Shore Sports Networks 2016 NJSIAA Wrestling Champion

March 8, 2016 Volume-VIII Issue-5

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

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US ARMY Shore Basketball Coaches

T

Association Senior All-Star Game

he Shore Sports Network is proud to announce that with the help of the U.S. Army they will partner with the Shore Basketball Coaches Association to present the Senior All-Star Games on Wednesday, March 23 at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River.

This is the first year the Boys and Girls games will be held in Toms River as for the past few years Wall High School was generous enough to host the games. The move was made to allow many of the Shore's top players put their talents on display in what has become the mecca of

basketball in New Jersey as the Pine Belt Arena is home to the NJSIAA Group Finals and Tournament of Champions as well as many other tournaments and special events.

The girls game will tip off at 6 p.m. on March 23 with the boys game to follow at 7:45. Admission for the doubleheader is $5 for Adults, $3 for Students/Seniors and free for High School and College Coaches, Athletic Directors and Children 12 and under. Both games will be broadcast live on 1160/1310AM and shoresportsnetwork.com.

The U.S. Army will serve as the title sponsor of this year’s game through the Shore Sports Network and have a presence on game night. A new feature this year will be the “I’m Possible Slam Dunk Contest” at halftime of the boys game with details to be announced shortly. There will also be a “3 Point Contest” held at halftime of the girls game.

Check our website for more information: www.shoresportsnetwork.com

ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE

2016 ALL-STAR

GAME DAY PROGRAM

Be part of a tradition at the Jersey Shore that

reaches a large and enthusiastic Basketball audience from Monmouth and Ocean counties by having your business featured in this year's 2016 uS arMy Shore Basketball Coaches Senior all-Star Game official game day program. the detailed game program put together by the Shore Sports Network staff not only recounts the past season and highlights this year's group of all-Stars, it also serves as a keepsake for all the players, coaches and fans involved. Not only is the program a chance for your business to reach a wide and passionate audience, it is a chance to become a permanent part of a lasting memory for many members of the Shore Conference Basketball community.

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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 Nine

Mater Dei Prep Week Eight

Manasquan

Coach Andrew Bilodeau and his team pose with Capt. Carl P. Hartman (right) and Sgt. First Class Carlos Ramos Pacheco (left)

The Manasquan and Rumson-Fair Haven boys basketball teams have developed one of the Shore Conference’s best rivalries over the past four years as members of the Class A Central division, but during those handful of seasons, the two never met in a postseason setting.

When they finally did Sunday at Brookdale Community College in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals, they produced a game to remember.

Manasquan beat Rumson 80-77 in triple overtime Sunday, dethroning the defending Shore Conference Tournament champion while advancing to the conference semifinals for the third time in five years – all worthy of this week’s Shore Sports Network Army Strong Team of the Week honors.

In the three-overtime classic, senior Jack Sheehan scored 35 points, nearly matching

Week 1

Ranney 4

Week 2

RFH

reigning Player of the Year Brendan Barry (36) and throwing the team on his back during the final minutes of regulation as well as the second overtime. Sheehan converted two momentous threepoint plays to help Manasquan pull even late in regulation and hit a game-tying 19footer with a hand in his face with six seconds in the second overtime.

Senior Ryan Jensen contributed 20 points and 27 rebounds and also hit two game-tying free throws with 2.2 seconds left in regulation that sent the game to overtime. Junior Brian Paturzo also stepped up for Manasquan with all six of his points in the third overtime, including the go-ahead drive that put the Warriors ahead 79-77.

Manasquan also beat Southern Regional earlier in the week to reach the SCT quarterfinals for the fifth straight year and seventh time in eight years. In that game, Jensen recorded his 1,000th career rebound to go with the 1,000-plus points he has scored.

The Warriors (21-3) fell to Christian Brothers Academy, 53-41, in the SCT semifinals on Tuesday and will be the No. 2 seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II sectional playoffs, which they won last year.

Week 3

TR North

Staff Sgt. Ethan O. Newago poses with coach Ben Gamble and the Mater Dei boys basketball team

A victory of any kind in Saturday’s Shore Conference Tournament championship game against Christian Brothers Academy would have been a landmark accomplishment for the program, but the Mater Dei boys basketball team made sure to win their first ever SCT title in an improbable fashion befitting of their story.

