni Ghione
defeated Manalapan.
The winner gets top-seeded CBA, which has been on fire with its full lineup. The Colts are 9-3 with close losses to state-ranked Hanover Park and Delsea. They also own wins over Howell and Raritan. They will certainly be heavily favored in the pre-quarterfinals. Potential individual matchups include sophomore Rich Koehler (12-2) vs. Lacey sophomore Luke Moynihan (15-2) at 113 should the Lions win the prelim match. Koehler was sixth in New Jersey at 106 pounds last season. If SJV wins, we should see Eckloff vs. CBA junior Nick Schutzenhofer (17-1) at 106 pounds and potentially SJV senior Calvin Beaty (17-2) vs. either CBA senior Jack LaCorte (17-1) at 195 pounds or senior William Oxley (17-1) at 220. Oxley could also move up to heavyweight against SJV junior Micah Clark (17-2). Oxley and Clarke were both state qualifiers last season. Point Boro and Brick Memorial will meet in an interesting pre-quarterfinal match between District 23 rivals. Top bouts could include Brick Memorial sophomore Matt Wardlaw (116, District 23 champ) vs. Point Boro senior Blake Dale (13-4) at 113 pounds, Brick Memorial senior Anthony Mitchell (153) vs. Point Boro senior Gene Franceschini (13-4) at 170 and Brick Memorial senior Chris Hayes (13-2) vs. Point Boro senior Dom Infante (16-1) at 220. Brick Memorial may also elect to bump junior Gianni Ghione (17-1, 2nd in NJ at 113 last season) to 126 to face Point Boro freshman Spencer Robinson (14-4).
16-Lacey (6-5) vs. 17-St. John Vianney (9-4)
PRE-QUARTERFINALS, 5:30 p.m. Lacey/SJV winner vs. 1-CBA (9-3) 9-Point Boro (11-3) vs. 8-Brick Memorial (6-5)
QUARTERFINALS, 7 P.M.
The coin flip will be huge here to dictate matchups, and it will be interesting to see how the teams weigh in because of the new rule that stipulates wrestlers must remain at the weight class they weigh in at on Thursday for the entire tournament.
CBA senior Jack LaCorte
The preliminary match between Lacey and St. John Vianney offers a potential marquee bout at 106 pounds between Lacey freshman Hunter Gutierrez and St. John Vianney junior Luke Eckloff. Gutierrez enters at 16-1 with his only loss coming to Washington Township’s Alex Baisch, 5-3. Eckloff is 15-1 and was third in the District 21 Tournament last season. Lacey and SJV have two common opponents in Brick and Manalapan. St. John Vianney lost to both, while Lacey lost to Brick and
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Predictions - Prelim: St. John Vianney over Lacey; PQ: CBA over St. John Vianney; Brick Memorial over Point Boro; QF: CBA over Brick Memorial.
AT HOWELL PRELIMINARY ROUND, 4 P.M. 18-Toms River North (5-10) vs. 15-Manalapan (9-5)
PRE-QUARTERFINALS, 5:30 P.M. TR North/Manalapan winner vs. 2-Howell (14-3) 10-Jackson Liberty (12-3) vs. 7-Raritan (10-3)
QUARTERFINALS, 7 P.M.
Howell senior Anthony Gagliano
Toms River North and Manalapan have common opponents in Brick, Colts Neck and Toms River East. The Mariners lost to Colts Neck 52-19 and Brick 32-21, and defeated Toms River East 35-24, while the Braves beat both Toms River East (48-20) and Brick (32-28) and lost to Colts Neck (52-22). Top potential bouts include Manalapan sophomore A.J. Sortino (11-8) vs. Toms River North freshman Nick Reilly (16-4) at 113 pounds and Manalapan sophomore Peter Benedetti (11-5) vs. Toms River North junior Franco Galasso (16-4) at 220.
The winner faces No. 2 Howell, which is now at full strength after senior state medalist Kris Lindemann returned to the lineup last week. The Rebels already own a 44-21 victory over Manalapan. Should Toms River North win we
See
SCT Wrestling page 16
Point Boro senior Blake Dale
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could see Reilly face either Howell freshman Darby Diedrich (18-4) or sophomore Kyle Slendorn (18-3). Lindemann could meet Toms River North junior Pat O’Donnell (16-4) at 145 pounds and junior Eric Keosseian (19-2) could see Galasso at 220.
Raritan and Jackson Liberty will square off in a rematch of a Jan. 9 match won by the Rockets, 39-25. The Lions will look to close the gap by limiting bonus points. Raritan recorded four pins, a technical fall and a major decision in the first meeting. Also in the first meeting, Raritan sophomore A.J. Erven (14-5) won by 2-0 decision over Jackson Liberty senior Nick Pellegrino (18-2) at 120 pounds. Reversing that result is crucial if the Lions are going to pull off the upset.
