By doug mckenzie
Staff Writer
CHRIS KELLY Long Branch’s Sergio Chapparro pins Freehold Township’s Jack Allen at the 3:22 mark of their 125-pound quarterfinal bout at the Middletown South Wrestling Tournament on Saturday.
The high school wrestling season continued to gather steam this past weekend, with a number of local teams traveling throughout the state to participate in various holiday tournaments.
However, the weekend before Christmas gave local fans their first glimpses of this season’s grapplers, with a number of local teams showing their strength against quality competition.
Nobody made a louder statement over the season-opening weekend than the Christian Brothers Academy Colts, who took second place in their own Colt Classic, finishing behind Watchung Hills by a single point, 272-271.
For anyone that thought the Colts would suffer a letdown after last season’s impressive 12-6 campaign, head coach Michael Baldi’s squad proved that to be a mistake, as they sent eight wrestlers into the finals of the 12-team tournament. The Colts walked away with three individual titles.
Sophomore Charles Favia got his season off to a fast start with a title at 135 pounds. Favia, who finished 16-8 a year ago, major decisioned Freehold Borough’s Mike Shafai, 16-7, in the final.
Senior John Neidrich was another Colt who got off quickly, winning the individual title at 145 pounds with a 1-0 decision in the final. Neidrich is coming off a 23-7 season last year and is looking to make some noise well into the postseason this year.
The third Colt to walk away with some hardware was junior Ed Allegra, who won the 171-pound title with a 5-2 win in the final. Allegra is another state-caliber wrestler who is coming off a stellar 24-2 campaign a year ago. Along with Neidrich, Allegra will look to lead the Colts to another championship season this year on the mats.
Among the CBA wrestlers who made it to the finals only to fall short were freshman David Chirichello (103 pounds), senior Anthony Aldorasi (119), senior Dan Colman (125), senior Kyle Hyrmak (189), and senior Ryan Jones (215).
The Colts traveled down to Manchester this weekend to take part in the highly competitive Hawk Classic. Another strong showing there would go a long way toward earning CBA some early-season notice as a team to beat in the Shore Conference’s loaded Class A North division.
The Red Bank Bucs finished fourth at the Colt Classic, and got an individual title at 152 pounds, where Brandon Scott earned a major decision to launch his senior season after going 28-4 last year. Red Bank also got valuable points from sophomore Lamar Brown, who took third at 171; sophomore Sean Koch, fourth at 103; junior Charlie Russell, fourth at 171; and junior Anthony Lawrence, fourth at 275.
Also at the Colt Classic, the Red Bank Catholic Caseys earned a seventh-place finish, but got an individual win from senior mark Minett, who pinned CBA’s Aldorasi in the 119-pound final at the 2:59 mark.
The Long Branch Green Wave wrestling team finished in 11th place at Neptune Classic, but got an individual title when its top guy, senior Pat Tedeschi beat Manalapan’s Brendan Provow 5-1 in the 152-pound final. The win was a big one for Tedeschi as he looks to strengthen his status as a state-caliber wrestler.
In addition, Long Branch sophomore Manny Navarro made it all the way to the final of the 275-pound weight class before losing a hard-fought 2-1 match in overtime.
The Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs made some noise of their own over the season’s opening weekend, claiming a fourth-place finish at the Icebreaker Tournament in Matawan. The Bulldogs finished behind Toms River North (94), Raritan (78.5) and J.P. Stevens (77), with 65.5 points, and sent four wrestlers to the finals.
At 125 pounds, senior Patrick Berger claimed the individual title with an 8-2 win over Toms River East’s Jimmy Cohen. The Lehigh-bound Berger promises to be a contender this season, though 125 is a loaded weight class in the Shore Conference.
Senior Bryan Heller got his season off to a fast start with a title at 135 pounds, with a pin at 2:31 in the final. Heller, who finished seventh/eight in the state last year after going 32-2 and was the school’s first ever Region champ, is a wrestler to watch this season as he looks to battle for a state title at 135.
Rumson senior John McAuliffe took the 171-pound title at the Icebreaker, major decisioning Marlboro’s Avery Ellis in the final. Meanwhile, senior Greg Redman lost to Toms River North’s Luis Franceschi in the 130-pound final.
Rumson also got some valuable points from junior Dave Ruthenbeck, who finished third at 103; sophomore Nick Bufano, who finished third at 119; and senior Chris Schrank, who finished third at 145.
This past weekend, the Bulldogs hoped to continue to make noise at the Holmdel Tournament.