Three teams battle for supremacy in Red Division
Vikings, Tigers and
Knights all in the running for GMC’s top spot
JERRY WOLKOWITZ Old Bridge’s Vinny Iodaci has control of South Plainfield’s Ricky Ringel during a 125-pound bout last Wednesday in Old Bridge. Iodaci won the match by a 3-0 decision.
The battle for supremacy in the Greater Middlesex Conference’s Red Division is getting very interesting, based on the results of a pair of matches that took place in the last two weeks.
Going into their Jan. 14 match against South Brunswick, the South Plainfield wrestling team was the top-ranked team in the GMC, and had yet to be tested in a dual match. But the Vikings had a swagger of their own, losing only to Old Bridge, the third exceptional team in this loaded division, and the second-ranked team in the GMC.
If South Brunswick had any hopes of competing for a division title, they knew they would need to pull off an upset to keep those hopes alive.
Mission accomplished. The upstart Vikings surprised just about everyone except for themselves in knocking off the Tigers, giving them their first loss since 1999, and their first in the GMC since 1996-97.
JERRY WOLKOWITZ Old Bridge’s Sal Iodaci tries to get a pin on a South Plainfield wrestler during the first period of a 171-pound bout last Wednesday. Iodaci didn’t get the pin, but did come away with the decision.
It was a team effort that gave the Vikings (9-1, 4-1) the win, with a number of wrestlers pulling off surprise victories. Among the Vikings who came away with wins were Jad Duca (9-1), who dropped down to 135 pounds to beat previously unbeaten Matt Gati (12-1) 13-9, and Kyle Nasdeo (12-1), who weighed in at 140 but beat Glen Gross, 6-5, in a 145-pound bout.
Those two wins gave the Vikings some life, trailing 25-9. From there Kevin Fox (160) and Blake Sframeli (171) won by fall for the Vikings before Pete Gibb beat Joe DiBiase 5-4 at 189 pounds to cut the lead to 25-24. South Plainfield’s John Foscolo (7-1) beat Derrick Cromartie 14-9 at 215, but the Vikings took the match when heavyweight Ben Henry won by forfeit to close out the win.
South Brunswick’s surprise win opened up a window for the Old Bridge Knights to claim the top spot in the GMC with a win over South Plainfield last Wednesday. But the Tigers bounced back with their best effort of the year, topping the Knights 32-28 in a thrilling match.
The match was about as close as it could be without ending in a draw, with bonus points deciding the result. The bouts were split 7-7; however, South Plainfield posted three pins and two major decisions while Old Bridge managed just one pin and one major along with a forfeit.
Going into the match, South Plainfield knew they would need the bonus points to overcome their lack of team depth, something Old Bridge has plenty of. And when all was said and done, they had accrued just enough bonus points to stake claim to the top spot in the conference.
Old Bridge got off to a good start when Justin Smigelsky (9-0) registered a major at 103. But the Tigers bounced back with a major by Rich Gebauer at 112, followed by an 8-4 win for returning state champ Matt Anderson at 119 over Mike Carro, who surprised Anderson early in the bout by putting him on his back.
Old Bridge’s super-freshman Vinny Iodaci (12-1) got the Knights back in the bout with a 3-0 win over Ricky Ringel (11-3) at 125 before the Tigers ran off four straight wins, from 130 to 145, with Roberto Ramos majoring Rob Cook, Matt Gati and Scott Doerr pinning their opponents, and Glenn Cross posting a 13-7 win.
Old Bridge responded with three wins, but Kevin Quinlan picked up the only bonus points with a pin at 152, while Mike Wojcik and Sal Iodaci both had near falls killed by the buzzer at 160 and 171 respectively.
With the score 26-19, South Plainfield had all but wrapped up the match with their ace Foscolo heading to the mat. His pin at 189, followed by a forfeit at 215 and an Old Bridge decision at heavyweight (Tiago Lucas beat Ryan Elliot 6-3), created the final margin of 32-28.
The win was a second life for South Plainfield, who have maintained their status as the top-ranked team in the GMC, although they now trail South Brunswick in the standings in the Red Division. However, everything could change rather quickly with all three teams facing some tough competition in the next few weeks leading up to the GMC Tournament the first weekend in February.
The Vikings will take their 9-1 record to Wall today where they will face a 6-1 Wall team sitting atop the Shore Conference’s Class A Central Division. A win over Wall would go a long way toward helping South Brunswick prepare itself for the upcoming postseason tournaments. From there, South Brunswick will host a 4-4 South River squad, a 6-2 Woodbridge team and St. Peter’s in a quad meet on Saturday.
Old Bridge was home against Ocean (7-2, first place in the Shore’s Class B North) yesterday and will face a 4-3 Edison team on Friday. From there, the Knights will prepare for the GMC Tournament, which will be held at Piscataway.
South Plainfield will also be preparing for the GMC Tournament, and will likely be expecting to be challenged by both South Brunswick and Old Bridge once they get there. One thing is for certain, at all of the season’s postseason tournaments, the GMC’s Red Division will be well represented.