SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Vercammen goes from sixth to second

By Rich Fisher, Sports Editor
   PISCATAWAY — There is not too much separating Brendan Vercammen and Mike Wagner.
   South Brunswick High wrestling coach Joe Dougherty just feels his 171-pounder needs a little more aggression to close the gap.
   The top-seeded Wagner (25-2) defeated third-seeded Vercammen, 3-0, in Saturday night’s Greater Middlesex Conference finals at Piscataway High School. Earlier this season, the South Plainfield grappler beat Vercammen, 3-1.
   Wagner used a tilt to score two back points in the second period, than capped off the match’s scoring with a third-period escape.
   ”I tried to go at him about the same way as the first time,” Vercammen said. “In neutral I tried to do more stuff up top. On bottom I was really stuck, so that was kind of bad.
   ”I think we’re pretty even. I’ve just got to work on some things. I’ll take the next couple weeks to work on that and get ready for districts and regions.”
   Dougherty feels the one obstacle holding his talented junior back is that he’s too tentative against Wagner.
   ”He wrestled about the same this time against him, and I need him to open up,” the coach said. “They’re not necessarily that far off in talent, but Brendan needs to do things to win. I’d rather it have been 5-0 with him trying something that didn’t work, than 3-0. They went out of bounds with 28 seconds to go and we didn’t do something there.
   ”He’s a good quality wrestler, he knows what he had to do. He was blocking well. We told him he had to score first, but he didn’t do enough to win.”
   Nonetheless, Vercammen was the highlight of the tournament for South Brunswick, as he was the team’s lone finalist. His second-place finish was a marked improvement from finishing sixth last year.
   ”I’m pretty happy,” said Vercammen, who has a 17-6 record. “I would have liked to won, but second place is good.”
   Vercammen reached the finals by knocking off the tournament’s potential Cinderella. Perth Amboy’s Eric Perez was unseeded and proceeded to pin second-seed Trevor Haughney of Old Bridge and seventh-seeded Matt Recine of Piscataway.
   Vercammen finally turned Perez into a pumpkin with a 15-3 major decision in the semifinals. He figured the best way to go about business was to not take chances and get caught.
   ”I had wrestled him before over the summer,” the Vikings said. “He was OK. I thought I could handle him pretty easy. He pinned kids tonight so I had to watch out for headlocks or tosses. I tried to play it a little safe.”
   Playing it safe did not work in the finals, however, but with districts and another full season still remaining, Vercammen has time to work on things.
   ”The fact that he came here and placed second in this tournament attests to him having a good tournament,” Dougherty said. “He lost to a good quality kid, but I think Brendan needs to wrestle with a little more confidence.”
   Which in turn will bring out a little more aggression.