A Howell-Raritan quarterfinal match seems likely, and that would present some interesting matchups in the lower half of the lineup, which is the strength of both teams. We could see either Howell sophomore Jesse Liptzin (11-5) or Diedrich against Raritan freshman Charles Barrale (14-5) at 106 pounds, Diedrich or Slendorn versus Raritan sophomore Christian Sookdeo (13-7) at 113, Erven vs. Slendorn or Howell senior Nick Ciaccia (16-3) at 120 and potentially Ciaccia vs. Raritan sophomore Russell Benson (18-1) at 126. Raritan would probably like to move freshman Anthony Aquilano (14-3) away from Howell senior Anthony Gagliano (19-1) at 138 pounds, although with Lindemann back at 145 there isn’t much room for bumping away from the Rebels’ hammers.
Predictions - Prelim: Manalapan over Toms River North; PQ: Howell over Manalapan; Raritan over Jackson Liberty; QF: Howell over Raritan.
AT WALL PRELIMINARY ROUND, 4 P.M.
at 120, sophomore Nick Gallicchio (11-5) at 126, senior state medalist and two-time region champ Owen McClave (17-1) at 132 and sophomore state qualifier Cole Corrigan (15-1) at 138. The Eagles will look to close the gap with their strongmiddle and upperweights led by senior Louis Avena (14-5) at 160, senior Brendan Rumsby (14-3) at 170, senior Rob Hulse (16-4) at 195 and sophomore Adam Markmann (126) at heavyweight.
with Middletown North. The Wall-Ocean match on Jan. 13 had several twists and turns, and the way the teams matchup with one another would likely produce a similar match. If it’s Middletown North squaring off against Wall there are several potential marquee individual bouts. Wodjylak could face Kanniard at 138, or Wall could bump Kanniard to either 145 or 152 against North sophomore Nicko Cofone (13-5). Up top is where the individual bouts get really good. Wall has McClelland, Donner, Glantzman and McKenzie from 160 through 195 and Middletown North has junior Thomas Anderson (15-4 at 170/182), senior Anthony Vetrano (16-2 at 182/195) and senior region champ Chad Freshnock (10-0 at 220/heavyweight). Predictions - Prelim: Toms River South over Middletown South; PQ: Wall over Toms River South; Middletown North over Ocean; Wall over Middletown North.
AT JACKSON MEMORIAL PRELIMINARY ROUND, 4 P.M.
Middletown North senior Chad Freshnock
No. 3 Wall awaits the winner and matches up nicely with both teams. Wall is pretty strong from top to bottom, although it has holes at 106, 113 and in the middle depending on how it shuffles its wrestlers. The new rule affecting weigh-ins will really test the Knights because of their lack of depth. Should they face Toms River South they have enough firepower down low with sophomore Jack Kelly (17-3) at 120, senior Joe Demuner (17-3) at 126, junior Nick Wagner (16-4) at 132 and freshman Rob Kanniard (18-2) at 138 to limit the damage by South’s studs. Kanniard has wrestled at 145 and 152 this season, as well, so it will be interesting to see where he weighs in on Thursday. Wall should clean up after that with junior Chad McClelland (13-0) at 160, senior state medalist and two-time region champ Brett Donner (20-0) at 170, senior Josh Glantzman (17-3) at 182, junior state medalist Matt
20-Shore (11-4) vs. 13-Brick (6-4)
PRE-QUARTERFINALS, 5:30 P.M. Shore/Brick winner vs. 4-Jackson Memorial (11-2) 12-Colts Neck (11-3) vs. 5-Long Branch (11-1)
QUARTERFINALS, 7 P.M.
19-Middletown South (8-4) vs. 14-TR South (8-4)
PRE-QUARTERFINALS, 5:30 P.M. Midd. South/TRS winner vs. 3-Wall (13-0) 11-Ocean (5-8) vs.
Long Branch senior Lamont Reid
Ocean sophomore Jake Benner
McKenzie (19-1) at 195, junior Shane Davis (11-4) at 220 and junior Daryl Valme (12-7) at heavyweight.
Against Middletown South, Wall would have major advantages down low and be able to negate the Eagles’ strengths in the upper half with its own standout group.
Wall senior Brett Donner
6-Middletown North (9-3)
QUARTERFINALS, 7 P.M. Toms River South has some holes in the upper half of its lineup but where the Indians are good they are very good, and that will give Middletown South problems in the preliminary round. The Eagles do not have a wrestler with a winning record from 106 through 138 pounds, so Toms River South should do a lot of damage there with junior Zach Martin (8-2)
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Shore has enjoyed a fantastic season with an 11-4 record and is on track to claim the Class B Central title, while Brick has battled well all season in the rugged Class A South division despite graduating several standout upperweights from last season. The teams do not have any common opponents, but Brick is a Group IV school that wrestles in Class A South and Shore is a Group I team in B Central, so it’s easy to see why Brick is seeded seven spots higher. When
The other pre-quarterfinal match pits Ocean and Middletown North in a rematch of a Jan. 9 match won by the Lions, 34-26. In the first meeting, Middletown North sophomore Stanley Wodjylak recorded a huge pin over Ocean senior Chris Donnelly at 138 pounds. Despite its 5-8 record Ocean has wrestled very well lately with close losses to Long Branch (34-30) and Wall (29-28 on criteria), and will be dangerous.
