Raiders will face toughest competition of year in Flemington
By: Rudy Brandl
It may have been easier than usual for District 18 wrestlers to qualify for this year’s Region 5 Tournament, but the road out of the Hunterdon Central High Fieldhouse in Flemington figures to be more difficult than ever.
Middlesex’s move to District 12 left District 18 with nine teams, giving all wrestlers a little better mathematical shot to move on. Only one weight class (140) in District 18 contained more than eight wrestlers and several No. 1 and 2 seeds didn’t even wrestle a quarterfinal match. In some cases, two victories produced a district title.
While one small school left the district, a big-time wrestling power has joined Region 5 this winter. The addition of Delaware Valley will make this year’s Region 5 Tournament extremely grueling. The Terriers placed nine wrestlers in the top three of the District 17 Championships, widely respected as one of the state’s more competitive district tourneys.
District 18 wrestlers realize that the Hunterdon County teams have dominated the Region 5 Tournament in recent years. The presence of several top-notch Middlesex County teams and the addition of Del Val will make this year’s tournament a real struggle for Somerset County’s finest wrestlers.
Take a look at the district team champs in Region 5. Hillsborough was very impressive in winning its second District 18 title in school history last weekend, but the Raiders were only 2-6 against region teams outside their district this year. HHS dropped dual meets to District 17 champ Hunterdon Central, North Hunterdon and Del Val, District 20 runners-up South Brunswick and East Brunswick, and Piscataway from District 19.
District 20 champ Old Bridge may be having its biggest year ever. The Knights defeated Hunterdon Central for the Central Jersey Group 4 team title and had nine district champs last weekend.
"The region is pretty tough," Hillsborough High junior Randy Van Cleef said moments after winning the 112-pound district title Saturday night. "There’s a lot of really good guys in there this year."
Van Cleef is one of a school-record eight Raider wrestlers who will compete in Flemington this week. Teammates Andrew Gewain (103), Kristian Molloy (145) and Matt Campbell (152) also captured district titles, while Jared Wagner (125) and Dan Miller (160) finished second and Franklin Richardson (189) and Antonio D’Amelio (Hwt) placed third.
Second- and third-place qualifiers were in action Tuesday night, with winners advancing to Friday night’s quarterfinals (5:30 p.m.) against the district champs. While the pre-quarterfinals retained the do-or-die elimination format, the rest of the region tournaments will have a different look this year.
The four losers of Friday night’s quarterfinals will get a chance to wrestle back for third place and a berth in the SuperRegions. Friday’s winners will move on to Saturday’s semifinals (10 a.m.), where the two losers will meet the winners of the first round of wrestle-backs. Those winners will then meet for third place in the consolation finals (1:30), with the semifinal winners battling for the championships (3 p.m.).
This new format will give district champs who receive a tough draw an honest chance to advance if they lose Friday night. It’s not uncommon to see a strong non-champ who was upset in the districts knock out a winner from another district. Wrestle-backs will give these upset victims a second chance.
"Since it’s a state qualifying tournament, there should be wrestle-backs," Hillsborough head coach Steve Molinaro said. "That way, it’s a true third place. Those wrestle-backs are a long road. This is the answer for kids who don’t have any previous experience or advancement. This gives them a better shot at advancing."
Region seeding committees typically stress past accomplishments and give the best rankings to former place winners. The addition of wrestle-backs puts newcomers on more equal footing. It also gives anyone in the final eight a second chance.
The new format gives an even greater advantage to district champs, who are now guaranteed to wrestle Saturday. Of course, Friday losers will have to win three bouts to take third place. Friday winners now must win twice to take third if they lose in the region semifinals.
Manville 130-pounder Kurt Tenisci was the heavy favorite in his class in District 18, but the senior standout was upset by Bridgewater’s Jose Morin in the finals. So, instead of waiting to get seeded for Friday’s quarters, Tenisci had some work to do in the preliminary round. A district title would have helped him avoid that hurdle.
Tenisci was the only Mustang to place in District 18. Three of his teammates Jason Lebedz, Justin Jurkowski and Mike Markowitch were knocked out in the consolation finals and settled for fourth place.
Although Hillsborough advanced eight guys to the regions, the Raiders understand that number of survivors will dwindle as the competition becomes more fierce. With six state playoff teams in the building this weekend, it’s a good bet that the wrestling will be top-notch from 103 to heavyweight.
Gewain is riding a 22-bout streak but could run into his only conqueror this weekend. And there are a few more talented wrestlers in the field as well. Perth Amboy’s Mike Rodriguez defeated Gewain for the Mount Olive Tournament title, but Edison’s Mike McGorvin blanked Rodriguez 8-0 for the District 19 title last weekend. Old Bridge’s Justin Smigelsky and Hunterdon Central’s Rob Wilkinson also will be in the mix.
Van Cleef knows he may see Jimmy Gattone of Somerville again this weekend. Van Cleef avenged two prior defeats and knocked Gattone from the ranks of the unbeaten in an electrifying 7-5 championship victory Saturday night. Other 112-pounders to watch include North Hunterdon’s Greg Eisenhart, Edison’s Anthony Iazzetta and Ian Gorham of Old Bridge.
Bridgewater’s Josh Shearer will be one of the favorites at 119. Central’s Eric Beitz and Old Bridge’s Mike Carro are the other contenders there.
District champs Kyle Brewer of Central, Brad Galeta of Bound Brook, Ryan Rendina of Edison and Vinny Iodaci of Old Bridge lead the way at 125 pounds. Wagner and East Brunswick’s Keith Ritchings also have a shot at placing.
Tenisci’s road to the Supers would have been difficult enough as a district champion. With guys like favorite Ed Gutnik of Iselin Kennedy, Pat Shaddow of North Hunterdon and Rob Cook of Old Bridge in the bracket, it will be difficult to move on.
The most brutal weight class in the tournament is a toss-up between 145 and 152. The 145-pound division includes district champs Ricky Frondorf of North Hunterdon and Molloy, as well as District 17 runners-up Dan Hutchins of Del Val and Levi Miller of Central. Campbell’s road to survival at 152 will be blocked by Lawrence’s Mike Savino, Voorhees’ Matt Brienza and Old Bridge’s Kevin Quinlan. Del Val’s Phil Bush also is capable of making noise in that loaded class.
"Hopefully, I’ll get a better seed this year," said Campbell, a two-time district champ who was eliminated by Frondorf in last year’s Region 5 quarterfinals. "It’s all based on past years. I’ve been there before, so I should get a better seed."
The upper weights have some prohibitive favorites, but there will be plenty of competition for the qualifying positions. South Brunswick’s Kevin Fox looks solid at 160, where Del Val’s Alex Shallop and Bridgewater’s Rob Gaglione look to contend. Returning region champ Peder Sarsten of Voorhees will try to do it at 171 this year, but Blake Sframelli of South Brunswick, John Dolida of Bridgewater and Andrey Sharapov of Bound Brook could stop the repeat.
Bound Brook’s Rich Jannuzzi and Old Bridge’s Sal Iodaci are having big years at 189, Marco Eusebio of Perth Amboy looks strong at 215 and Bound Brook’s Chris Knapp is the favorite at heavyweight. Knapp finished second in the state last winter and has championship aspirations for his senior season.
There are no more team titles on the line. It’s all for the individual wrestlers, who hope to keep their state championship dreams alive for another week.
Region 5 survivors will move on to Tuesday night’s SuperRegions 5-6 in Red Bank, the final stage before the NJSIAA Championships at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford on March 10-11.