Trailing by 18 points with a little more than nine minutes left, Mater Dei rallied to stun CBA, 50-43, to capture the program’s first ever Shore Conference Tournament title and cap an improbable rise from near-extinction.

The triumph earns the Seraphs their second Shore Sports Network Army Strong Team of the Week honor of the season – the first of which came after the Seraphs clinched their first division title in 11 years.

A year ago, Mater Dei’s community was engaged in a furious fund-raising effort to change the course of events after St. Mary’s Parish announced the school would be closing its doors following the 2014-15 season. The “Save Our Seraphs” movement raised well over $1 million and the school reopened this year independent of the Parish.

The basketball team also changed direction upon the guarantee of the school’s survival and the closing of another – Cardinal McCarrick. Former Eagles coach and St. Anthony assistant Ben Gamble was hired to replace 19-year Mater Dei coach Bob Klatt

Week 4

Manchester

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and four Cardinal McCarrick players – seniors NyQuan McCombs, Bryan Harris and Josh Green, as well as junior Elijah Mitchell – followed their coach to Mater Dei. With five more transfers joining the mix, the Seraphs had transformed into a Shore Conference contender.

For most of the game on Saturday, Mater Dei looked like the Shore Conference runnerup to the Colts, but just as the “Save Our Seraphs” movement changed the school’s fate, the final nine minutes did so for the basketball team on Saturday. Harris and McCombs led the furious comeback, with McCombs leading the defensive effort and Harris scoring a teamhigh 14 points to earn the I’m Possible Game MVP Award.

Mater Dei will look to follow up its first Shore Conference title by doing damage in arguably the most talented section in the NJSIAA Tournament. The Seraphs opened up the South Jersey Non-Public B Tournament as a No. 6 seed Tuesday with an 82-48 win over Doane Academy and will next travel to play No. 3 Trenton Catholic in the sectional quarterfinals on Thursday.

While the section contains two of the topfive ranked teams in the state in the Patrick School and Roselle Catholic, both of those teams are on the opposite side of the bracket from Mater Dei and would not face the Seraphs until the championship game.

Week 6

Mater Dei Prep

Week 7

Lakewood

SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM

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Karcz, Brennan Lead Midd. South to 3 rd Straight CJ III Title

By Eric Braun – SSN Staff Writer

Th e M i d d l e t o w n S o u t h

captured its third straight NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III title on Monday night with a 55-40 win over Neptune in front of a soldout home crowd.

Stephanie Karcz, Shore Sports Network’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year, slammed the door shut for Neptune on consecutive possessions with under three minutes to play that took the life out of the

Neptune comeback bid.

When the excitement filled the South gymnasium, Coach Tom Brennan was quick to reflect on his teams success when he added, “This group of young ladies has and will always have a special place in my heart after everything they have done this season following my bypass surgery. It would have been easy for them to lose focus but Coach Jess Chalmers and the players kept to the plan coming into the season and tonight was a culmination of everyone’s dedication to each other.”

The game opened very sloppy for both teams who combined for seven turnovers after South’s Isla Brennan hit her first field goal of the night enroute to 16 points for the freshman. The next three minutes of play were a turnover fest followed by cheap fouls for both teams. Once the game settled down, both Middletown South and Neptune showed why they were last two teams standing in Central Jersey Group III.

The Eagles would jump out to a 13-6 first quarter lead behind the scoring from Brennan with 4 points, junior Alexandra Balasamo with 2 points, Karcz with 4 points and Julia Valkos with 3.

Neptune would climb back into the game quickly in the second quarter behind a free throw from Brianna Love, a coast-to-coast layup from Desiree Allen and a 3-pointer from Love to cut the lead 16-14 with just under 5 minutes to play in the half.

Middletown South freshman Isla Brennan

The game would find its legs from this point with teams trading baskets, great ball movement and crucial rebounding on both ends. After the Scarlet Fliers pulled to within two points, Middletown South would lean on the second 3-pointer of the quarter from senior Julia Valkos who pushed the Eagles lead to 21-17. Karcz would finish the second quarter scoring with a steal and layup for two to send the Eagles to a 23-20 first half lead.

Middletown South senior Stephanie Karcz

Afterwards Karcz added “when we went into the half we weren’t really playing our best and Neptune started to make a run at us so we changed up our defense to take away their inside game and rely on three point shots.”

The second half opened with Neptune's Rahmena Henderson and Love hitting on a layup and three pointer respectively to pull the Fliers to within one point at 26-25. The Eagles got on the board in the third quarter when Emily McCarthy hit her first basket of the evening and pushed the lead to 28-25.