Wall should reach the quarterfinals, and if it does it will either have a rematch against Ocean or an intriguing matchup
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Jackson Memorial senior Adante Davis
Shore has wrestled top competition it is 0-3 with lopsided losses to Point Boro (53-13), Colts Neck (66-16) and Wall (66-12).
Top potential individual matchups include Shore sophomore Brad Smuro (15-3) vs. Brick sophomore Joe Ferigne (12-5) at 106 and Shore senior Alex Johnson (16-2) vs. Brick junior Anthony Costanza (14-3) at 145 or 152.
The winner faces No. 4 Jackson Memorial, which heads in strong after a 34-29 victory over Brick Memorial on Jan. 20. The Jaguars already have a 38-26 victory over Brick on Dec. 30 and are a better team now with senior Tanner Kelly in the lineup. Should Brick win in the prelims, Kelly could face undefeated Brick junior Dean Helstowski (16-0) at 170 pounds. Junior Tim Hamann (15-1 at 145) could face Costanza at 152. Hamann could face Johnson if Shore wins. Another potential bout would pit Jackson senior Chris Mondello (13-4) vs. Brick senior Jack Jachim (10-6) at 220 pounds.
In the other pre-quarterfinal, Long Branch and Colts Neck will meet in a rematch of a Jan. 5 match won by the Green Wave, 33-27. The teams split bouts 7-7 in that match, but Long Branch had four pins and Colts Neck managed just six total bonus points. Long Branch also has everybody at their proper weight with senior Joey Jasio (16-1) down at 220 and senior heavyweight John Tomlinson (5-1) back in the lineup.
The anticipated Jackson Memorial-Long Branch quarterfinal could be the best match on Thursday. The teams have met in two of the past three seasons in the quarterfinals with Jackson winning 35-15 last season and 32-28 in 2013. Two top individual matchups would be Hamann vs. either senior Danny Mullan (14-2) at 145 or senior Mike Shohet (14-4) at 152, plus Kelly vs. Long Branch senior Lamont Reid (16-1) at 170. Kelly defeated Reid 1-0 in last season’s SCT quarterfinal match. Predictions - Prelim: Brick over Shore; PQ: Jackson Memorial over Brick; Long Branch over Colts Neck; Long Branch over Jackson Memorial.
Photos by:
Ray Rich Photography: rayrichphotography.smugmug.com Rob Samuels: robertsamuels.zenfolio.com
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A Night to Support Team Trevor
B y Kevin Williams – Shore Sports Network Director
A follow up to the segment I
did earlier this month on Trevor Kwatkoski, a 5-year old Berkeley Township boy who was diagnosed with bone cancer in April.
Central Regional hosted Toms River South in a boys/girls basketball doubleheader which also served as a fundraiser for Team Trevor through donations and the sale of wristbands (one of which I am now wearing). Trevor’s mom Jill said the family, which also includes three older boys, was overwhelmed by the support they have received from the community including police and local firemen.
At halftime of the boys game Toms River native and Chicago White Sox slugger Todd Frazier along with Central coaches Mike Clemente and John Truhan presented the family a check for nearly $4,400 to help with the staggering expenses surrounding Trevor’s treatment. The Golden Eagles girls and boys coaches conducted a clinic for elementary school students last weekend and donated all the money to the Team Trevor cause. Presentation of a check to Team Trevor
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It was truly wonderful to see so many pull together to help a young boy and his family when they need that support the most. There was a great crowd on hand and they were treated to an exciting boys game in the nightcap as Central rallied for a three point victory after the visiting Indians won the girls game.
I stood most of the night with among others Frazier, who was traded from the Reds to the White Sox last month. It was truly amazing to watch him interact with fans, especially children who come in droves at times for autographs and pictures. Todd handles them as welcome interruptions that come with being an All-Star baseball player. I asked him if he ever gets tired of it and he said not when it comes to kids although older adults can sometimes test your patience.
Like always Frazier carries himself in a fashion that makes it easy to cheer for him and despite being just a month shy of his 30th birthday still has a little bit of that “aw shucks” attitude that has made him so popular. He’ll be heading to Chicago at the end of the month for the first time since the trade for SoxFest 2016 where Windy City fans will get to meet the Home Run Derby champ. Frazier and his wife Jackie will
Toms River South players wearing special Team Trevor tee shirts
also be looking for a new in-season home for their family, including 22-month old son Blake and 1-month old daughter Kylie. Blake by the way has his own fan club from videos Todd has posted of him crushing a wiffle ball and his father has also given him a nickname: “Big Dog Blake.”
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Photos by: Kevin Williams www.shoreshportsnetwork.com
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