The Sayreville War Memorial High School wrestling team finished the season with a 21-5 mark, producing six District 20 champions and taking second place in the District 20 team competition.
Sayreville’s Ramon Santiago (top) wrestles Brick Memorial’s Steve Santos during their 152- pound championship bout in the NJSIAA wrestling tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City March 8. Santos went on to win the match by a score of 8-4. Leading the way was Ramon Santiago, who won his second successive Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) crown and third straight district title, as well as the Region 6 crown. The 152-pounder went all the way to the final of the NJSIAA wrestling tourney where he suffered his only loss of the campaign, an 8-4 decision against Steve Santos of Brick Memorial.
Nevertheless, Santiago has a truly outstanding career for the blue and gray. His 41 wins this winter set a new team mark, as did the 22 pins he accumulated. In addition, Santiago tops the team in career wins with 130 (against just 20 defeats) and pins with 66. Coach John Denuto noted that Santiago was only the second Sayreville wrestler to reach the state finals. Jimmy Kirk was the first back in 1992.
Sayreville’s other district champs include Gary Siriday (103 pounds), Anthony Geiger (112), Dan Bergfeldt (125), Noel Santiago (130) and Pat Ronan (140). Chris Pearson (135) took second, while Gino Schifano finished third.
Siriday became the Bombers’ first freshman to win a district title; he went on to take second place in Region 6 and set a team freshman victory record with 34 triumphs against seven losses. Geiger, a sophomore who competed for the junior varsity a year ago, also racked up 34 wins. Noel Santiago, another sophomore, went 28-11 and also finished third in Region 6.
Bergfeldt and Ronan, both seniors, finished up their varsity careers on high notes. Bergfeldt was 25-13 and ended up with 75 career victories, while Ronan posted a 21- 12 mark. Pearson, a junior, bounced back from a 12-14 campaign with a solid 23-14 showing this time around, and Schifano, a junior who started slowly, finished up with a 15-11 mark.
“We came into this year after graduating eight seniors with 200-plus wins, so I think we surprised a lot of people,” Denuto said. “We were a little disappointed that we didn’t win a team championship. Still, because we set our goals so high, we were able to accomplish what we did this season.”
Being a bit disappointed with a 21-5 season shows how far the Bombers’ program has come. Sayreville is a consistent force in the GMC — the Bombers took second in the White Division and defeated every Red Division team except South Plainfield. But last year’s team was a tough act to follow. The 2007-2008 edition set a team record with 24 wins, won the GMC and District 20 tourneys, brought home the NJSIAA North 2 Group III crown and made it to the finals of the overall Group III tournament.
“Our guys did a lot of things right, particularly for such a young team,” the coach added. “We didn’t get off to a real good start, but the
guys buckled down and got back to working hard. This team has a good future ahead of it if they keep working.”
Sayreville has plenty of other young grapplers in the program who should play more prominent roles next season. They include sophomores Tyler Carlock, who went 20-12 at heavyweight, and Chris Ronan, 13- 10 at 125 pounds. In addition, Nick Richiusa and Chris Raub won nine and four matches at 189 pounds and 215 pounds respectively, and freshman Alex Yanuzelli won 11 times at 171 pounds.