Allen would drive coast-to-coast to cut the lead again to one at 28-27 but that would be the closest Neptune would get to Middletown South again for the game.

The Eagles offense struggled to find consistency and was hurt at the foul line that could have put the game away earlier. Middletown South opened the game going 0-for-8 from the line before finishing the game 10-for-22. Most importantly Karcz and Brennan

FOR SSN ADVERTISING INFORMATION Contact: Steven Meyer 732-233-4460 steve.meyer@townsquaremedia.com

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put the game out of reach in the closing minutes going a combined 8-for-8 from the line. Isla was able to give coach/dad the game of her life on the biggest stage finishing with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

In the end though it was the back-to-back plays from senior Karcz that sealed the win for the Eagles.

With just under three minutes to play and South holding to a 43-38 lead, Neptune’s Allen took the ball coast-to-coast and thought she had a clear lane until Karcz stepped in and came up with a massive block that was rebounded by Alex Balsamo, who found an open McCarthy for the layup and a 45-38 lead. On the very next trip for Neptune it was Karcz again coming up with another crucial block this time on Love and again rebounded by Balsamo who went coast-to-coast for the bucket to increase the Eagles lead to 49-38 and take the life right out of the Neptune comeback.

Karcz would finish with a game high 20 points to go along with 4 steals, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. In celebration mode, Karcz added “tonight was a special night for us to give back to coach Tom and as a senior to win our final home game as State Champs is an awesome feeling…we have unfinished business from last year and if we stay focused we can obtain our goals.”

Balsamo finished with 6 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals. Senior Jula Valkos who missed some time during her season due to injury came back in a big

M i d d l e t o w n S o u t h C e l e b r a t e s C J G I I I Ti t l e

way against Neptune with aggressive defense that resulted in 4 Fliers turnovers to go along with her 9 points and 3 rebounds.

With the win, Middletown South (24-3 overall and 12-0 A-North) will travel to Deptford High School on

Thursday at 7pm to take on Ocean City (25-4 overall and 10-0 conference).

Photos by:

Eric Braun:

ericbraunphotography.smugmug.com

SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM

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Brendan Clarke’s Buzzer-Beater Gives Colts Neck 1 st Sectional Title

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Editor

Before hitting the winning shot, Clarke found senior Kyle Gordon for the game-tying layup with a shade over a minute to go. Freehold Township senior Nick Facendo came back and earned a trip to the free-throw line with 25.6 seconds left. After missing the first and sitting through a Colts Neck timeout, Facendo gave the Patriots the lead by hitting the second free throw.

Most leading scorers are

reluctant to give up the ball with the game on the line, but not only did Colts Neck senior Lloyd Daniels give up the ball with his team's season on the line Monday night and the Freehold Township defense hounding him, but he did so confident that the program's first ever sectional title was on the other end of that pass in the hands of the only nonsenior on the court for the Cougars.

The Cougars came back and earned a trip to the line of their own, with senior Tom O'Reilly drawing contact with 16.1 seconds left. O'Reilly missed both shots, but senior Khaled Mostafa - inserted into the game after O'Reilly's first miss - secured the rebound and Freehold Township gave its sixth and final foul before reaching the bonus.

"The call of the game was by (assistant) Steve Jannarone," Piccola said, referring to his longtime top assistant. "After the first miss, he said, "We've got to get the big guy on the floor to get the rebound. Khaled goes into the game, fights for the rebound, they use up their last foul and we get to run a play. Now, they can't grab us and we can actually run something. That was the biggest call of the game."

Junior Brendan Clarke lofted a contested 10-foot shot as the clock expired and it hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded, giving Colts Neck a 45-44 win over Freehold Township to capture the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV championship, the first boys basketball sectional championship in the school's history.

Trailing 44-43, Colts Neck burned a timeout to draw up a play and Daniels took the inbounds pass and fired a pass to Clarke on his left after dribbling into a double-team near the right elbow.

"I can't even put it into words," Clarke said. "Big players come through in big moments and our team is full of big players."

"This is our fourth trip at a very young school," said Colts Neck coach Lou Piccola, who guided the Cougars to three previous trips to a sectional final. "I'm just happy for all the players over the years that came through here, for the community and for everyone that is part of Colts Neck. I'm numb right now. The ball went in tonight. Sometimes the ball doesn't go in. We were lucky tonight."

