Kyle Nasdeo, Jad Duca, Kevin Fox and Blake Sframeli claim titles for Vikings.
By: Ken Weingartner
SOUTH BRUNSWICK Mike Valentino now knows Yogi Berra was right: It ain’t over til it’s over.
Of course, the South Brunswick High sophomore probably wishes he didn’t make the discovery during the championship match at 145 pounds in the District 20 wrestling tournament Saturday.
Valentino led Old Bridge’s Wilhelm Kienhofer 5-2 in the final moments of the title contest before getting taken down to his back. Kienhofer emerged with a stunning 7-5 triumph.
"I looked at the clock with like 20 seconds and figured I won the match," Valentino said. "I wrestled hard for five minutes and 40 seconds, but you’ve got to do it for six minutes. I’m going to shrug this off and get ready for regions. My goal is to keep wrestling to the best of my ability."
Valentino was among 10 South Brunswick wrestlers to qualify for the Region 5 Tournament, which starts Tuesday night at Hunterdon Central High School.
Kyle Nasdeo (135), Jad Duca (140), Kevin Fox (160) and Blake Sframeli (171) won titles while Paul Strincoski (103), Mike Dougherty (119), Michael Fidacaro (130), and Peter Gibb (189) joined Valentino with second-place finishes. Derrick Cromartie (215) advanced to regionals with a third-place effort.
Champions receive a bye until Friday night. Second- and third-place finishers meet Tuesday night.
Old Bridge won the district team title, ending South Brunswick’s three-year reign, and crowned nine champions. The Knights will send 11 wrestlers to Region 5.
Valentino, ironically, won his semifinal bout in fashion similar to the way he lost in the finals. Trailing 10-6 late in the match, he reversed West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s Bill Bowers to his back and got a pin with 23 seconds to go.
"Mr. Dougherty kind of woke me up," Valentino said, referring to coach Joe Dougherty.
"Just a few inspirational words," he added with a laugh.
Fox shared the outstanding wrestler award with Aaron Suozzo of Old Bridge. They were the only champs who weren’t No. 1 seeds. Fox defeated Jason Mar of Spotswood, 10-1, in the title bout.
In the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, Mar handed Fox his only loss of the season, 10-5. Fox was just getting over pneumonia at the time.
"My game plan was to stay away from him and shoot from outside," Fox said. "The last time, I was tying up with him and he was overpowering me. I think I can still wrestle better. I don’t think that was my best. Hopefully, we’ll see that in states."
1. Old Bridge 249, 2. South Brunswick 219, 3. East Brunswick 100.5, 4. Sayreville 98, 5. South River 72, 6. Spotswood 66, 7. North Brunswick 59.5, 8. West Windsor-Plainsboro South 45, 9. Monroe 16, 10. West Windsor-Plainsboro North 12.
103: Justin Smigelsky (OB) p. Paul Strincoski (SB), 4:46.
112: Ian Gorham (OB) p. Chris Bellavia (NB), 4:55.
119: Mike Carro (OB) d. Mike Dougherty (SB), 7-6.
125: Vinny Iodaci (OB) d. Keith Ritchings (EB), 9-4.
130: Rob Cook (OB) p. Michael Fidacaro (SB), 3:22.
135: Kyle Nasdeo (SB) p. Brian Fitzgerald (S), 1:38.
140: Jad Duca (SB) md. Greg Mongelli (SR), 16-4.
145: Wilhelm Kienhofer (OB) d. Mike Valentino (SB), 7-5.
152: Kevin Quinlan (OB) p. Leon Zielinski (S), 1:29.
160: Kevin Fox (SB) md. Jason Mar (Sp), 10-1.
171: Blake Sframeli (SB) p. Kenny Smith (S), 5:26.
189: Sal Iodaci (OB) d. Peter Gibb (SB), 5-1.
215: Aaron Suozzo (OB) d. Matt DeSantis (SR), 8-6 (2 OT).
Hwt: Brendon Morfe (WWS) d. Dennis Bruno (EB), 3-0.
103: Carmen Corona (EB) p. Tyler Currier (NB), 5:18.
112: Vincent Aroneo (SR) d. Garrett Nasdeo (SB), 7-2.
119: Rodney Thomas (SR) p. Eric Pampaloni (S), 3:41.
125: Ray Lamanna (NB) d. Brian Fitzgerald (S), 9-2.
130: Brian Ackerman (EB) d. Roger Jasiak (S), 13-8.
135: Tony Rispoli (OB) d. Tom Milazzo (NB), 5-2.
140: Dane Duckworth (Sp) d. Matt Klein (M), 8-3.
145: Bill Bowers (WWS) p. Steven Zdep (SR), 5:52.
152: Jeff Augliera (Sp) d. Ricky Lykes (SB), 5-2.
160: Mike Wojcik (OB) p. Bryan Jenkins (S), 0:57.
171: John Clay (EB) d. Mark Neumann (WWS), 9-2.
189: James Gagnon (EB) p. Omar Hatab (WWN), 1:36.
215: Derrick Cromartie (SB) p. Adam Fleischhauer (EB), 3:03.
Hwt: Dan Winant (Sp) d. Tiago Lucas (OB), 4-3.
103: Smigelsky p. Corona, 1:00; Strincoski p. Currier, 1:58.
112: Gorham md. Nasdeo, 15-5; Bellavia d. Aroneo, 15-8.
119: Carro d. Thomas, 8-4; Dougherty d. Pampaloni, 13-10.
125: Iodaci p. Fitzgerald, 3:31; Ritchings tf. Lamanna, 20-5 (5:03).
130: Cook p. Jasiak, 4:17; Fidacaro d. Ackerman, 8-3.
135: Nasdeo tf. Rispoli, 23-8 (6:00); Fitzgerald d. Milazzo, 7-6.
140: Duca md. Klein, 16-7; Mongelli d. Duckworth, 5-5 (rideout).
145: Kienhofer p. Zdep, 1:57; Valentino p. Bowers, 5:53.
152: Quinlan tf. Lykes, 15-0 (4:00); Zielinski d. Augliera, 10-4.
160: Mar p. Jenkins, 1:53; Fox md. Wojcik, 9-0.
171: Sframeli tf. Neumann, 17-1 (4:00); Smith d. Clay, 3-2.
189: Iodaci p. Hatab, 2:57; Gibb d. Gagnon, 4-3.
215: DeSantis p. Fleischhauer, 2:40; Suozzo d. Cromartie, 6-3.
Hwt: Morfe p. Winant, 5:09; Bruno d. Lucas, 4-2 (2 OT).