Hando, Sellar, Janner make semifinals
by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
HILLSBOROUGH Although Manville High didn’t place any wrestlers in the top three of last weekend’s District 18 Championships, the Mustangs sure made plenty of noise.
Three Mustangs won Friday night quarterfinal bouts to reach Saturday’s second day of action. All three Friday night survivors lost twice Saturday and their seasons ended one step short of the Region 5 Tournament.
Freshman 135-pounder Peter Hando, senior 171-pounder Kevin Sellar and sophomore 130-pounder Nick Janner moved into Saturday’s session but lost in the semifinals and consolation finals. Some of the bouts came down to the wire. There were many interesting story lines and subplots for the Mustangs.
”I’m very pleased with the way we wrestled in the tournament,” said MHS head coach Pat Gorbatuk, whose team finished ninth in the 10-school district field. “I don’t think anybody rolled over. Every kid wrestled until the last possible second.”
Hando (23-14) avenged a prior loss to Somerville’s Greg Bolomey in Friday night’s quarterfinals. The MHS freshman found himself in a familiar spot against Bolomey, trailing late in the third period just like he did in the dual meet. Bolomey piled on additional points to win the regular season bout, but Hando turned the tables with a late five-point move to capture a wild 14-11 decision.
”I just wrestled hard and did what Gorby (Coach Gorbatuk) told me to do,” Hando said. “I watched the legs and just went on instinct. It worked out well.”
Hando’s victory over Bolomey represented the only instance in which a lower-seeded Mustang won a district bout.
”It’s a huge highlight because it puts all the hard work we do in perspective,” Gorbatuk said. “We don’t expect to lose matches in the third period. We expect to win with our conditioning. Peter’s always moving. He’s very difficult to keep down. Once he gets a move, he keeps the action going and creates scrambles in his favor.”
Hando nearly made an even bigger move in Saturday morning’s semifinals. He took down Bound Brook senior standout Gabe Gleason, who placed third in Region 5 last year, with a quick five-point move. Hando had Gleason on his back for 30 seconds but the official did not award a fall. Hando settled for a 5-0 lead but Gleason regained his form and dominated the rest of the bout for a 19-5 major decision.
”All I remember is sitting there with my arm around his head,” Hando said. “I know he’s good, so I couldn’t believe it. I saw his shoulders on the mat. I thought I had him.”
”Peter’s always got a pinner’s chance,” Gorbatuk added. “I felt he had him pinned not once, but twice.”
Janner (21-16) faced Montgomery’s top-seeded John Moyle in the semifinals in a rematch of the county final. Janner made sure not to dig himself an early hole like in the county bout, which Moyle won 7-4 after scoring the first seven points. Janner kept things tight this time but couldn’t get the takedown he needed in a 2-1 loss.
The difference in the bout was an illegal hold called against Janner in the first period. Janner escaped in the second period to tie the score but Moyle gained the winning neutral in the third. Janner kept charging, prompting one stalling warning against Moyle, but he couldn’t score.
”Nick certainly wrestled more aggressively and tougher physically,” Gorbatuk said. “Moyle was a little smarter. He played the edge and controlled the tempo of the match. Moyle limited the scrambles Nick likes to get.”
Sellar (19-10) continued to battle valiantly with a separated shoulder, winning a Friday night bout to advance to the district semifinals for the first time. He ran into the same opponent who hurt him at the county meet in Saturday’s semifinals. Hillsborough senior George Goddiess took a 4-0 lead on a takedown in the first and reversal in the second. Sellar hurt his shoulder and had to injury default at the 2:22 mark.
”I have to be careful in certain positions, including a lot of the ones I like,” Sellar said. “I tried to limit the scrambles. It was tough wrestling with a bum shoulder.”
Sellar returned to wrestle for third place but couldn’t get out of the first period against Ridge’s Alex Braunstein. Sellar was taken down with 37 seconds left in the first period and Braustein turned him for the fall at 1:57.
”I really couldn’t use my right arm,” Sellar said. “I wormed my way into a position where I could have put him to his back but I couldn’t move my arm to finish it. I really couldn’t use my right arm, which takes away a lot of the things I like to do.”
The MHS senior, seeking to reach the 20-win mark for the first time in his four-year career, opened the tournament with a pin of Montgomery’s Kevin Kerod at 1:55. “He tried to muscle me,” Sellar said. “I took a shot and he almost had me, but I used my strength and put him to his back.”
Manville’s other nine entries were eliminated Friday night. Sophomore Devin Burke (27-8), the team’s victory leader, ran into the toughest weight class in the tournament at 112 pounds. Seeded sixth, Burke lost a tough 1-0 battle to Somerville’s Jimmy Sutphen.
Other Mustangs who lost Friday night included freshman 103-pounder Clint Raver (11-18), 119-pounder Ian DeFalco (13-20), sophomore 125-pounder Ernest Yakobchuk (18-15), junior 140-pounder David Olmsted (14-20), junior 145-pounder Scott Alpizar (11-20), junior 152-pounder Eddie Yakobchuk (4-6), freshman 160-pounder Alex Agans (7-25) and sophomore 215-pounder David Castro (17-11). Raver, DeFalco and Alpizar won preliminary round bouts before running into top seeds in the quarterfinals.
”The nice thing to see is the depth of the team,” Gorbatuk said. “Our top kid didn’t even make it to Saturday and we still had three kids in the semifinals.”

