BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
JEFF GRANIT staff East Brunswick;s Jason Shelsby struggles to stay off his back against Ocean Township’s Kyle Kiss during their 145-pound wrestleback match at the state championships in Atlantic City on Saturday.
For all the anticipation and hype that led up to Sunday’s state championship wrestling finals in Atlantic City, the results fell far short of the expectations of a pair of local seniors hoping to capture the elusive titles.
Both Bishop Ahr’s Kody Hamrah and J.P. Stevens’ Jeff Zannetti entered the state tournament as top seeds in their respective weight classes after steamrolling their competition through undefeated regular seasons, as well as the district and region tournaments.
And through the early rounds of the action in Atlantic City they continued their dominance, and appeared poised to complete perfect seasons.
But, for both wrestlers, the dream run quickly became a nightmare on Sunday afternoon, as they were both upset in the finals to another pair of unbeatens chasing down perfection.
Hamrah dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision to Caldwell’s Steve Martell in the 152-pound final, after falling behind early and fighting back in the third period.
After Martell got the early 3-0 lead on a takedown and an escape, Hamrah responded with a takedown of his own, late in the third period, to cut the lead to 3-2. He then let Martell up in the final moments, but failed to get the go-ahead takedown, resulting in his second consecutive second-place finish in the state.
"We worked very hard to get there, and that match could have gone either way," said Hamrah’s coach, Nick Tonzola. "We knew the match that he was in for, and had a chance to watch [Martell] in the semifinals, where he beat a guy Kody beat in the region finals.
"This is the second year in a row that Kody’s run into the hottest wrestler in the state in the final," Tonzola added. "Last year it was [Keros] Cooper [of Pitman], who beat him 14-11. It’s just very painful."
Hamrah’s run to the final included a pin over Demarest junior Dan Woods, a 10-5 win over sophomore Scott Griffin of Eastern, and a 5-2 victory over Washington Township’s Tyler Tisdell in the semifinals.
Hamrah, who is headed to North Carolina State University in the fall, finished his career just two wins shy of JFK’s Ed Kutnik as the second all-time winningest wrestler in GMC history with his 135-17 career mark.
Stevens’ Zannetti ran into another red-hot wrestler in Rahway sophomore Darrion Caldwell, and got caught in a far-side cradle in the second period of their 119-pound final, from which he could not escape. The pinfall was as shocking as it was sudden, and ended what had been a brilliant run at the state title for the Hawk wrestler, who finished the year at 35-1.
Zannetti appeared poised to capture his title after a pin of Livingston’s Rich Rusell, a 8-5 win over Paulsboro’s Bryan Tracy and a 14-2 major decision over Delran’s Kyle Milanese in the semifinals. But it wasn’t meant to be, as Caldwell capped what has been a sensational sophomore campaign for him with a perfect 37-0 mark and a state title at 119 pounds.
Woodbridge’s Joe Bubenheimer entered the state tourney as the top seed in the lower bracket of the 125-pound class, and immediately won his prequarterfinal match over Clifton’s Corey Bleaken by pinfall at the 3:05 mark. But in the quarterfinals he was shocked by Lakewood’s Matt Rizzo, the Region 6 champ, 9-6; Bubenheimer’s first loss this year in 32 bouts.
Rizzo pounced on the unbeaten Barron early, and Bubenheimer was never able to fully recover. He had built a 7-3 lead midway through the third period, and maintained his control over the Woodbridge junior to gain the victory and advance to the semifinals, where he was beaten by eventual 125-pound champ Nick Bridge of Absegami, 6-3.
As for Bubenheimer, he showed the resolve of a champion by winning his next four matches and earning third place in the loaded bracket. In doing so, he knocked off top-seeded Bryan Nunziato with a pin at the 3:20 mark of the third-place final.
It was a solid finish for Bubenheimer, who will be back next year after a stellar 35-1 junior campaign.
