Kull, Lynch, McLaughlin seek titles
By: Rudy Brandl
The Hillsborough High wrestling team finds itself in a much different position than last year entering the post-season tournaments.
A year ago at this time, the Raiders were coming off a 16-3 season and heavily favored to win the District 18 title. This year, the team feels like it has something to prove after completing a 3-15 regular season last weekend.
District tournaments will be held at 32 sites throughout the state this weekend. Champions, runners-up and third-place finishers in all 14 weight classes will move on to the eight Region tourneys the following weekend, the final leg of qualifying for the NJSIAA Championships in Atlantic City.
The Raiders have suffered some tough losses and taken many lumps over the past few months, but the season’s not over yet. District wrestling begins with preliminary and quarterfinal round bouts Friday at 5:30 p.m. and continues with Saturday’s semifinals (10 a.m.), consolation finals (1 p.m.) and finals (3 p.m.).
"It’s our last event that involves the team," HHS head coach Steve Molinaro said. "Let’s cap our season with something positive. Let’s have a great week of practice and cut it loose on Friday and Saturday."
The Raiders had a busy week of preparation for the districts, wrestling three matches in a span of four days. There weren’t any state team playoff matches like last year, but the Raiders battled in three competitive matches.
HHS picked up its third win of the season along the way, defeating an improved Franklin team by a 42-24 score Friday night. The Raiders also dropped matches to Middlesex County teams and Region 5 rivals Piscataway (40-23) and East Brunswick (36-28).
Saturday’s loss to the Bears came down to the final two matches. A major decision by Kevin Lynch at 135, a decision by Bobby Wolf at 140 and a pin by Frank McLaughlin at 145 rallied the Raiders to within two points at 30-28 with two bouts remaining. East Brunswick maintained its lead by taking two very close decisions at 152 and 160, winning the two bouts by a combined total of four points.
"We had a couple chances to win that match," Molinaro said.
That’s the type of regular season it was for the Raiders, who didn’t catch many breaks. Molinaro’s team was in a rebuilding mode but still had to face a powerhouse schedule that included state playoff teams Phillipsburg, Hunterdon Central, North Hunterdon, Delaware Valley, Bridgewater-Raritan, Voorhees, Watchung Hills, Warren Hills, Piscataway and Roselle Park.
"We’ll be well-prepared with our Skyland Conference schedule," Molinaro said. "It depends on how the seeds go."
While the team won just three times during the dual meet season, several HHS individuals have been performing well. Junior 119-pounder Adam Kull (21-2) won the Somerset County title and could be a force in the post-season. Kull’s 5-0 shutout over Piscataway standout A.J. Hrabar last week was impressive.
"Adam’s wrestled some tough competition this year," Molinaro said. "He handled Hrabar the whole match."
Senior Kevin Lynch (20-3 at 135-140) and sophomore Frank McLaughlin (20-3 at 145) have been consistent winners. Both finished second in the county and will look to win their weight class at the district level.
Other Raiders to watch include senior 171-pounder Chris Monticchio (18-6) and junior 189-pounder Ernie Guaimano (15-8). Junior 140-pounder Bobby Wolf (10-12) and senior 152-pounder Joe Ambrose (9-12) are dangerous despite their sub-.500 records. The rest of the HHS lineup will include Andrew DeSanto (112), Chris Ambrose (125), James McMahon (130), Dale Mathewson (160), Scott Sliker (215) and Mike Trani (Hwt).
The Raiders expect to fill 13 of the 14 weight classes, with 103 pounds remaining vacant. HHS probably won’t send 12 wrestlers to the Region 5 Tournament like last season, but there’s a good chance at least half that many individuals will move on to Flemington.
"The kids know they’re prepared to compete at this level," Molinaro said. "This is what they’ve worked for all year."

