There can be only one way to accurately describe what the Long Branch High School wrestling team has become over the last three years: a dynasty.
Top: Long Branch High School’s Doug Cornell gestures to the crowd after the wrestling team defeated West Deptford, 37-19, in the Central Jersey Group II final on Feb. 14 at the Ritacco Center in Toms River. Above: The Long Branch High School wrestling team celebrates after defeating West Deptford, 37-19, in the Central Jersey Group II final on Feb. 14 at the Ritacco Center in Toms River. The Green Wave earned a distinct place in the annals of Shore Conference history this past weekend by winning its third straight NJSIAA Group II title, becoming the first conference team in the 29-year history of the NJSIAA Team Tournament to do so. They also won their 101st match in the past four years, which is something no other public school team has ever accomplished (only Camden Catholic has won that many matches in a fouryear span).
PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff And most importantly, with top-ranked High Point (the only New Jersey team to beat Long Branch this year — 24-23 on Jan. 15) suffering a shocking upset to South Plainfield, 26-24, in the Group III final, the Green Wave has likely earned the title of the No. 1 team in the state for a second year in a row.
Doing it once is special. Coming back to do it again is downright legendary.
“Each year has been amazing,” head coach Danny George said. “The whole experience has been amazing, because you live it every day. There’s pressure every time you step on the mat because when you’re competing at this high of a level, there’s no messing up, there’s no doovers. And getting 14-, 15-, 16- and 17-year-old kids to understand that is a tough task.”
Now that his squad has accomplished everything he could have asked of them as a team, George is able to reflect on just how special the past four years have been.
Long Branch High School’s Luis Flipe (top) looks to pin West Deptford’s Sean Bonner during their 140-pound bout in the Central Jersey Group II final on Feb. 14 at the Ritacco Center in Toms River. Flipe went on to win by a technical fall of 21-4. Long Branch won, 37-19. JEFF GRANIT staff “Last year was the most balanced team put together, whereas this year’s team has the superstars and a bunch of underclassmen,” he said. “We lost five district champs to graduation from last year, but the youngsters who stepped in stepped up beyond all expectations. They were the unsung heroes of this team. We told them that our hammers are going to hammer, and that people are going to run from them and be gunning for you. And they came through every time.”
It’s been a long season for Danny George’s resilient group, with the Wave taking on a brutal schedule that saw them go 28-3. However, it was the highest level of competition that prepared them for their third straight championship run. George is a firm believer in the old adage that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. No one is questioning that Long Branchwas the best team in the Group II field once again. After winning a third straight Shore Conference Tournament title just two weeks ago, the Wave set its sights on the state tournament. Their championship run began with a dominating 41-12 victory over Raritan on Feb. 12. The following day, they won the Central Jersey Group II title with an equally dominating 51-15 victory over Matawan — which was coming off its first two state tournament wins in team history.
It didn’t take long for Long Branch to put this one away, as the Huskies (20-3) didn’t score a point (except an escape) until the fifth bout of the match. After Billy George (technical fall at 215) got things started, Long Branch poured it on, jumping out to a 19-0 lead after Billy’s cousin, Nick, scored a hard-fought, third-period pin of Hakan Yuksel at 112.
Defending 160-pound state champion Nick Visicaro also recorded a pin, as did Scott Festejo at 135, but the match was over long before they took to the mat.
The sectional championship sent Long Branch to the Ritacco Center in Toms River on Sunday, needing just two more wins to cement its place in history.
First up was West Essex, the Group II North I champion, and it didn’t take long for Long Branch to earn its place in the final. Visicaro opened the match with a pin of Paul Cafone in 2:42 at 160, before Omar Akel followed with a 30-second pin of Vinnie Racamato at 171. Paul Tracey then pinned Kurtis Tinfow at 4:49 at 189, before Billy George scored a tech fall (23-8) on John LoCasio at 215.
With their ridiculously fast start in the Group II semifinal — four matches, three pins and a tech fall — Long Branch was sending an early message to everyone in the gym.
James Parnell scored a 3-1, overtime win over Dominic Valernin at heavyweight, and Luke Balina registered a 9-7 win over Carlo Zazzara at 103. Finally, at 112, West Essex got its first win when Mike Marotti beat Nick George, 6-2, and then made it two in a row when Anthony Perrotti pinned Thomas Ging in 1:10 at 119
After Andrew Cornell beat Jimmy Ciampi, 20-5, at 125, West Essex got its third win at 130 when Anthony Pompei beat Matt Eggie, 9-8. Scott Festejo then score a pin in 1:45 at 135 before Luis Felipe tech-falled Mark Dipsey, 16-1, at 140.
Frank Ryan then beat Ryan Festejo with a pin at 4:55 of their 145-pound bout, before Doug Cornell closed out the match with a 21-6 tech fall of Chris Michura at 152.
With their 50-18 win, Long Branch was now one win away from a third straight Group II title. The team standing in their way was West Deptford, the surprise winner of the South Jersey Group II title, and early on, West Deptford made it clear they were not to be taken lightly.
Omar Akel got things going for the Wave with a pin of Rory Bonner at 171, before West Deptford’s Jimmy Owens got his team on the board with a 14-2 win over Paul Tracey at 189. Billy George padded the lead with a pin of Frankie Willerton at 2:42 in their 215-pound bout, but West Deptford got a 3-2 win from Mike West at heavyweight over James Parnell.
West Deptford won the next three bouts as well, as Tyler West beat Andrew Viera, 7-1, at 103; Evan Zuzulock scored a 3-2 win over Nick George at 112; and David West topped Thomas Ging, 6-5, at 119. With West Deptford now holding a 16-12 lead, there may have been those in the gym who thought they were witnessing a colossal upset in the making. But the Green Wave quickly put those thoughts to rest.
Andrew Cornell needed just 15 seconds to pin Christian Terinoni at 125, before Matt Eggie scored a 4-3 win over Donald Dennis to give the Wave the 21-16 lead. Long Branch took control of the match when Scott Festejo followed with an 8-2 win over Drew Spector at 135, and Luis Filipe then scored a 21-4 technical fall over Sean Bonner at 140.
After Nick Iraldi beat Jacob George, 8-3, at 145, the Green Wave closed out the match with two straight wins, with Doug Cornell beating James Shields, 16-4, at 152, and Visicaro scoring an 18-3 tech fall over Dan Eckley at 160.
“I think we got a little conservative with our lineup after they won the toss and were able to set some match-ups that they needed,” George said. “But we knew our big guys were going to dominate, which they did. We only allowed one bonus point, which is amazing.”
With their 37-19 win, the Wave had captured their third straight Group II title and had put an end to the speculation that this year’s Wave team might not be of the same caliber as the championship teams of the past two years. There can be no question that the 2009-10 Long Branch wrestling team is the best in the state once again.
Asked whether his team has a firm understanding of the magnitude of its accomplishments over the past four seasons, George was frank.
“I don’t think they have any idea,” he said. “They’re enjoying the moment, and they’re excited about being Group II champions again. And ultimately, they should be the No. 1 team in the state again. Maybe years from now when they’re hanging out, going to reunions, they’ll think about it and realize how special this has been.”
For now, they’ll celebrate another team title and look ahead to the NJSIAA state individual tournament, which gets under way this weekend with the district tournaments. Needless to say, Long Branch expects to have plenty more to celebrate over the next few weeks.