"They were denying me so hard," Daniels said. "I was trying to push off, and nothing was there, so I got it to Clarke. I saw him drive baseline and he got up the craziest shot I've ever seen in my life."

Senior Lloyd Daniels

The Cougars trailed for a majority of the game on Monday, but twice responded to goahead baskets by Freehold Township in the final three minutes to set up the dramatic final minute. Daniels knocked down a game-tying floater to even the score at 41, followed by a shot by Freehold Township junior Ryan Zyskowski to give the Patriots lead back at 43-41.

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Clarke took one dribble to his left, hung in the air and hit the shot that gave Colts Neck its first sectional title.

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"It was designed to go to Lloyd because he's been making plays for us all season," Clarke said of the last play. "It kind of broke down and he found me. I was looking for Tommy (O'Reilly) at the block but a guy came to help, so I just put up the shot and I felt comfortable with it. I knew I didn't have much time, so I decided the make a play."

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"I'm holding my breath, I'm like, 'Please go in, please go in,'" Daniels said. "And it went in."

In addition to coming up big down the stretch, Clarke and Daniels delivered on the statsheet as well. Clarke scored 11 points and Daniels scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the first half while his lone basket of the second half tied the game at 41.

"All season, my teammates knew I had their back," Daniels said. "In the championship game, in the final seconds, they had my back and that's the best feeling."

Clarke hit a go-ahead three-pointer to start the third quarter, but Freehold Township quickly responded with a jump hook from junior Steve Staklinski and a jumper off the dribble by Facendo to put the Patriots back up, 35-32.

Senior Jordan deGroot drew Colts Neck even with a three from the right corner, before Facendo scored six straight Freehold Township points to give the Patriots a 41-37 lead.

DeGroot came up with a steal and took the ball all the way to the rim for a lay-in to cut Freehold Township's lead to 4139. Daniels delivered his shot to tie the game two possessions later, setting up the final sequence.

"Shots like that, moments like in an environment like that are what make high school basketball special," Freehold Township coach Brian Golub said. "That kid will never hit a bigger shot in his life and he will remember that for the rest of his life. I'm happy for him, but I'm also sick to my stomach for my guys."

At one point from the early part of the second quarter to the end of the half, Daniels scored 11 straight Colts Neck points - the only stretch of success that Colts Neck had against Freehold Township's 2-3 zone before the Cougars started to make headway late in the fourth quarter.

"We prepared to face the zone, but we had to change our plays late in the game because nothing was really working in the second half," Clarke said. "We started getting the ball to the block a little more, made the extra pass and started to get some looks out of it."

Colts Neck ended a recent history of sectional final heartbreak by beating another team that knows that heartbreak all too well. Colts Neck reached three consecutive sectional finals from 2010 to 2012, but lost

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each game.

"We have seven seniors on this team who all wanted to go out with a championship," Daniels said. "Coach put the goals on the board at the beginning of the year: win (Class) B North, win two games at Rumson (at the Bulldawg Classic), win Shore Conference and a state title. We didn't get the Shore Conference, but we won three out of four. It's a good way to go out."

Freehold Township, meanwhile, lost in the Central Jersey Group IV final for the second straight season, following up last year's home loss to No. 13 seed Hillsborough with another devastating defeat on Monday. Golub has taken his team to five sectional finals in his 21 seasons, but the Patriots have come up empty each time. In program history, Freehold Township is 0-6 in sectional finals.

Despite graduating four senior starters and returning just two players from its regular rotation, this year's Freehold Township team reached the 20-win mark for the fourth time in school history and knocked off a one-loss Hunterdon Central team to reach Monday's sectional final.

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"These guys represented their school, their families, their coaches and in my eyes, everybody should be proud with what this team has done," Golub said. "What I told them in the locker room, 'You'll look back on this twenty years from now and the pain will still be there.' I've been coaching a long time and I can go back and remember specific situations, specific games that still hurt. This one will hurt forever."

Colts Neck will now move on to face South Jersey Group IV Atlantic City in the Group IV semifinals on Wednesday at a neutral site to be announced.

"There are 99 things that happen in a game," Piccola said.

