Falcons spent past year hitting the mats

By: Ken Weingartner
   Many of the wrestlers on the Monroe Township High squad could succinctly describe how they spent their summer vacations, or at least a good part of their time off.
   Wrestling.
   Opponents of the Falcons should keep this fact in the back of their minds, especially if Monroe continues to grow and flourish under the direction of co-head coaches Sal Profaci and Allen Rushing.
   Last year, Monroe went 14-13 and advanced four wrestlers to the regional tournament with a lineup dominated by sophomores.
   Jake "The Snake" Nale and Brendan Hodel, both juniors, are the top returnees, but the Falcons have 50 wrestlers on the roster, 20 of which saw action in at least one varsity match last season.
   Perhaps more important is the offseason work done by the Falcons. Frank Olexson, who will be stepping into the heavyweight spot vacated by graduated standout Justin Lupo, for example, wrestled 70 matches over the summer. That equates to nearly three seasons worth of additional experience gained in a few months.
   Many other Falcons wrestled 20 to 25 times over the summer.
   "They’ve been busting their butts and working hard," Rushing said. "I think our guys have seen and recognize that the top kids going to states every year are the guys that wrestle over the summer. That extra experience can be a great advantage. You can work out and train, but nothing beats wrestling in match situations."
   Monroe opens its season Saturday in the Ewing Tournament at Ewing High School in Mercer County. The Falcons will squeeze in three dual matches prior to Christmas: at Edison Tuesday, home against Freehold Township Thursday and at Freehold Borough a week from today.
   Nale, who will wrestle at 215 pounds, was 25-12 last season and Hodel (112) was 22-18. Justin Mazor (145), another junior, was 10-7 while senior Nick Garibaldi (152) and sophomore Chris Garibaldi (140) also reached double digits in victories.
   Also returning with significant experience are seniors Wally Seeman (135) and Chris Boehm (160), junior Brian Mackiewicz (119), and sophomores Ryan Worden (189), Blaine Miller (112) and Guido Santiago (125).
   The most intriguing newcomer to the lineup is Olexson, who was 1-1 at the varsity level last season, but 19-1 on the junior varsity and won five jayvee tournaments.
   "He could be the next great Monroe heavyweight," Rushing said. "He’s looking tough as nails."
   With just six seniors in the program as a whole, the Falcons once again will feature a young lineup.
   "I don’t know how good we are yet, but we’re real balanced and will be filling all the weight classes," Rushing said. "We’ve got a lot of guys with varsity experience. We might be a year away, but I want to see what we can do now."