Cunliffe, Lavin, Olson, Pal, Morello, Giordano top All-District mat team By tim morris Staff Writer I
Howell relied on a string of veterans who provided great leadership, and the emergence of bright star.
Seniors Dave Olson (152), Pat Lavin (160) and Dave Crist (215) and junior Ahmed Zanati (275) came through with big seasons and carried the Rebels to their first championship in a decade. Zach Cunliffe (103) was the freshman who made an already loaded lineup even tougher. Cunliffe would end up being the most decorated wrestler in the District this year, earning a trip to the state championships in his first try.
Manalapan may have been dethroned, but they remained one of the Shore’s best teams making the SCT field and the state sectionals. Alex Pal (112) and Mike Gaeta (119) won District 21 crowns for the Braves.
Freehold Township battled with the top team all season and it paid off in the District tournament where they had three champions: Rob Morello (130), Eric Nomikos (135) and Lou Giordano (171).
All of the aforementioned wrestlers are deserving members of the News Transcript’s 2000 All-Freehold District Wrestling Team. Joining them on the squad are: Howell’s Matt Ingrassia (140) and Manalapan’s Matt Hartigan (125), Steve Cole (145) and Jordan Nice (189).
You knew from the start when Zach Cunliffe made his varsity debut at the Neptune Classic, and came away with a championship, that he had the potential to have a special season. His career is off to a tremendous start and he could well become one of the District’s all-time best.
Cunliffe followed up his Neptune title with a victory in the Westfield Tournament. He would lose only one match during the regular season when he went up in weight class. He marched through District 21 for his third championship of the year. He added a second place at Region VI and when he won both his matches in the Super Region, he was off to the Meadowlands. Cunliffe would reach the 103 semifinals in East Rutherford.
In the wrestle-back, the freshman would end up winning the sixth-place medal becoming the first Rebel to medal at the states since Keith Swistock in the early 1990s. Cunliffe won 32 matches against just five losses. Barring injury, he will win more matches in his career than any Rebel ever has.
Pal, a senior, provided the young Braves with veteran leadership this winter. He also did a pretty good job on his own wrestling. He began his season with a win in the Neptune Classic and that proved to be a good omen for him. He was a dependable winner during the regular season for the Braves as they made the SCT and state playoffs. In District 21, Pal made up for his second-place in ’99 by winning the gold. He went on to claim third place in the Region (winning his consolation match in OT). He finished the season with a 24-5 record.
Like Cunliffe, Gaeta had a smashing debut winning the 119 title at the Neptune Classic. He followed that up with a solid regular season and then won the District 21 title, a rare accomplishment for a frosh (the only other Brave to do it was state champion Joe DiMario). He finished his debut year with a 16-9 mark.
Hartigan is one of the newcomers to the Manalapan lineup who came through in a big way for the Braves, enabling them to remain among the Shore’s elite. The junior took third at the District championships and reached the quarterfinals at the Region. He was 10-5.
Township junior Rob Morello made up for lost time by shining at the championship tournaments. The junior, who transferred from Red Bank Catholic, had to sit out the first 30 days of the season and that had him playing catch-up all year. However, he did his catching up at the District 21 championships, winning the title from the third seed. He was only seeded sixth in Region VI, but that didn’t stop him from getting to the final. He and Cunliffe were the only local wrestlers to go to the Meadowlands. Morello’s season ended in the second round of the wrestle-backs. He was 14-7.
Nomikos is the third freshman who had a major impact this winter. He sent shock waves through the District championships when he pinned No. 1 seed Ray Lopez in the semifinals, reversing a regular season loss to the Rebel. Nomikos did not let his chance at a District title slip away in the final, winning by a fall. Nomikos went 14-7 in his frosh campaign. Like Cunliffe and Gaeta, he has a bright future in front of him.
Howell’s Ingrassia split time at 135/140 during the season, wrestling at whatever weight class the Rebels needed him. At District 21 he wrestled 140 and was second to Jackson’s powerful Doug Withstandley. The sophomore won the Westfield Tournament back in December and was 11-3. Ingrassia will no doubt be a mainstay in the Rebels’ lineup in the next two years.
Cole came through in a big way for the Braves this year. He was not a returning starter, but he stepped up and provided stability in the middle of the team’s lineup. He was second in District 21 and finished the season at 18-7.
Olson’s season could be summed up in the 30 seconds it took him to upset Jackson’s defending champion Gregg Cohen in the District 21 final. Trailing 5-2, Olson scored a reversal and near fall to stun Cohen, 7-5. "I never gave up," Olson said afterward, and that pretty much describes how he went 27-4 and was such a big part of Howell’s success. He was second at the Neptune Classic and fourth in the Region.
Lavin had one of the biggest seasons of any District wrestler. Through sheer hard work he turned himself into an outstanding wrestler. He won the Neptune Classic and Westfield tournaments in December. He lost only one match during the dual meet season and then won the District 21 title. He was upset in the quarterfinals of the Region tournament, but it didn’t spoil an otherwise near-perfect season. He went 26-2.
Giordano earned a room full of medals during his scholastic wrestling career, but, as he pointed out, they were all for second- and third-place finishes. The senior changed all of that this winter by winning the District 21 championship. As usual, Freehold Township wrestled as tough a schedule as anyone and that helped prepare Giordano and his teammates for the championship season. Giordano began the season with second places at the Matawan and Middletown South tournaments. A superb regular season earned him a top seed at 171 for the District 21 Championships and he lived up to that billing, edging his rival from Manalapan, Derek Thompson, 5-4 for the championship. He would go on to place third in the Region and finish the year with a 25-5 record.
Nice (189) continued the Manalapan tradition for strength at the top of the lineup. Nice, a senior, did his best wrestling when it mattered most. He was second in District 21 and then, from the fifth seed, took third place at the Region. The senior went 18-11.
The balance of power in A North changed with Howell’s one-two punch at the top, Crist at 215 and Zanati at heavyweight. Crist had a number of big wins during the season. In December, the senior was second at the Neptune Classic, and in Westfield and in District 21 was second again. He reached the quarterfinals in the Region and 20-7 for the season.
Still just a junior, Zanati is quickly becoming one of the top heavyweights around. Zanati proved himself time and again under pressure for Howell, and his win against Manalapan’s Linn helped seal Howell’s A North crown. Zanati started the year with a win at the Neptune Classic and finished it by taking third in District 21 and reaching the quarterfinals in the Region. He was 19-8.