His teammate, senior Danny Collins, came back from a 6-4 overtime quarterfinal-round loss to Seton Hall Prep’s Jack Decker to place seventh, when he beat Mendam’s Matt Button, 12-11, in their consolation bout. Collins finished the season at 33-6.
Bishop Ahr’s Matt Pagan continued his surprising run in the state tournament with a fourth-place finish in the 103-pound weight class. Pagan beat St. Peter’s Prep’s Sean O’Grady, 5-0, in the quarterfinals, before suffering a 8-0 loss to eventual 103-pound champion Jimmy Conroy of South Plainfield in the semifinals. He then dropped his third-place consolation bout to David Smith of Paulsboro, 11-4, to finish his junior season at 32-5.
However, his disappointment in himself was not shared by his coach, who couldn’t say enough about his gutty wrestler.
"He came in as the 12th seed, and beat a four- and a five-seed," Tonzola said. "This was an unbelievable tournament for our program to have two guys in the top four. We’ve only had one other place-winner in the past."
OVERTIME… Among the other local grapplers who headed to A.C. last weekend was Old Bridge senior Justin Obrusniak, who entered the state tournaments hoping to end his stellar career at Old Bridge with a bang.
He got off to a good start on Friday when he beat Hopatcong’s Anthony Nicolicchia, 7-5 in the Round of 16. However, that earned him a match with eventual 119-pound champ Darrion Caldwell, and Obrusniak lost a hard-fought 12-6 match to the grappler from Rahway.
He then lost again in the wrestlebacks to New Providence’s Ross Baldwin to end his senior year with a 30-5 record.
St. John Vianney’s Anthony Castro entered the state tournament with similar aspirations after making it through the regular season and district and region tournaments undefeated at 33-0. He made it 34-0 with a technical fall win (18-1) over Watchung Hills Shane Riccio in the Round of 16, but then stumbled against Randolph Hills’ Matt Kaplan in the quarterfinals, losing a 4-2 match. Castro bounced back with another tech fall win (15-0), this one over Livingston’s Jerry Eagen in the wrestlebacks, but was eliminated in the next round, losing to Scotch Plains’ Scott Mineo, 8-3.
Castro finished his stellar campaign at 35-2.
Fellow Lancer Mike Brogan, also a senior, got off to a fast start in the 140-pound bracket, scoring a pin of Bergen Catholic’s Spencer Kent at the 2:32 mark of their preliminary round match, but then suffered a technical fall loss (21-6) to eventual state runner-up Jack Decker of Seton Hall Prep in the Round of 16. He was then eliminated in the wrestlebacks by Willingboro’s Tom Scotton, 11-4, to finish the year at 26-8.
SJV’s Kyle Pardun also earned a trip to A.C. but was knocked off by Kittatinny’s Dan Tramontozzi, 10-2, in the preliminary round. Pardun finished the year at 28-5, and will be back next year when he will look to return to the state tournament as a senior.
East Brunswick’s senior Carmen Corona also had a tough time in A.C., where he lost his 135-pound preliminary round bout to Old Tappan’s Nick Magaraci, 12-9, to finish his senior year at 25-7.
East Brunswick junior Jason Shelsby was a bit more successful, as he won his 145-pound preliminary round bout against Michael Torsiello of Hanover Park via a pin at the 1:56 mark, but then fell to Cedar Grove’s Ryan Corbosiero, 6-5, in the Round of 16. He bounced back on Saturday with a pin of South Plainfield’s Paul Ritchey at the 5:50 mark of their wrestleback bout, but was eliminated in the next round by Ocean Township’s Kyle Kiss, 16-4.
Shelsby’s performance in A.C. should give him some added confidence as he looks ahead to his senior year, when he will be hoping to build on what was an excellent 31-7 junior campaign.
South Brunswick’s Brady Shelcusky was pinned in his 171-pound preliminary round bout by Orange’s Brain Cargill to end his senior season at 29-6.