"Today, the ball went in. It's as simple as that. A kid made a big shot and we're state champions."

by:

Matt Manley

www.shoresportsnetwork.com

SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM

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By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

P

UT TO HIS BACK EARLY IN THE MATCH, SEBASTIAN RIVERA WAS GOING TO HAVE TO CLIMB OUT FROM AN EARLY HOLE IF HE WANTED TO WIN A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.

Rivera ended a 46-year drought between state champions for CBA, becoming the Colts’ first state champ since Pete Black won the 141-pound title in 1969. He was also the only state champion for the Shore Conference, which had a total of 12 state medalists.

“I wasn’t going to give up down 4-0,” Rivera said. “I messed up on that outside single and didn’t pick it up off the mat. I was able to come back like Frankie Edgar always comes back. He’s the comeback kid. Never count him out, and never count me out.”

The most important match of his life didn’t start the way he hoped.

When he went for a single-leg takedown against Glory and didn’t get the leg lifted high enough, Glory reached underneath and grabbed Rivera’s leg, putting him to his back for a four-point move 45 seconds into the match.

The Christian Brothers Academy senior did exactly that with an epic win on Sunday night inside Boardwalk Hall.

“IT WAS DEFINITELY TOUGH,” RIVERA SAID. “BUT I LOOKED AT MY COACHES AND THEY WERE STILL CALM, AND I LOOKED UP AT MY DAD AND (COACH) VINNIE (DELLEFAVE) AND THEY WERE STILL CALM. I WAS LIKE, “OK, I CAN PULL THIS OUT.”

Trailing by four entering the third period to Delbarton sophomore Patrick Glory, Rivera rallied to tie the bout before turning Glory for two back points, then pinning him with one second left to capture the 2016 NJSIAA 113-pound state championship in thrilling fashion.

As he put Glory to his back for the clinching points, Rivera looked up to the crowd and smiled, creating one of the lasting images of the entire state tournament.

“IT HASN’T HIT ME YET,” RIVERA SAID. “I LOOKED UP TO SEE MY DAD AND MY COACHES, AND TO SEE THEM JUMPING UP AND DOWN AND THE PLACE GOING CRAZY; IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE. I’LL NEVER FORGET IT.”

Glory chose defense in the second period, but Rivera never let him extend his lead by riding him out for the full two minutes. That would prove especially crucial.

Rivera started the third on defense and escaped to make it 4-1. The comeback had begun.

He took Glory down with 1:12 left in the third See

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period, popping his head free after grabbing hold of Glory’s left leg. He then let Glory to his feet to make it 5-3. He was halfway there.

Rivera drove forward with a double-leg takedown attempt that looked like it was going to tie the bout, 5-5, but Glory was able to scramble out of harm’s way, and the two rolled out of bounds with 42 seconds remaining.

Rivera, however, knew he had him where he wanted him.

“I felt him start to break,” Rivera said. “After I took that double and he scrambled out of bounds I was like, ‘wow, he doesn’t have much left’.”

Immediately after the ensuing restart, Rivera picked up Glory and drove

him to the mat, tying the bout at five. But he wasn’t done yet. Instead of just being content with holding Glory down and going to overtime, he baited him into making a move that would give Rivera the opportunity to win in regulation.

“I had a really deep tight waist and I knew the only way he could get out was if he jumped over,” Rivera said. “If he jumped over I was going to hip right into his back, and he fell right for it. It was a beautiful way to end it.”

Rivera turned Glory for a two-count, giving him two back points for a 75 lead. Glory basically gave up at the end, and Rivera finished off the pin with one second left to cap an incredible comeback to re-write the CBA wrestling history book.

It was a long road back for Rivera after losing in the state semifinals last season and finishing fifth, but he was able to get back on the road to a championship and finish the job.

“I WOULD GO TO TWO PRACTICES A DAY, SOMETIMES, TO GET READY FOR THIS,” RIVERA SAID. “LAST YEAR WAS DISAPPOINTING TO GET FIFTH, BUT I GOT IT DONE IN MY FOUR YEARS AND THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME.”

Photos by:

Ray Rich Photography: rayrichphotography.smugmug.com

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Heart of a Champion

Wall’s Brett Donner

By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

B

rett Donner was crushed after suffering a stunning loss on Friday night in the NJSIAA state tournament prequarterfinals. His state title dreams were dashed, and there are two ways he could've gone following the defeat.

It was a long Friday night and Saturday morning for Donner, but there was no way the Wall senior was going to pack it in and end his career without a fight. He was going to come back with a vengeance.

