Following a highly successful regular season that saw it win its first Shore Conference Class A Central championship, the Matawan High School wrestling team is looking to make its mark in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II Tournament.
Coach Andy Lasko’s team is on its way to doing that. The Huskies beat Somerville, 37-24, on Monday in the CJ Group II quarterfinals. The Huskies were scheduled to wrestle at Delaware Valley in the semifinals yesterday afternoon.
“Our guys have worked very hard to get to this point of the season and they have a chance to really show some people what they can do,” the coach said.
The Huskies are currently 19-2 and they have scored several impressive victories along the way. Matawan has defeated the likes of Middletown South, Toms River North, Jackson Liberty, Marlboro and St. John Vianney.
Another key victory came against Raritan in a match that propelled Lasko’s grapplers to the A Central title. Raritan had won the division title each of the past five seasons and had edged Matawan out for the crown a year ago.
Lasko noted that although the Huskies entered the Raritan match with a 9-0 mark, his team had not been at its best.
“We were getting by, but with the veterans we have in our lineup I thought we’d be further along than we were,” he said, “We needed a big match and a big win to really get our guys going and we were able to do that against Raritan.”
The Huskies only losses have been close calls, a four-point loss to Ocean and a three-point defeat at the hands of Manchester, which eliminated Matawan from the Shore Conference tourney.
Meanwhile, the Huskies have several competitors who Lasko expects will make their mark in the upcoming District 21 tourney, set for Feb. 19. This group includes seniors Johnny Short (125 pounds), Chris Carillo (152) and Charlie Cook (171).
Short, who took third in the district event last winter, is 23-1 and is second on the team with 15 pins. Carillo, meanwhile, owns a 16- 2 mark to do along with 11 pins and Cook is 17-10, also with 11 pins. Short and Cook serve as team captains.
Juniors Jordan Long, (145), Zeke Vega (140) and Andre Hodge (215) should also fare well in the districts. Long leads the Huskies with 25 wins against just one defeat and his 18 pins also top the team. Vega is 20- 3 and Hodge is 18-3.
Other key competitors for the Huskies include: seniors Nick Proto (130), 18-4; Jimmy Alvarez (HW), 17-7; and Tibor Ross (160), 5-5; and juniors Patrick O’Donnell (119), 14-7; Tom Dillon (135), 16-7.
Sophomores Tim Birch (103) and Hakan Yuksel have also performed well. Birch, who posted seven wins as a freshman, is 13-10 and Yuksel is 16-7. Freshman Glenn Cross, who has the unenviable task of competing at 189 pounds — often against seniors and juniors — has more than held his own with a 15-8 ledger and 11 pins.
Lasko noted that junior Dave Silverman and sophomore DeShaun Allan have done well when called upon.
“We have a lot of talented guys and it would be great to see them move on the districts and maybe get a few to the states,” the coach said.
Lasko, who took the helm of what was a struggling program in 2000, has gradually built the Huskies into a perennial winner, with winning records in five of the past six seasons.
“It’s really a reflection on the kids and I have great assistant coaches in [former Manalapan star] Joe DiMario and [former Brearley assistant coach] Jess Monzo,” Lasko said. “This team wouldn’t be where it is without them.”