Chris Kelly It only took South River’s Rodney Thomas 1:27 to lock up Shore Regional’s Chris Stackhouse with a cradle, then a pin. The 130-pound pinfall was a crucial component to the Rams’ 36-32 win in the Central Jersey Group I state finals last Thursday.
After both teams battled valiantly through the first 13 bouts, it all came down to the final match in the Central Jersey Group I wrestling final.
In front of a capacity crowd at South River High School, senior Kevin Cole tossed Shore Regional’s Justin Lugones onto his back, and recorded a 1:10 pinfall at 189 pounds, capping off an exciting match and giving the Rams a 36-32 victory — and the crown.
"I knew it was going to be close as the match went on, but I had no idea that it was going to fall on me to win the match for us," Cole said. "I just went out there to do the best I could. I’m glad I could do this for the team."
"Today was our best effort as a team, and it couldn’t have come at a better time," said South River head coach Ian Evanovich. "We knew this was going to close. Shore beat Metuchen, and we lost to them (Metuchen). That’s what makes wrestling so unique. You never know who is going to win until the match is over.
"Tonight the thing that helped us the most was bonus points. Not only did the kids get the wins we needed, they got the extra points to put us over the top."
South River received crucial pin points from Danny Fodor, Rodney Thomas and Cole.
Fodor started things off for the top-seeded Rams when he pinned Brian Wrubel in only 51 seconds, at 215 pounds. Thomas’ 1:27 pinfall over Chris Stackhouse at 130 pounds cut the visitors’ lead to 22-15, with Cole’s pin at 189 pounds winning the match.
After Fodor’s bout, Shore went on to win four out of the next five weight classes. Three pins and a major decision gave the visiting Blue Devils a 22-9 edge.
Vinnie Aroneo kept Shore from putting together five straight wins, defeating Eric Urban 10-4.
South River’s chances slowly began to improve late in the match as they chipped away at Shore’s lead from 140 pounds and up.
Iuri Pinto sparked the comeback with a 3-2 win at 140 pounds. The win cut Shore’s lead to eight points.
Back-to-back major decisions by Mike Lipman and Greg Mongelli, both won 12-3, at 145 and 152 pounds deadlocked the match at 26-26.
Shore improved their lead to 32-26, behind a 2:39 pinfall at 160 pounds, before Pedro Mirasol majored Matt Mayer, 20-9, at 171 pounds.
Mirasol’s strength to roll through several toss attempts by Mayer set the stage for the final bout to determine who the champion would be.
"One kid didn’t do this for us; this was a total team effort tonight," said Evanovich.
From there, the Rams faced perennial power Paulsboro, and fell to the 18-time Group I champs 67-0. Although South River did not win a match, they wrestled well and fought until the end.
The loss did nothing to take away from what was a remarkable season for the Rams.