Donner won six straight bouts in the 170-pound consolation bracket, ultimately defeating Bound Brook junior George Walton, 5-3, to finish third and conclude his sterling career on a high note during the NJSIAA Individual Tournament on Sunday at Boardwalk Hall.

“I’m pretty happy I finished that way, and more happy I left it all on the mat and finished my high school career with a win,” Donner said.

A Rutgers recruit, Donner was picked by many to reach the state final and take home the title. He entered the tournament with a 35-0 record, but was

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shocked in his first bout by Carteret’s Elias Vega, 12-8. Up 4-1 in the first period, Donner admitted he got a bit overconfident on his feet, and Vega made him pay by throwing him to his back for a four-point move. Donner was shook mentally, and Vega, who ultimately finished eighth, ended up earning the biggest win in his program’s history.

There’s nothing you can do about it now, but I believe I’m twice the wrestler that kid is,” Donner said. “I got frustrated when I got put to my back and couldn’t get my mind straight after that. I could have controlled the match more. It’s not a dual meet, so I shouldn’t be taking guys down like that. I took him down twice in the first period and was grinding him on top with a bar and almost had a turn. I let him up and got a little too cocky there on my feet.

I have no excuses. One bad mistake and that’s what this tournament does. It will eat you up.”

New Jersey’s state tournament, considered among the very best in the country, has chewed up and spit out countless great wrestlers over the years, and will do it again in the years to come.

Wrestlers that are upset early often never recover. Donner was determined not to let that happen to him.

“It took me all night and halfway through the morning, but when I started warming up (Saturday morning) I was able to get my mind off it a little bit,” Donner said.

He received some text messages from his future college coaches offering words of support, and those really helped him get back his mental edge.

“Coach (Scott) Goodale said, ‘you have to battle back, it’s that simple’,” Donner said. “(Assistant coach Donny) Pritzlaff said I have all year to be disappointed, but I have to go to work tomorrow. That was a big one for me. To know they were behind me was pretty awesome.”

Donner started his run to his second career state third-place medal with a 13-5 win over Ocean’s T.J. Saldutti. He then topped Collingswood’s Michael Taulane, 10-4, before defeating Delsea’s

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Brad Dobzanski, 5-2, to clinch a top-eight finish.

toughness. It’s a war of attrition where only the strong survive.

In the wrestleback quarterfinals he beat DePaul’s Spencer Carey, 10-3, before getting a rematch he had waited a year for.

During Donner’s injury-plagued junior season he returned to win a second Region 6 title and reach the state quarterfinals, but it was there he was pinned by Wayne Hills’ Dan Kilroy. He was hoping to see Kilroy in the state semifinals since both were seeded in the bottom bracket, but it didn’t work out for either. Instead they squared off in the wrestleback quarterfinals with a spot in the third-place bout on the line.

“He really showed some amazing character to come back from that,” said Wall head coach Brian Fischer. “He obviously didn’t reach his ultimate goal, but he let people know what he was made of by reacting the way he did.

Champions we judge by how they deal with losses and things like that. It’s huge, especially in this sport.”

“I knew I had it in me,” Donner said. “I just had to prove it to myself.”

Donner’s future Rutgers teammate, Bergen Catholic senior Joe Grello, ended up winning the 170-pound state title for the second straight season. While all parties, including Goodale and his staff, would have loved to see Donner reach the state final, they are no doubt happy with the way he responded to adversity.

Tied 1-1 in the third period, Kilroy scored a takedown for a 3-1 lead with under a minute remaining. Donner responded with a reversal to tie the bout at three and force overtime, and in sudden victory he secured the winning takedown for a triumphant 5-3 win.

“From day one that we had Brett we saw a Division 1 brawling college wrestler,” Fischer said. “Whether we got a state title or not I know his best stuff is yet to come. He’s going to shine in college.”

“That one was eating at me for a year, so it was huge for me,” Donner said. “That was the one marked on my calendar all year.”

The championship bracket showcases a wrestler’s skill, but the consolation bracket is where much is learned about their mental

Photos by:

Ray Rich Photography: rayrichphotography.smugmug.com

SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM

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State Medalists from the Shore Conference

By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

by defeating 1974 Delbarton’s L.J. Castellano in an overtime thriller. Tied 3-3 heading into double overtime, Castellano looked like he had grabbed a victory when he scored a reversal in the first tiebreaker period.

