MHS matmen overmatched by deep county field

Lebedz takes fourth at 152 pounds

By: John E. Powers
   
   HILLSBOROUGH – For the first time in 19 years, the Manville High School wrestling team finished last in the Somerset County Tournament. But third-year head coach Brett Stibitz knew it was going to be tough going, considering what the team was facing.
   Eddie Ferrara, the starting 171-pounder, was out with a broken leg, while sophomore 119-pounder Luis Martinez failed to show up for the meet. The Mustangs also had a couple of inexperienced wrestlers in their lineup, so Stibitz wasn’t expecting any miracles from the seven wrestlers he sent out.
   Manville finished 12th with 18 points, 9½ behind Ridge. Senior Jason Lebedz, wrestling with a sore back, was the best Manville finisher, placing fourth at 152. Lebedz didn’t go out for the third-place consolation bout with Hillsborough’s Pat Jastrzebski.
   "We have 15 kids on paper, but we had just seven kids and two of the guys, Greg Fabian and Nghi Nguyen, were really, really new, so we were really down to five veterans," Stibitz said.
   The Mustangs won four of 18 bouts with Lebedz winning two of them, while Joe Zuza (189) and Jim Noble (215) had the other two wins.
   "Lebedz didn’t practice for three weeks, so I think he wrestled very, very well and I give him all the credit in the world for going out there," Stibitz said. "He hurt his back in his first week of practice and I think he tweaked it. Hey, Jason’s our anchor."
   Lebedz pinned Ridge’s Evan Whaley in his first match, but was pinned by Somerville’s Allen Van Ness – who went on to win the title and the tournament outstanding wrestler award – in the semis. Lebedz then pinned Rutgers Prep’s Chris Bird in his consolation match, but Stibitz held him out for precautionary reasons after that.
   "I just wanted to give it a shot," Lebedz said.
   Noble pinned eventual third-place finisher Edwin Rios of Franklin, then was pinned by three-time county champ Sean McMahon of Bernards. He was then eliminated from the tournament by Watchung Hills junior Alex Plotkin 3-1 in overtime in the consolation round. Zuza’s win was a fall against Somerville’s Marion Easley.
   "Joe didn’t have anything left in the tank against the kid from Franklin (Will Saunders)," Stibitz said. "The Franklin kid rolled through and caught him. That was a little disappointing."
   Senior Kile Galasso was beating Franklin junior Jason Acquaye when he was caught and pinned. Acquaye went on to beat defending county champ John Wells of Watchung Hills to win the championship. Galasso was beaten in the consolation bracket by Ridge sophomore Cliff Menweiser, 7-1.
   "Kile shot a number of times and I think he gave up three points in a matter of five seconds," Stibitz said.
   Stibitz, who believes the team will win a few dual meets this year, was very disappointed with Martinez, who had the fourth seed at 119.
   "It was surprising because the kid had missed two days of practice in a month," Stibitz said.
   The Mustangs were scheduled to host Ridge Wednesday night in the season-opening dual meet, and then travel to Bound Brook tonight and Governor Livingston Saturday afternoon. Governor Livingston is also going through a period of low numbers.
   Stibitz said that he expects Nick Landers, who wrestled for volunteer assistant Randy Lebedz in junior high school a few years ago, to be somewhere in the lineup, perhaps in the middle weights. The Landers’ family has moved back to Manville after having lived in Long Island, Stibitz said. Senior 103-pounder Mark Gregor is also expected back in the lineup.
   "If I can get the bodies all together, I really think it’ll be interesting," Stibitz said.