The Red Bank Regional Bucs simply cannot wait to start this winter’s wrestling regular season.
CHRIS KELLY staff Red Bank Regional High School senior Nick Lettieri perfroms a wrestling drill during a recent scrimmage against Matawan. The Bucs started their season this past weekend at the Ewing Tournament. After putting together a strong 15-9 season a year ago, the Bucs have plenty of reasons to be excited this year, starting with the fact that they return 13 seniors this season.
“These guys are really motivated this year and are definitely working extremely hard,” head coach Scott Ferris said. “We finished strongly last year and we’re hoping to carry that momentum into this season.”
Ferris, now in his eighth season at RBR, understands that despite its experience, his Bucs team faces even more of a challenge this winter as they make the move to the Class B North division.
“Last year we were in A Central and had to deal with the likes of Raritan, which was tough,” Ferris said. “Now with the move to B North, we get Ocean Township, Long Branch, which is either No. 1 or No. 2 in the state, as well as a very good Wall Township team.”
However, rather than dwell on the negatives that the tougher schedule creates, Ferris would rather concentrate
on the advantages the move presents.
“It’s a tougher division for us, no doubt, but in the long run it’s going to make us tougher,” he said. “And once it gets to the district tournament, our guys will be as tested as anyone in the district.”
Leading the way for Ferris’ squad is a quartet of seniors who put together strong seasons a year ago. Caleb Dougherty will wrestle at 160, after going 24-10 at 152 last year, while Connor Lawlor will stay at 189, where he was 24-8 a year ago. Cody O’Malley will also see time at 189 after going 17-17 at 171 last year, but will also bump up to 215, depending on the matchups. That leaves Michael Damien, the senior heavyweight who was 10-5 last year.
“All four of those guys wrestled well for us last year and finished fourth in the district,” Ferris said. “We’re expecting some big things from them this year.”
While Ferris is looking to those four grapplers to set the tone for the rest of the team, in truth, the coach doesn’t worry about his team’s commitment to winning, based on the experience in the room.
Among the other seniors back for their final year include Nick Lettieri (8-23 at 119 a year ago), Jason Fitzgerald (11-13 at 135), Tom Terrarosa (21-9 at 160) and Cristian Chacon (15-12 at 215), while the junior class includes Jose Rodriguez (13-10 at 103) and Rocky Leiner (18-14 at 112), among others.
Some of the key newcomers who Ferris is looking to make an impact are freshmen Cesar Sembler and Charlie Olman, as well as sophomore first-year wrestler Eddie Sembler. They will be competing for the 103-pound spot.
While the newcomers will have to learn on the fly, Ferris is hoping the remainder of the team will continue to progress in the
same manner they did last year.
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” the coach said. “Most of these guys wrestled matches at the varsity level over the past couple of years, so they know what to expect and what it takes to be successful.”
RBR started the season by participating in the Ewing Tournament this weekend, where they hoped to improve on last year’s 10th-place finish.
From there, they were to open the dual meet season on Monday against a newlook Ocean team that has reloaded after graduating six starters, before taking part in the Holmdel Christmas Tournament this week.
“We will also be hosting the third annual Buc Classic Wrestling Tournament on Jan. 10, which will have 14 teams in it this year,” Ferris said. “Most of them are out-of-area teams, but we’d really like to win our own tournament this year.”
The Bucs will also host the District 22 Tournament once again this year.
“The last time RBR hosted the districts, we had five guys go to regions, so we’d love to have that kind of success again,” Ferris said.
While the Bucs will certainly be tested throughout the season, thanks mostly to the move to the new division, Ferris knows he has the talent and experience on his squad to make this a memorable season for RBR. And who knows, they might just surprise some people along the way.