Undeterred, Vetrano scored a reversal of his own to knot the score again, 5-5, and get to the second tiebreaker period with a chance to take the lead. On defense to start the next 30second period, Vetrano reversed Castellano to his back for a four-point move and a 9-5 victory.

W

hen Anthony Vetrano was a freshman at Middletown North he couldn’t even picture himself wrestling on the mats of Boardwalk Hall in the state tournament. Yet after the final bout of his high school career he had accomplished something no Lions wrestler had done in 16 years.

Vetrano defeated Ridgewood’s Kyle Inlander, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at Boardwalk Hall to finish third at 182 pounds in the NJSIAA Individual Tournament.

Middletown North senior Vetrano became Middletown North’s first Anthony Vetrano state medalist since 2010 and the Lions’ highest finisher since 2000. In reaching the state semifinals on Saturday evening, Vetrano also He was defeated in the semifinals by eventual state became the first Middletown North wrestler to advance champion Brandon Kui of DePaul, 10-4, but rebounded that far in the championship bracket since 1974. to take third by winning his final two bouts. In the wrestleback semifinals Vetrano defeated Bergen Catholic “Freshman year I never thought about this at all, so this freshman Josh McKenzie, 4-3 in double overtime, to get is very amazing,” Vetrano said. “It’s an exciting to the third-place bout. In the consolation final he edged moment.”

Inlander 4-3 with a takedown in the third period.

Vetrano was making his first appearance at the state “Coming into the season I saw some of the kids at the tournament after capturing the Region 6 title at 182 weight, and having wrestled some of them during the pounds. With no prior state criteria he had a tough draw, summer and losing like 2-0, 2-1 I figured I could get at getting returning state medalist Dominick Maniero of least fifth place,” Vetrano said. “When I came here and Queen of Peace, the Region 4 champion, as his first saw how good I was wrestling I felt confident I could get match. He started his tournament with a bang by pinning third, second and even first.”

Maniero in 5:28 to reach the quarterfinals.

Vetrano led Inlander 2-1 heading to the third period, but He became Middletown North’s first state semifinalist Inlander escaped to tie the bout 2-2. Vetrano was able to since both Ken Hopfsensperger and Bill Albert did so in

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counter a shot and score to go up 4-2, and held on through a scramble in the closing seconds to claim bronze in his final high school match.

“He got in on a front head, and I’m pretty good there,” Vetrano said. “I dragged by and I got him right on the edge. It was an exciting moment to see that two go up.”

Vetrano helped the Lions to their best season in over a decade as they clinched a share of the Class A North division title by beating Shore Conference Tournament champion CBA during the regular season. Middletown North also reached the North Jersey 2, Group IV final against eventual Group IV champion Phillipsburg, and made the quarterfinals of the Shore Conference Tournament.

“‘We got to show Middletown North is a successful program, and maybe this will stop some kids in our town from trying to go to other schools,” Vetrano said. “We’re a good program and we can hang with everyone.”

Wall junior Matt McKenzie earned his second state medal by battling back to finish third at 195 pounds.

McKenzie joined teammate Brett Donner, who was third

Wall junior Matt McKenzie

at 170 pounds, on the medal stand.

McKenzie was fifth at 195 last season and reached the semifinals against Morris Knolls’ senior Dean Drugac. The bout was settled in ultimate tiebreaker where Drugac escaped to earn a 5-4 win and reach the semifinals.

“At first it really bothered me, but I shook it off to come back strong and take third,” McKenzie said.

In the wrestleback semifinals he defeated DePaul’s Joseph Soreco, 5-0, to advance to the third place bout. After wrestling in three straight one-point bouts in the championship bracket, McKenzie enjoyed some breathing room in his final two. After the shutout of Soreco, he took apart Pequannock’s Patrick Daly with a 13-2 major decision to secure third place. He got his top game working with a pair of tilts in the first period to open up a big lead.

“I really went after it like I had nothing to lose,” McKenzie said.

“Matt impressed me more in this tournament than I’ve ever seen him wrestle throughout my career with him,” said Wall head coach Brian Fischer. “He continued to get better and better as the matches got harder and harder. He actually improved in every aspect with each match he advanced.”

Reaching the state final at 152 pounds was Toms River East junior A.J. Meyers. A dark horse in the bracket even as the Region 6 champion, Meyers started his tournament with an 8-3 win over Roxbury’s Tommy Miller, the Region 1 champ. He followed that with a 7-4 decision over Queen of Peace’s Garrett Beam in the quarterfinals, and edged Holy Cross’s Avery DiNardi, 3-2, to reach the semifinals.

