BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
JACKSON – The Goetz Middle School wrestling team proved this might be one of the best squads ever assembled in school history.
Goetz captured its ninth consecutive Red or Blue Division regular-season championship with a gaudy 17-0 dual-meet record. Most of the matches were one-sided as Goetz easily outclassed the other schools in their division.
“I have to say this is one of the top teams we’ve ever had here at Goetz,” coach Ken Sims said. “We’ve had some very goods teams here in my time, but this team really dominated the competition. We have quality wrestlers at every weight class. This has been an amazing season.”
Goetz’s most recent accolade came last weekend by winning the Red Division tournament at the Ritacco Center in Toms River. Goetz crowned nine champions as it compiled a total of 121 points en route to winning the title. Goetz easily outdistanced the rest of the field. Vets Middle School finished second, while Lakewood Middle School was a distant third.
“We were never really in any danger throughout the event,” Sims said. “We had a good tournament and the kids were ready to go.”
Getting an opportunity to wrestle in the Ritacco Center was a thrill not many of his wrestlers will ever forget.
“What a place for them to get the feel of what a big-time wrestling match must be like,” Sims said. “I think that all the kids were really happy to be competing there. There is just a great atmosphere there.”
To date, Goetz has five wrestlers who are undefeated with at least 20 or more victories. Brain Hamann (75 pounds), Brad Royle (24-0), Dallas Winston (24-0), Doug Hamann (115) and Jim Kelly (22-0), all won respective titles last weekend.
“All of those guys have just had an outstanding season,” Sims said.
“They have all battled and worked extremely hard to produce those kinds of results. I’m really proud to have that many guys undefeated.”
Other champions included Alec Huxford (70), Randy Royle (126), Steve Kosch (150) and Nick Adams (185). Kosch and Adams each have registered 20 wins, while Huxford and Randy Royle each have 19 victories. In addition to champions, Goetz had a number of grapplers finish as runner-up.
Dylan McGlocklin (80), Spencer Young (90), Mike Lopez (145) and Dylan Nelson (170) finished in second place. Third-place finishes went to Mike Schupin (100) and Dylan Harrington (132). Joe Nolan (heavyweight) was fourth.
“We entered the event pretty confident we could come out on top,” Sims said. “We had a lot of success during the regular season, but we want to make sure that we finish the year strong. We still have a couple of very important meets to take care of.”
The Ocean County Finals and the Tri-County Championships, both individual events, are still ahead.
“We want to stay focused and take care of business in these two events,” Sims said. “I feel we are going to do pretty well.”