Meyers was Toms River East’s first state finalist since Vinnie DelleFave won his second straight state title in 2009. He will return next season as one of the Shore Conference’s top wrestlers and a state title contender.

See

Medalists

page 20

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Medalists

Point Beach senior John Finnerty concluded a magical postseason with a sixth-place finish at 145 pounds. He made a Cinderella run to the state semifinals by clipping Delran’s Phil Rogers, 7-5, in the pre-quarterfinals and edging Lenape Valley’s Nick Palumbo, 3-2, in the quarterfinals. He lost by fall in the semifinals to Hasbrouck Heights sophomore Mickey O’Malley.

C o n t in u ed f rom p ag e 19

“My goal was to make it to the finals this year, so it feels good,” Meyers said after his semifinal win. “I definitely surprised some people here, and myself too. I came in as a 10th or 11th seed and made the finals.”

Brick Memorial junior Gianni Ghione finished fourth in a brutal 120-pound bracket, falling to Bergen Catholic’s Gerard Angelo, 5-4 in double overtime, in the third-place bout. Ghione lost to Hanover Park freshman Nick Raimo, the state runner-up,

Toms River South sophomore Cole Corrigan finished seventh at 138 pounds by pinning Pascack Hills’ Benjamin Brisman in 2:15.

Brick Memorial junior Gianni Ghione

9-3 in the quarterfinals, but bounced back with two wins by fall and a 7-1 victory over West Morris’s Shane Metzler to reach the consolation final.

Toms River South senior Owen McClave finished fifth at 132 pounds, defeating St. Peter’s Prep’s Alec Kelly, 7-4, in the fifth-place bout. McClave reached the semifinals before falling to Phillipsburg’s Brandon Paetzell, 2-1 in double overtime. McClave finished his career as a three-time Region 6 champion and four-time finalist, and secured two state fifthplace medals.

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Pt. Beach senior John Finnerty

Finnerty is Point Beach’s first state medalist since Matt Rega in 2005 and the Garnet Gulls’ highest finisher since Jon Butler took sixth in 2004. Finnerty is also Point Beach’s second state semifinalist in program history, joining 1998 state champion Jake Cairns.

Finishing in eighth place were St. John Vianney junior Luke Ecklof at 106 pounds, CBA senior Jack LaCorte at 195 pounds and Howell junior Eric Keosseian at 220 pounds. Ecklof is the Lancers’ third state medalist all-time and the first since 2004.

SJV junior Luke Ecklof

Photos by: TR South senior Owen McClave

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New Jersey Wrestling Coaches Association Coaches of the Year

By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

L

ongtime Toms River East head coach Warren Reid was honored with the Harry E. Lake Award for his contributions to wrestling, while Southern’s John Stout and Dan Roy were selected as New Jersey Wrestling Coaches Association Coaches of the Year during the NJSIAA Tournament at Boardwalk Hall.

second state title and first since 2005. The Rams also defeated Group IV champion Phillipsburg at the Stateliners’ famed home gym, “The Pit”.

Southern’s only defeat came to Group III finalist Delsea.

Reid just completed his 37th season as Toms River East’s only head coach, compiling a 385297-7 record. He is the Shore Conference’s alltime winningest coach. During his tenure, the Raiders have won three Shore Conference Tournament titles, and Reid has coached 33 region champions and six state champions.

Southern assistant coach Dan Roy

Roy, a longtime Southern assistant, was voted as the NJWCA Assistant Coach of the Year.

Among Reid’s pupils were four-time Region 6 and two-time state champion Vinnie DelleFave, as well as two-time state medalist and UFC champion Frankie Edgar. During his own wrestling career Reid was a two-time NCAA AllAmerican at the University of Oklahoma.

In his 15th season as Southern’s head coach, Stout was honored as the NJWCA Coach of the Year for guiding the Rams to the NJSIAA Group V title with a 16-1 record. The Rams’ defeated Howell, 27-24, in a classic match to capture their

Southern had no region champions or state medalists this season, but was defined by its toughness in each weight class. No group this season epitomized the word ‘team’ as much as Southern, a testament to its coaching staff.

Photos by:

Southern head coach John Stout

Ray Rich Photography: rayrichphotography.smugmug.com

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